Todd River Resources has uncovered extensive nickel-copper-PGE anomalism over the Eastern Intrusive Trend within its Berkshire Valley project, east of the wheatbelt town of Moora in Western Australia. Recent shallow auger sampling over the 7km-long Eastern Trend has delineated two priority targets, with the anomalies returning values up to 9,300 parts per million nickel, 900 ppm copper and 105.2 parts per billion platinum and palladium.
The company says the northern anomaly is more than 1.8km long and appears to lie along the eastern flank of an intrusive body that is interpreted to be a mafic-ultramafic unit. The anomaly consistently shows platinum and palladium values that are 10-to-15 times higher than background levels, averaging around 20 ppb platinum and palladium and pointing to the presence of underlying mineralisation. It also exhibits consistently high levels of coincident nickel and copper, adding further weight to the evolving target.
Intriguingly, Todd River’s find shows many of the hallmarks of the revered Julimar discovery that sits in the same terrane about 100km to the south.
Chalice’s emerging Gonneville deposit at Julimar is associated with a similar buried intrusive complex to that found in the Berkshire Valley and also extends across 2km of strike. Gonneville shows similar elevated palladium values, kicking at above 5ppb over the deposit and also shows elevated levels of nickel and copper mineralisation.
This set of common characteristics has no doubt shot the new Berkshire East discovery up Todd River’s priority list as it prepares for its next phase of exploration over the project in the weeks ahead.
Todd River says it is now preparing to expedite its work program over the new anomaly and with land access agreements in place it is securing a geophysical team to undertake moving loop electromagnetics, or “EM” across the anomaly. Results of the EM survey will assist in planning of future drilling.
In addition to the northern anomaly the company has also developed a significant target along the southern extensions of the Eastern Trend. Auger sampling in the south has outlined a 4km-long anomaly sitting on the northern eastern side of an intrusive unit. The anomaly shows coincident nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation, with platinum and palladium levels consistently topping 30ppb.
Interestingly, the company is still yet to receive all the assays from sampling over the southern anomaly and expects the target to grow as further results are received from the lab. In addition, Todd River says the nickel-PGE trend likely extends further to the south-west but is covered by deeper alluvial sediments. Potential extensions will be tested with drilling as exploration continues.
Previous work through the Berkshire Valley has focused on gold exploration over the Western Intrusive Trend, which extends for more than 40km through the company’s tenure. Todd River’s 2021 program has begun probing the western anomalies with both auger and shallow aircore drilling and has already outlined nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation along more than 8km of strike.
However, with recent auger and sampling outlining two extensive anomalies along the recently identified Eastern Trend and geochemistry returning a blistering nickel-copper-PGE signature, Todd River looks to be hot on the trail of the next sulphide discovery in this exciting new terrane in Western Australia.
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By Matt Birney
