Galileo Mining Ltd’s (ASX:GAL) highly prospective Fraser Range and Norseman Projects in Western Australia have strong potential for new resource discoveries.
The well-funded and supported junior exploration company is focused on the discovery of ‘green’ sustainable technology metals with future demand growth.
Its Fraser Range joint venture project is a developing nickel province with two significant deposits so far at Nova and Silver Knight.
Galileo is also developing targets at the Green Moon Prospect and the Lantern Prospects.
Its 100%-owned Norseman Project has cobalt and nickel laterite resource of 25Mt JORC with 26,600t of contained cobalt and 122,500t of contained nickel.
Sustainable technology metals
There has been an increasing demand for clean energy metals, with limited new mine development for key commodities, with a 12-month price increase in nickel, copper, cobalt and palladium.
Galileo noted that there is a forecast step change in demand for electric vehicle (EV) battery technology.
Palladium and rhodium have both shown strong increases in price over the previous year, corresponding to the increased demand for these metals in their application as catalytic converters for pollution control.
Palladium and rhodium are used to decrease emissions from vehicle exhaust as well as catalysts in bulk chemical and petroleum refining, medical devices, electronic applications, and jewellery.
High demand for palladium and rhodium is expected to continue, especially with the current global focus on pollution reduction.
Both metals represent high-value opportunities for the company and align well with Galileo’s current strategy of exploration for battery metals including nickel, copper, and cobalt.
High-value palladium and rhodium
Galileo has identified intersections of high-value palladium and rhodium from its existing drill hole database with multiple targets developed through a geological interpretation of prospective contact zones at its Norseman Project.
Palladium and rhodium are high-value 'green' metals critical for pollution reduction.
Managing director Brad Underwood said: “Our ongoing review of the Norseman Project has delivered results with the recognition of the outstanding prospectivity for palladium in the region.
“The existing drill results demonstrate the quality of the project and have provided the basis for a new understanding of the mineralising processes.
“This has led to the development of robust drill targets with the potential for a significant palladium discovery.
“We will be aggressively pursuing this exceptional opportunity in conjunction with our search for nickel sulphide deposits at the Fraser Range, which includes upcoming diamond drilling at the Delta Blues prospect.”
Mt Thirsty and Mission Sill contact zones
At the Norseman Project, drilling completed in 2016 by Galileo beneath the cobalt-nickel laterite resource at Mt Thirsty intersected a previously unrecognised zone of sulphide containing highly anomalous levels of palladium, platinum, copper and nickel.
This sulphide zone occurs within an ultramafic rock unit interpreted to be an apophysis from the Mt Thirsty sill, which itself is visible as a pronounced high in the magnetic map to the east.
The potential for palladium at Mission Sill target has been recognised after a review of the data showed the existence of thicknesses of disseminated sulphide mineralisation (up to 5% in patches) at the contact between the ultramafic and mafic units of the Mission Sill.
This contact position matches the location of multiple zones of anomalous mineralisation up to 74 metres thick containing around 0.2 g/t palladium.
The possibility of higher-grade mineralisation along this contact position is interpreted to be considerable, especially where the geometry and relative exhumation of the sill changes along strike.
There are multiple drill-ready targets with +5 kilometres of prospective strike length at Mt Thirsty and +10 kilometres of prospective strike length at Mission Sill.
Work programs
Planned work programs at Norseman Project include:
➢Assaying of existing pulps for rhodium and platinum group metals;
➢RC drilling of the known sulphide zones at the Mt Thirsty Sill and the Mission Sill;
➢Aircore drilling of the prospective contact zone along strike of the sulphide zones at the Mission Sill and Mt Thirsty Sill; and
➢Ongoing target generation work for nickel, copper and cobalt.
Fraser Range Nickel Belt
Two nickel-copper-cobalt resources have been discovered since 2012 at the Nova mine and Silver Knight deposit.
Galileo has 502 square kilometres of prospective ground in two zones:
➢Lantern and Delta Blues nickel prospects about 15 kilometres from the Trans-Australia Railway; and
➢Empire Rose nickel and gold prospect about 10 kilometres from the Eyre Highway.
Multiple EM targets within zone of prospective intrusions have been found at Delta Blues Prospect, with two highly significant EM conductors.
Shallow aircore drilling showed nickel prospective intrusive rock units, and weathered sulphides (0.5 – 1%) have been observed in petrographic samples of cumulate intrusions.
It is in a prospective area with Legend Mining’s Crean Prospect 4 kilometres along strike.
At the Delta Blues Prospect, it is embarking on DB1 and DB2 drilling to determine the economic value.
It is planning an initial 1,000 metres diamond drilling program to test highly conductive targets at DB1 and DB2.
Drilling is planned to begin in mid-June and completed within three weeks.
EM surveying continues around and along strike of the Lantern Prospect, where previous drilling identified nickel-copper sulphides.