Toro Energy says geochemical analysis of assays from a hole drilled at its Dusty nickel project show two additional zones of nickel sulphides that extend its existing mineralisation closer to the surface.
The company says the first zone shows a 4.6m massive nickel sulphides intercept going 1.61 per cent nickel and 0.22 per cent copper, in addition to 0.56 grams per tonne of platinum and palladium from 194.2m at the base of the Dusty komatiite.
Analysis shows the second zone includes 9m of blebby and disseminated nickel sulphides closer to the top of the Dusty komatiite grading 0.79 per cent nickel from 162m, including a 3m hit at 1.09 per cent nickel from 166m.
The results came from drilling at the company’s Dimma prospect and indicate a continuous lens of massive nickel sulphide mineralisation at least 112m in down-dip lengths and remaining open at depth. The company says the analysis shows there is the potential for lenses of different mineralisation additional to the massive and semi-massive nickel sulphides associated with the base of the komatiite.
Toro Energy executive chairman Richard Homsany said: “We are delighted with the pipeline of stunning results being delivered from drilling at the Dimma nickel discovery. Encouragingly, two zones of Ni-sulphide mineralisation, including a lower zone of massive Ni-sulphide has been confirmed at Dimma, extending the known nickel mineralisation at the Dusty Project further towards the surface.”
Dimma is one of four nickel sulphide discoveries in a 7.5km-long komatiite rock unit at Toro’s wholly-owned Dusty nickel project in Western Australia’s northern Goldfields region. It sits 50km east of the world-class Mt Keith nickel mine, which had an original resource of 647 million tonnes at 0.52 per cent nickel. Owned by BHP, Mount Keith is a bulk-tonnage nickel mine with remaining resources of 224 million tonnes going 0.53 per cent nickel.
The company has had previous success targeting its nickel-rich komatiite, with adjoining deposits at Jumping Jack, Houli Dooley and Dusty all sitting on the same north-south trending area of mineralisation. Headline results from the other discoveries at the project include 9m at 2.07 per cent nickel from 250.9m at Dusty. Houli Dooley returned 3.05m grading 1.59 per cent nickel from 297.75m.
Earlier this month, laboratory results confirmed the massive nickel sulphides at Dimma are double the thickness previously modelled on x-ray fluorescence scoping data. Analysis showed 4.31m of massive and semi-massive nickel-sulphide grading 1.37 per cent nickel, 0.13 per cent copper and 0.539g/t platinum and palladium from 332m.
Toro says all four discoveries to date within the Dusty nickel project remain open at depth and along strike in just 2km of the Dusty komatiite. Management believes further drilling will continue to prove up the “district-scale” potential of the impressive operation.
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By Michael Philipps
