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back and undertake a strategic review “Valdez is a very underdone tar-
of the geological model and its overall get,” Platel said. “It just hasn’t really
approach to exploration. Former Min- been explored, there’s only a couple
cor Resources NL managing director of RAB holes prior to us and that’s
Peter Muccilli consulted to the com- about it, so a discovery here would
pany during this process. really move the dial.”
“For 4-6 months there was not Auroch is also set to drill some
much news flow to excite the market, new holes into the nearby Horn de-
but it was good hard geology that re- posit this quarter as part of a long-
ally set us up to move forward rather held plan to upgrade the existing
quickly once we did get into that posi- resource (600,000t @ 1.39% nickel
tion in March,” Platel said. Auroch is searching for the feeder channel to its Saints nickel and 0.3% copper for 8,400t nickel
“What we identified was that this project, about 65km north-west of Kalgoorlie and 1,800t copper) to JORC 2012
system hasn’t had the feeder channel reporting standards.
found yet and 49 of the 50-odd Kambalda- pany’s portfolio, according to Platel. Leinster is hosted in the same region as
style deposits known in the belt all have that “We’re only just getting started at Leinster,” the mothballed Sinclair and Waterloo nickel
feeder channel, so the probability of it being he said. mines owned by Saracen Mineral Holdings
there in such a high-grade mineralised sys- Auroch has taken the exploration template Ltd, as well as BHP Nickel West Pty Ltd’s op-
tem is very high.” for Saints across to Leinster where the team erations further to the north-west.
Auroch has since delivered a string of – led by experienced geologist Robin Cox – Asked what was on his wish-list for the next
promising results at Saints, including confir- has zeroed in on the emerging Valdez pros- 12 months, Platel said: “Ideally we find the
mation of nickeliferous massive sulphides in pect. feeder channel at Saints with a view towards
the diamond core pulled from the Saint An- Recent aircore results at Valdez struck 9m upgrading the resource and probably finish-
drews channel target. @ 0.41% nickel from 33m (including 3m @ ing off a scoping study.
Downhole EM was completed on each of 0.52% from 39m), 6m @ 0.37% from 48m “Hopefully, we’re around that 50,000t con-
the four diamond holes drilled in the most and 6m @ 0.35% from 66m. All nickel inter- tained nickel mark at Saints with a decent
recent campaign, with full results due at the sections are hosted within a high MgO ultra- discovery at Valdes or Firefly [target recently
time of print. A 1,000m RC programme test- mafic unit in a modelled basal channel which acquired from Jindalee Resources Ltd]. If we
ing the T1 and T4 channel targets was also lies above aeromagnetic anomalies and are can put two of those together, plus a new re-
under way. coincident with a strong EM conductor de- source at the Horn, I think we’ll start to see
While Saints was the “obvious starting fined by a historic surface moving-loop EM a very significant resource bank of nickel
point” for Auroch given its existing resource survey. tonnes for Auroch and I think that will really
and proximity to Kalgoorlie, it is by no means Follow-up RC drilling was being rolled out be putting us on the map.”
considered the flagship project in the com- at the time of print. – Michael Washbourne

Trainee Truck Driver, Mount Keith, WA.

It means a lot to up-and-coming generations of the Tjiwarl community to have a seat at the
table. Shania, with the backing of her community in the northern Goldields, is working on
Country and making a pathway for herself. BHP is proud to support a program that gives
generations of the Tjiwarl people employment and a source of pride for their communities.
Find out more at BHP.com/community/programs

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2020 Page 97