ASX-listed explorer Panther Metals has just ticked over the halfway mark in its maiden 6,000 metre drill campaign targeting nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the company’s flagship Coglia project. The company’s Coglia tenure sits just 70 kilometres east of Glencore’s Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt processing plant within the Laverton region of WA. First assays have been submitted, testing the prospectivity of the laterite hosted nickel-cobalt mineralisation.
Just over 3,000m of RC drilling has been conducted at the 100 per cent owned Coglia project to date since the program commenced in December last year, fresh off the back of an IPO less than a week earlier.
A JORC exploration target was previously estimated by Geomin Services in June 2021 for Coglia showing a 30 to 50 million tonne deposit at an average grade of 0.6 to 0.8 per cent nickel and 400 to 600 parts per million cobalt based on historical drilling at Coglia. Heron Resources controlled the area from 2001 to 2003 and punched 20 RC holes into it for a total of 1,562m, delineating a horizon of nickel laterite mineralisation.
Following Heron’s reign, the Coglia project experienced very little love until White Cliff Minerals rolled the air core rig in for a 48-hole program totalling 2,866m in 2018. The drilling also intersected the layer of nickel enrichment in the weathered, lateritic material previously defined at depths between 40m and 70m.
Significant previous drill intercepts at the Coglia nickel-cobalt project include 6m grading 2.5 per cent nickel and 808ppm cobalt and a 6m hit going 1.57 per cent nickel and 2,170ppm cobalt.
Drilling at Coglia aims to generate a maiden nickel-cobalt mineral resource estimate whilst exploring the potential for deeper seated mineralisation at the project. The work is also intended to yield material for metallurgical, mineralogical and environmental studies.
The maiden drill campaign makes up the first part of an extensive two-year exploration program designed to pepper Panther’s nickel, gold and cobalt prospects with holes at its east Laverton tenure.
Glencore’s behemoth Murrin Murrin plant located nearby also hosts a nickel-cobalt laterite deposit that it is currently mining. Glencore reported reserve figures at Murrin Murrin in 2018 grading approximately 1.05 per cent nickel and approximately 800ppm cobalt.
Panther Metals Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Tuffin said:
"We commenced the drill programme on 16 December 2021, just four business days after listing the Company. Given the Christmas and New Year breaks, some fairly inclement weather and having to mitigate the ever-increasing COVID difficulties, I’m very pleased with the progress of the drilling to date."
Panther leaped off the IPO listing board late last year and got stuck straight into a drilling blitz at its flagship nickel project. With a major operator like Glencore also mining nickel laterite within a pitching wedge distance and historical drill data showing solid shallow nickel hits, at face value at least panther looks to be in a good address.
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By Matt Birney
