Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZS) has successfully applied for a Western Australian State Government grant of up to $220,000.
The money will be used for deep exploration drilling at its Andover Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project (Azure 60%/Creasy Group 40%), near the town of Roebourne in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The EIS Grant will reimburse Azure up to 50% of direct diamond drilling costs and 50% of driller mobilisation costs (to a cap of $15,000), to a combined maximum amount of $220,000.
This was a competitive application process under Round 26 of the WA Government’s co-funded Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS Grant), with applications assessed by an expert panel of officers, moderated by independent industry representatives nominated by the director general, WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
Grants for high-quality proposals
Azure’s grant is testament to the high quality, technically and economically sound Andover Project.
The scheme preferentially funds applications of proposals that promote new exploration concepts and exploration technologies.
Azure’s grant was one of only 38 EIS Round 26 co-funding grants offered.
The EIS Grant is specific to Azure’s Andover exploration target, which is currently being drilled.
About the project
Successful exploration at Andover so far has identified multiple occurrences of nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation, including discovering two significant deposits at Andover and Ridgeline (where resource estimation is in progress).
Additional nickel-copper-cobalt mineralisation has also been discovered at the Seaview and Skyline prospects, where drilling is continuing.
All mineralised zones are contained within a fertile, nickel-rich corridor, that has been well-defined over four kilometres from Ridgeline to Seaview.
This prospective horizon is expected to extend for at least another six kilometres to the northeast, where several targets have been identified, including VC-24, VC-31, VC-32 and VC-55.
The EIS grant will co-fund an exploration hole to test for extensions and/or repetitions of nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralisation deep beneath the Andover Deposit.