Impact Minerals has jumped back into drilling at its high-profile Broken Hill nickel-platinum group element project in New South Wales. The current program of RC drilling will follow up on previous high-grade platinum drill results and geochemical surveying across the project area with work set to focus on the company’s Platinum Springs and Little Broken Hill Gabbro prospects in addition to the stunning Red Hill discovery.
Impact’s Broken Hill nickel-copper-platinum group element, or “PGE” project is located around 10km south of the famous base metals mining centre of Broken Hill. The company’s tenure extends over more than 75km of strike, covering over 800 square kilometres of the mineral rich Curnamona Province.
Its reverse circulation, or “RC” drilling program is set to focus on the Platinum Springs prospect to the east of Broken Hill. Platinum Springs sits at the southern end of the 9km long Moorkai Dyke and hosts three target areas that are to be tested as part of the current program, namely Plat West, Plat Central and Platinum Springs itself.
Sampling along the entire strike length of the Moorkai Dyke has consistently returned high-grade surface samples with rock chipping regularly assaying at more than 6 g/t palladium and 5 g/t platinum. Notably, a 120 kg bulk sample from the workings at Platinum Springs tipped the scales at an extraordinary 50 g/t palladium and 19.6 g/t platinum – representing a significant incentive to set the drill loose on the high-grade target.
Impact’s modelling of the Platinum Springs prospect and the Moorkai Dyke is constantly evolving however it is currently suggesting a Kambalda-style channel target or perhaps a chonolith, which is an intrusive style of rock that forms an irregular shape. The company claims that whilst these styles of mineralisation can be challenging in the discovery phase, once exploration can be dialled in, these ore systems tend to be persistent to depth.
Impact’s first round of drilling at the main Platinum Springs prospect returned a number of solid intercepts including 2.75 metres at 7.0 g/t palladium, 3.5 g/t platinum, 2.0 per cent copper and 1.9 per cent nickel. The current drilling program will continue to expand on the company’s previous work, chasing the mineralised massive sulphide unit along strike to the north.
Drilling at the Plat West prospect, around 600 metres north west of the main Platinum Springs target, has previously returned drill intercepts of up to 1.52 metres at 4.3 g/t palladium, 3.0 g/t platinum, 1.3 per cent copper and 1.7 per cent nickel with the current drill program set to test the down plunge extensions of the mineralisation.
The company’s Plat Central prospect remains something of an enigma for Impact. The prospect lies only 300 metres to the east of Platinum Springs, with shallow historical drilling returning anomalous grades of platinum-palladium and gold.
The RC drilling program at the Plat Central prospect will test an important structural target modelled by Impact, which is considered to be similar in nature to the company’s Red Hill prospect. Red Hill shot to prominence in May of this year after drilling returned a number of outstanding intercepts including 29 metres at 5.1 g/t palladium, 2.5 g/t platinum, 2.3 per cent copper and 0.4 per cent nickel, igniting the market’s interest in the project area.
Aside from the Platinum Springs targets, Impact has flagged that it will undertake follow up drilling on the stunning Red Hill discovery in addition to its maiden RC drilling program over the Little Broken Hill Gabbro prospect, where unseasonably wet weather and difficult ground conditions have previously hindered exploration.
With a swag of platinum and palladium-rich drill results to follow up across the project area, Impact is well placed to continue its ingenious program at Broken Hill and with palladium continuing to reach record highs on an almost daily basis, Impact looks to be nailing down the right metal at the right time.
Palladium is currently trading at over US$2,200 per ounce.
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By Matt Birney
