Promising electromagnetics (EM) and other data have prompted Future Metals NL (ASX:FME, AIM:FME) to initiate a drill campaign to test a “significant area of anomalism” over an untested prospect – BC1 – at the Panton North Project, where the company is farming into a 70% joint venture interest.
Reverse circulation (RC) drilling is scheduled to kick off in mid-May, after the company completed ground investigations to follow up on a large, interpreted embayment feature identified during desktop analysis.
All necessary approvals, along with a drill contractor, have been secured ahead of the imminent campaign.
Mapping and rock chip sampling in the area identified anomalous nickel sulphide mineralisation on the margin of the EM anomaly, and multiple occurrences of mineralised ultramafic rock throughout.
Highly prospective nickel sulphide target
The work confirmed the presence of ultramafic and weathered ultramafic rocks beyond the current geological map contacts as well as confirming BC1 as a highly prospective and untested nickel sulphide target.
Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) analysis returned an average of 0.43% nickel, 0.06% copper, 0.05% cobalt, 0.22% sulfur from a BC1 contact rock sample.
Further near-surface nickel-rich mineralisation identified up-dip of drill hole PS053 from a gossanous rock chip sample with pXRF analysis averaging 1.95% nickel, 0.26% copper and 0.09% cobalt.
Grant for Panton West
With the help of co-funding from the West Australian Government under an Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grant of $147,000, Future Metals is also set to drill test nickel-copper-platinum group (PGM) targets at the Panton West target area, also within the Panton North Project, in June.
The company’s analysis and ground investigations confirm that Panton West is another prospective untested basal contact position with multiple coincident indicators for nickel-copper-PGM sulphide mineralisation.
Managing director Jardee Kininmonth said: “FME continues to build upon its nickel sulphide exploration model and work towards the discovery of a large, high-grade accumulation of nickel-copper sulphides.
“Following our detailed geological mapping and sampling at Panton and Panton North, the team is looking forward to kicking off the 2023 field season.
“BC1 was initially identified through a desktop review, with the area having previously been overlooked, partially because it was not part of the Panton tenements.
“Our ground investigations have now all but confirmed that BC1 is a true basal contact position for the highly mineralised Panton Complex, and all indications suggest that it has the potential to be a rich nickel-copper sulphide hosting environment.
“While BC1 and Panton West are the near-term targets for initial drilling in May and June 2023, we have made further exciting observations throughout the Panton project area, including the identification of a nickel and copper rich gossan which graded 1.95% nickel, 0.26% copper and 0.09% cobalt by pXRF analysis (averaged).
“This is potentially a surface continuation of the magmatic sulphide mineralisation drilled in hole PS053, and a systematic ground mapping and sampling exercise is being undertaken to further delineate areas of interest.
“Any further discovery of economic mineralisation within the Panton Complex will be highly complementary to our existing 6.9-million-ounce PdEq JORC Resource which is the focus of our ongoing scoping study.”