Testing Mt Sholl And Boodalyerrie Properties For PGEs And Gold
Raiden Resources Limited (ASX: RDN) has commenced field programmes at the company’s Mt Sholl and Boodalyerrie properties in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Managing Director, Dusko Ljubojevic, said work has commenced at Mt Sholl, with Raiden personnel conducting reconnaissance geological mapping as part of an initial assessment to determine potential for additional Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation and to evaluate the Radleys gold trend. The company’s geologists plan to map the areas of interest and collect selective grab samples.
“We have recently consolidated our ownership of the Pilbara portfolio and now have 100% exposure to the discovery upside on this portfolio. These initial programmes at both, Boodalyerrie and Mt Sholl will assist in in determining the follow up and more aggressive exploration programs to come,” Mr Ljubojevic said.
“At Mt Sholl, historical data reviews have outlined further gold potential, which the company was not aware of and presents us with an additional prospect to follow up on. In conjunction, we will also aim to define next steps in advancing the Ni-Cu-PGE targets. This may include drill testing of new targets and defining the extent of the know mineralisation at depth and along strike.
“Our planned work at Boodalyerrie, aims to understand the relationship of the bonanza grade historical results and the broader gold in soil anomalism. We are also anticipating the results from the aero-magnetic survey which we completed over the northern license of the Arrow project, which will assist the company in delineating the maiden drill programme at Arrow, where we are targeting Hemi style gold mineralisation.”
Raiden holds 100% of the Mt Sholl property, which incorporates two granted exploration licences covering 10 sq. km. Mt Sholl is located 22 km south of Karratha and 10 km northeast of Artemis Resources’ Radio Hill nickel-copper-PGE mine and associated processing infrastructure.
Licences cover part of the Mt Sholl layered mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex, which hosts widespread Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation as disseminated, matrix, stringer and massive pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite.
Historical exploration has defined two Ni-Cu-PGE prospects on the properties, namely Mt Sholl A1 and Mt Sholl B1. Both are substantial accumulations of sulphide mineralisation in lenses up to 20m wide that plunge moderately to the northeast.
Historical work also included trial mining at the Mt Sholl B1 prospect. In the 2017 surrender report for their mining licence over the prospect. Fox Resources reported that Mt Sholl B1 ore was blended with run of mine ore from Radio Hill prior to processing through the Radio Hill mill, however, precise production and reconciliation figures for Mt Sholl B1 trial mining were not recorded.
Raiden holds a 100% interest in the Boodalyerrie property, which comprises of one granted exploration licence covering an area of 57 sq. km. Boodalyerrie is located 120 kilometres east- southeast of Marble Bar and 75 kilometres northeast of Nullagine. The licence covers much of the Boodalyerrie Mining Centre, which has historical recorded production between 1901 and 1910 of 588.4 ounces of gold from 122 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 150 g/t.
Rock samples collected by previous explorers returned gold values ranging up to 200 g/t Auand a chip-channel sample across a historic mine face reportedly returned 3 metres at 88.6 g/t Au. Soil sampling in 2013 defined widespread +25 ppb gold anomalies, the largest of which is 2 kilometres long and several hundred metres across.
Raiden’s planned field programme includes the collection of grid-based soil samples across the largest of the historic soil anomalies, with objectives being to confirm the historical results, define the anomalies in more detail and to attempt to determine the relationship between soil anomalism and the prominent quartz veins.
Work at Boodalyerrie will commence on completion of the Mt Sholl field work. Raiden personnel will conduct reconnaissance geological mapping across the historic soil anomalies and visit recorded locations for historic anomalous rock samples. The field crew will collect selective grab samples from prospective outcrops to determine mineralisation relationships.
A programme of soil sampling will also be implemented, with samples collected at 50 metre centres along east-west oriented lines spaced 200 metres apart. A total of 335 primary samples will be collected.
