Dalaroo Metals has firmed up a series of compelling drill targets at its Watheroo copper-nickel-platinum group elements (PGE) project in WA’s mid-north Wheatbelt, after an induced polarisation (IP) survey lit up several anomalies coinciding with existing exploration indicators.
Watheroo sits on the western margin of the Yilgarn Craton, in a geological setting that was thrust into the spotlight in 2020 following Chalice Mining’s world-class Gonneville nickel-copper-PGE discovery at Julimar to the south. That discovery sparked a land rush along the craton margin, a region previously overlooked due to significant surface cover, and one that has since kept investor attention firmly on the belt for both base and precious metals.
The company says its new dipole-dipole IP survey, run over three lines for a total of 6.3 kilometres, has successfully defined a series of coincident chargeability, resistivity and magnetic features. The company says the findings have pinpointed key priority targets for a planned maiden reverse circulation (RC) drilling program.
Management believes the scale and consistency of chargeability responses across all three survey lines are highly encouraging and hint at a compelling convergence of geological, geochemical and geophysical evidence, all pointing to a potentially buried mafic-ultramafic intrusive system.
The combination of mapped olivine gabbro and serpentinite, a 7km-by-3km magnetic footprint, anomalous surface geochemistry and now a strong, steeply dipping induced polarisation response provides a compelling breadcrumb trail towards a potential magmatic sulphide system.
Importantly, the geophysical targets coincide with a previously defined copper-nickel soil anomaly that was extended by about 2km last month. That soil sampling returned peak values of 284 parts per million copper and 176 ppm nickel, in addition to anomalous platinum, palladium and gold.
Three-dimensional modelling of the new survey data shows the chargeability and conductive features remain open to the south and at depth, suggesting the system may extend beyond the current survey area.
Dalaroo Metals chief executive officer John Morgan said: “The Watheroo IP survey has materially strengthened our exploration model and, importantly, moved the project towards drill testing. We now have a compelling convergence of geological, geochemical and geophysical evidence across a very large intrusive system.”
With a suite of compelling targets now in hand, Dalaroo is planning a deep RC drilling program with holes up to 300m deep to provide the first systematic test of the deeper architecture at Watheroo. The company is also planning to complete a further 360 soil samples to help refine drill targets.
While the Watheroo project is shaping up to be a key local asset, the company is also advancing a diverse portfolio of projects across multiple jurisdictions. In southern Greenland, Dalaroo has been busy in the field, wrapping up its biggest-ever exploration campaign at the company’s Blue Lagoon rare earths project. The program has transformed what began as an early-stage concept into what the company believes is a well-defined regional rare earths system, throwing up four new prospects along the way. With more than 200 surface samples now sitting in the lab, a potentially hefty pipeline of news flow is waiting in the wings.
In Côte d’Ivoire meanwhile, the Perth junior has cleared the final hurdles for a major maiden drilling campaign at its Bondoukou Gold Ridge project. Freshly armed with $2.5 million from a recent capital raise, Dalaroo has cranked up the program from 10,000m to 12,000m, with the drill bit set to systematically pepper three priority gold targets strung along a compelling 7km-long gold trend.
With the drill bit now turning in Côte d'Ivoire, a maiden RC program at Watheroo next in line and assays pending in Greenland, the company has three distinctly different but equally promising shots on target. For now though, Watheroo offers the chance to pursue the kind of large-scale nickel-copper-PGE discovery that sent Chalice from 15c to $10 per share following its breakthrough at Julimar.
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By Andrew Todd
