Auroch Minerals on the hunt for nickel in 2021 exploration programs

Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX:AOU) (FRA:T59) is fully funded headed into the new year after raising $2.9 million in late September last year to fund aggressive exploration plans across its high-grade nickel assets. The company is set to begin RC drilling at its recently acquired Nepean Nickel Project near Coolgardie in Western Australia, with 30 holes for 3,500 metres planned. In December, Auroch completed a 6,000-metre aircore drill program across the Saints and Leinster nickel projects in Western Australia and expects logs and assays from these holes to provide valuable information for geological models and to plan follow-up RC drill programs early this year. Nepean Nickel Project RC drilling at Nepean will test possible near-mine extensions to high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation, as well as previously untested high-priority targets along the 10 kilometres of underexplored strike of the Nepean mafic-ultramafic mine stratigraphy and/or aeromagnetic anomalies. The drilling is expected to take several weeks to complete after which down-hole electromagnetic (DHEM) surveys will be undertaken to assist in modelling and definition of any potential further mineralisation. Asset potential The historic Nepean mine was the second producing nickel mine in Australia, producing 1,108,457 tonnes of ore between 1970 and 1987 for 32,202 tonnes of nickel metal at an average recovered grade of 2.99%. Auroch acquired 80% of the shares in Eastern Coolgardie Goldfields Pty Ltd (ECG), the company which holds the high-grade Nepean Nickel Project for $4 million. Goldfellas Pty Ltd has acquired the remaining 20% with the companies to operate the project as a joint venture. A total of 8,337,966 shares were issued to the vendors as consideration for the acquisition of ECG. In addition to exploring the extents of the known high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation in and around the historic mine, the company looks forward to drilling high-priority targets further along strike which it believes have enormous potential to host further significant nickel sulphide mineralisation. Location of the Nepean Nickel Project 25 kilometres south of Coolgardie, Western Australia. Leinster Nickel Project In December, the company intersected shallow high-grade nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) sulphide mineralisation in maiden diamond drilling at the Horn prospect within the wider Leinster Nickel Project in Western Australia. Notably, assays for diamond drilling in hole HNDD002 have confirmed the massive sulphide mineralisation, with a best-logged interval of 7.3 metres at 2.20% nickel, 0.53% copper and 0.64 g/t palladium from a down-hole depth of 143 metres. Going forward, the results of the DHEM and the detailed geological logging will be used to plan the next stages of exploration at the Horn and Valdez prospects at Leinster. Reverse circulation (RC) drilling is also underway at the Firefly and Sinclair North prospects. Saints Project drilling Auroch has completed a reverse-circulation (RC) drill-hole and DHEM survey at the T1 Target at Saints. The company expects aircore drilling results to be crucial to understanding the stratigraphy and nickel potential of the T4, T5 and T6 target areas – all of which have been identified as highly prospective for possible feeder channels to the nickel-rich ultramafic system at Saints. Looking forward the company anticipates that infill resource drilling will upgrade the existing high-grade mineral resource estimate of 1.05 million tonnes as 2.0% nickel and 0.2% copper. Nickel market outlook Auroch remains in a strong cash position to continue exploration at its three nickel sulphide projects in WA to leverage the strong nickel price as it climbs well above US$17,000 per tonne. 2021 could be a transformational year for Auroch as it consolidates existing high-grade nickel sulphide resources and moves towards scoping studies, whilst at the same time continuing to aggressively explore for new nickel discoveries.