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Strategic Elements given green light to drill potential meteorite impact structure at Behemoth

Published: 12:25 03 Oct 2019 AEST

Strategic Elements Ltd - Strategic Elements given green light to drill potential meteorite impact structure at Behemoth
The large 7-kilometre-wide buried magnetic ring feature at Behemoth project

Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) has received final regulatory approvals to drill multiple deep holes into a potential meteorite impact structure at the Behemoth project in the Gibson desert.

Agreements with a drilling contractor and construction teams are being finalised.

The company is seeking nickel, copper, gold and rare earths in a virtually unexplored area on the border of Western Australia and South Australia.

Work program

A Program of Work (PoW) has been approved by the Western Australian government enabling excavations, cutting and filling of drill pads and access tracks at the project.

Approximately 12 kilometres of tracks will be constructed into the drill target areas while campsite and drill core farm areas have also been approved.

Large potential zones identified

Managing director Charles Murphy said “The experts are divided on whether the large multi-ringed magnetic feature at the Behemoth project is caused by the impact of a meteorite from above, an intrusion of magma from below and/or an associated mineral system.

“Either way, the recent IP surveys identified multiple large potential zones of buried sulphides within the ring feature.

“We will target these zones with a number of drill holes with the objective of hitting some nickel, copper, gold-bearing sulphides or rare earths.”

Regulations require that surface holes drilled for the purpose of exploration are required to be capped, filled or otherwise made safe immediately after completion.

Drill holes are to be securely plugged below ground in a manner that prevents long-term slumping or subsidence within six months of drilling.

All ground disturbing activities undertaken for the purposes of exploration/prospecting are to be rehabilitated within six months.

Incentive scheme funding

Behemoth project has been awarded with funding from the WA Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), a program for innovative exploration drilling projects.

The EIS is a highly competitive process determined by independent experts and has resulted in major discoveries.

Independence Group NL’s (ASX:IGO) Fraser Range copper–zinc discovery at the Andromeda project was enabled with the assistance of co-funded drilling while the Nova–Bollinger mine site was also discovered by Sirius Resources using EIS co-funded drilling.

Other recipients of funding along with the Behemoth project in the EIS round included AngloGold Ashanti, BHP Billiton (Nickel West) and Rio Tinto Exploration.

The government EIS funding will be applied towards drilling the recently announced IP survey anomalies discovered at the Behemoth project.

IP surveys are used to detect potential zones of sulphides with potential for nickel, copper, gold and/or rare earths.

The IP survey was a success with three large-scale anomalous zones discovered that are open and well within modern drilling depths.

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