Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX:AOU) has received the first assay results from the maiden diamond drilling program at the Horn prospect within the Leinster Nickel Project in Western Australia.
Results in hole HNDD001 have confirmed thick, high-grade nickel-copper-PGE sulphide mineralisation with logged massive sulphides interval reporting 4.09 metres at 2.40% nickel, 0.61% copper, 0.55 g/t palladium and 0.22 g/t platinum from 119.91 metres within the larger mineralised interval of 5.09 metres at 2.06% nickel, 0.60% copper, 0.49 g/t palladium and 0.25 g/t platinum from 119.91 metres.
This completes the diamond drilling program which, Auroch believes, has demonstrated ‘good’ continuity over 500 metres of strike at relatively shallow depths (within 110 – 150 metres from surface).
Results confirm potential for future exploration programs
Managing director Aidan Platel said: “The first assays results have confirmed our observations that mineralisation at the Horn comprises thick lenses of high-grade massive nickel sulphides which are also rich in copper and PGE’s (platinum and palladium).
“This bodes well for our pending assays as well as for future exploration programs.
“Our new understanding of the structural control on the Horn prospect has opened up exciting potential for further nickel sulphide mineralisation along strike, and we eagerly await the results of the DHEM surveys and pending assays to finalise our geological model and complete the hole planning for our next drill programme at the Horn scheduled for early next year.”
Intervals submitted for results
The second drill hole, HNDD002 intersected around 7.2 metres of nickel-copper bearing massive sulphides from a depth of 143 metres.
Hole HNDD003 was drilled to test a historic DHEM conductor outside of the known mineralisation and intersected 1.9 metres of nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation from 134.55 metres, including 0.8 metres of massive sulphides from 134.90 metres.
These intervals have already been logged, sampled, and submitted to the laboratory with assay results pending.
Exploration continues
Auroch continues its aggressive exploration program for high-grade nickel sulphides with a 6,000-metre aircore (AC) program underway across both the Saints and Leinster Nickel projects.
At Leinster, the AC programme has been designed to better understand the footwall contact and the characteristics of the basal ultramafic flow at the high-potential Firefly and North Sinclair prospects.
At Saints, the AC drilling will be crucial to understanding the stratigraphy and nickel potential of the T4, T5 and T6 target areas that have been identified as highly prospective for possible feeder channels to the nickel-rich ultramafic system at Saints.
A reverse-circulation (RC) drill-hole has been completed at the T1 Target at Saints and a DHEM survey will be completed this week.
DHEM surveys are underway on all completed diamond drill-holes at the Horn and Valdez, and the core of the final 3 holes is being logged, processed, and sampled.
Auroch is also preparing for a 3,000 metres RC programme at the high-grade Nepean Nickel Project, which is scheduled to begin early in January.