In a promising early development, Leeuwin Metals Ltd (ASX:LM1) has unearthed visual massive to semi-massive nickel sulphides stretching over 10.5 metres in the first hole (WL23-368) drilled at prospect W21, within the William Lake Project in Manitoba, Canada.
William Lake sits within the Thompson Nickel Belt, a highly fertile nickel formation that hosts the renowned Thompson Mine.
Thompson Nickel Mine was commissioned in 1961 and held 37 million tonnes of ore as of 1973 – mostly nickel and copper, although the mine holds some cobalt as well.
The larger Thompson Nickel Belt is even more impressive – a study in 2004 estimated the greater belt held 150 million tonnes at 2.32% nickel, 0.16% copper and 0.046% cobalt across nine projects.
“Extremely fertile and underexplored”
“We are extremely pleased to have intersected visual massive sulphide from our maiden drill program,” Leeuwin Metals managing director Christopher Piggott said, “as we make strong progress testing several promising targets where drilling so far has intersected wide zones of mineralisation.
“This result has validated Leeuwin’s exploration strategy with the targeting of prospects at William Lake based on the renowned Thompson Nickel Mine, currently being mined by Vale.
“What we are seeing in the drill core is Thompson-style sulphides and confirms William Lake to be an extremely fertile and underexplored high-grade nickel project.”
Plan view of interpreted mineralisation at W21 showing significant historical intercepts as well as the pierce points of current and planned drilling.
“Parallels are striking”
“The parallels between the results at William Lake and my experiences at the Thompson mine are striking,” Leeuwin Metals vice president of exploration Danniel Oosterman said.
“Today's results are highly significant as they confirm the presence of the Ospwagan stratigraphy, which hosts all of the high-grade Thompson orebodies, and exhibit all the typical hallmarks of Thompson-style nickel mineralisation.
“Moreover, hole WL23-368 has intersected massive sulphides, at an interpreted structural trap for remobilised sulphides with observed sulphides exhibiting both primary textures and signs of remobilisation supporting Leeuwin’s targeting assumptions.
“The latest findings reveal massive sulphides containing minor inclusions of serpentinite and country rock, with clear foliation.
“These findings strongly resemble the characteristics observed in the world-class Thompson Nickel Mine, further emphasising the significance of today's results and strongly support ongoing exploration at the William Lake Project.”
Work program
The company is continuing to progress exploration activities at William Lake, currently drilling the W21 and W56 target areas. Additionally, DHEM surveys are underway, with all completed holes being surveyed.
As part of its ongoing relationship with Glencore (LON:GLEN), the company is planning to host a site visit in the coming weeks to conduct a Technical Committee meeting and review the results achieved to date.
Glencore's extensive knowledge and experience in the field of nickel will be invaluable during this process.
Leeuwin Metals is actively exploring the William Lake Nickel Project and the Jenpeg Lithium Project, both in Manitoba.
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