Resource Development At Stricklands Reaches Key Milestone
Nickel explorer St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has completed its resource drilling campaign at the Stricklands Prospect within its “flagship” Mt Alexander Project in Western Australia.
The resource drill-out of the shallow, high-grade nickel-copper sulphide deposit at Stricklands has concluded with 52 drill holes completed for 4,077m of RC drilling.
The drill holes were completed on close-spacing of between 10m to 20m. Samples from the drilling have been dispatched for laboratory assaying in Perth.
The shallow Stricklands mineralisation has been defined over an area that is approximately 450m long, 50m wide and 80m deep. See Figure 1 (next page) for a schematic diagram of the interpreted mineralisation at Stricklands. Entech, the external geological consultancy engaged by St George to issue a JORC-compliant resource estimate for Stricklands, will receive all drill hole data and assay data as soon as available.
The resource estimate, once issued, will be used in the scoping study for a potential mining operation at Mt Alexander including the design of alternative open-pit shells for mining.
Eight PQ-size diamond core drill holes have been completed at Stricklands for 661.6m of diamond drilling.
These drill holes will be used for metallurgical and geotechnical work. The drill core is currently being cut into half-core samples with portions of samples to be used for laboratory assaying in Perth and for metallurgical testwork with XPS in Canada.
Executive Chairman, John Prineas, said the scope of work for XPS includes development of a production flowsheet which will be integral to the completion of the scoping study for the potential mining operation at Stricklands.
“We are very pleased to have completed the resource drill-out at Stricklands as well as the metallurgical holes required for resource development work.
“These are important milestones for the scoping study into a potential starter mine at Mt Alexander,” Mr Prineas said.
“The thick intercepts of nickel-copper sulphides in the latest met holes are a reminder of the excellent mineralisation that we have at Stricklands.”
Meanwhile, St George has commenced the first deep hole designed to test the large conductive feature identified at Investigators by the MT/AMT surveys at the Investigators Prospect.
The drill hole is planned to a downhole depth of 800m. The large conductive target is located below and to the north of the shallow high-grade mineralisation already discovered at Investigators – an ideal location for down-plunge extensions of the shallow mineralisation.
A strong conductive response was recorded in the MT/AMT surveys by the known shallow mineralisation at Investigators, which commences at 30m below surface.
The conductive response is interpreted to be dislocated by faulting and granites at approximately 300m below surface and appears again at depth as a large conductive feature.
Mr Prineas said that significantly, the response at the core of the deep conductive feature has recorded a higher conductivity reading than the known shallow high-grade mineralisation.
“Drilling of the deep MT conductive targets has now commenced with drill hole MAD180 targeting the compelling new conductive feature at Investigators,” Mr Prineas said.
“A second diamond rig is scheduled to arrive at site shortly which will accelerate testing of these new and exciting deep conductive targets.”
