Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) (AVL) has intersected visual gold and elevated copper, nickel, palladium and possibly platinum in drilling at the Coates Nickel-Copper-PGE Project within the Coates Mafic Intrusive Complex near Wundowie, northeast of Perth in Western Australia.
Results from 11-holes for 840.6 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed in May 2022 show the metals over a 200-metre wide zone with highlights from down hole intersections including:
10 metres at 0.13% copper, 493 parts per million (ppm) nickel, 39 parts per billion (ppb) palladium and 21 ppb platinum from 64 metres including 7 metres at 0.14% copper, 544 ppm nickel, 43 ppb palladium and 23 ppb platinum from 67 metres;
1-metre at 700 ppm nickel, 40 ppb palladium and 40 ppb platinum from 55 metres;
6 metres at 358 ppm nickel, 54 ppb palladium and 41 ppb platinum from 11 metres;
6 metres at 0.12% copper and 525 ppm nickel from 38 metres;
1-metre at 45 ppb palladium and 45 ppb platinum from 66 metres; and
1-metre at 60 ppb palladium and 55 ppb platinum from 81 metres.
The drilling was co-funded through the Western Australia Government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) to identify new nickel-copper-PGE discoveries in the prospective Wheatbelt region northeast of Perth.
Diamond drilling
The diamond drilling portion of the program was partially completed, with 169.6 metres of coring over three holes. Two diamond tails were finished and one abandoned before the full planned depth due to drilling equipment issues.
Multiple zones of sulphide can be seen in diamond core tails, identified by hand examination as containing pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite.
Another nine diamond tails are required to complete the stratigraphic fence, including re-drilling of the hole that was abandoned, and this will be completed pending the sale of the project to Mining Green Metals (MGM) announced in May, subject to its successful listing on the Australian Securities Exchange this year.
The drill line remains open and the Program of Work (PoW) approval remains active.
Significantly, the diamond core now available for the Australian Government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Nickel Indicator Study of the Coates Mafic Complex extends 350 to 500 metres further northeast into the intrusion, where surface nickel, platinum and chromium anomalism was previously identified.
Strongly encouraged
AVL managing director Vincent Algar said: “AVL’s focus is firmly on the development of the Australian Vanadium Project at Gabanintha and we are pleased to have completed this first important phase of discovery at Coates.
“The AVL team with the support of the CSIRO Nickel Indicator team are processing the diamond core and based on the visual and RC findings, are strongly encouraged by the first pass anomalism identified.
“Upon MGM’s successful listing, AVL shareholders will continue to hold a stake in further discovery in this very exciting region heralded by the identification of Julimar and other projects.
“The incoming MGM team will be able to dedicate significant focus and resources to the project. The suite of minerals discovered at Coates are currently in high and growing demand.”
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