The Alice Downs Corridor is located within a 20km radius of the Company’s 100% owned Panton Project and made up of the confirmed nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation targets including Eileen Bore and Salk Projects as well as the Palamino Project (held under Octava JV refer ASX announcement 17 January 2023).
The 18km long Alice Downs Corridor is characterised by a series of differentiated pyroxenite, and gabbroic intrusions emplaced along a structural corridor, the Alice Downs Fault, which represents a major north-northeast trending splay off the deep-seated, mantle tapping, Halls Creek Fault.
Broad zones of disseminated and net-textured copper and nickel sulphides occur within the host intrusions and are comprised of chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite and pyrite. The previously mined Copernicus deposit is one such example.
A majority of the project area is under cover which has limited the effectiveness of historical surface sampling. There is significant potential for blind deposits with no surface anomalism. There is an extensive exploration dataset for parts of the tenement area including geophysical surveys; magnetics, gravity, Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic (“VTEM”) and Induced Polarisation (“IP”) which concentrated at the Eileen Bore Prospect. The main focus of historic drilling within the Company’s tenure has been on the near surface mineralisation at Eileen Bore.
Review of historical drilling combined with geophysical and structural interpretations has identified multiple mineralised bodies that have a NW plunge proximal to the Alice Downs Fault, with historic drilling ineffectively testing these targets.
Figure One: Regional Plan showing main targets along Alice Downs Corridor 18km strike
Eileen Bore Prospect
The Eileen Bore Prospect is an advanced exploration target with drilling confirming wide zones of consistent Cu-Ni-PGM mineralisation from surface along a known strike of approximately 300m. Mineralisation remains open down plunge and at depth, with mineralisation only tested to 96m.
A total of 5,761m over 60 holes have been drilled at Eileen Bore. This historical drilling demonstrated a disseminated Cu-Ni-PGM magmatic sulphide body within a gabbro-pyroxenite host that extends over ~300m of strike. Multiple holes have ended in mineralisation and modelling suggests mineralisation is focused within a synformal fold axis and is plunging to the north-northwest. Drilling down plunge remains open with scope for significant additional mineralization.
Historical drilling results include:
- 120m @ 0.73% Cu, 0.29% Ni & 0.86g/t PGM3E from 0m (EOH) (EBRC 010)
Incl. 16m @ 1.0% Cu, 0.36% Ni & 0.99g/t PGM3E from 100m - 96m @ 0.70% Cu, 0.29% Ni & 0.78g/t PGM3E from 24m (EOH) (EBRC 003)
Incl. 10m @ 1.08% Cu, 0.34% Ni & 1.04g/t PGM3E from 56m - 84m @ 0.54% Cu, 0.24% Ni & 0.75g/t PGM3E from 36m (EOH) (EBRC 011)
- 47m @ 0.62% Cu, 0.30% Ni & 0.60g/t PGM3E from 3m(AD07)
- 36m @ 0.53% Cu, 0.25% Ni & 0.59g/t PGM3E from 40m(EBRC 002)
- 64m @ 0.77% Cu, & 0.30% Ni from 32m (EoH) (EP09)
- 52m @ 0.74% Cu, & 0.29% Ni from 10m (EP08)
Additional compelling targets at Eileen Bore are to the northeast of the area that has been previously drilled, in an antiformal fold axis and to the south along the Alice Downs Fault in a synform. To the north, Drill Target 2 is based on coincident magmatic chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite mineralisation identified in peridotite rock chips by petrology and is associated with Ni-Cu, PGE and Au soil anomalism. There is no historic drill testing in the area.
To the south, Drill Target 3 is associated with the same coincident soil anomalism identified at Eileen Bore and Drill Target 2, which has also not been drill tested.
Figure Two: Cross section of drilling at Eileen Bore demonstrating mineralisation open at depth
Figure Three: Eileen Bore Prospect show 3 main drill areas: down plunge mineralisation from section A-A’ and Drill Targets 2 and 3
Additional Targets
The Salk Prospect is situated along strike to the north of Eileen Bore within in the same 100% owned exploration tenement. Historic drilling at Salk identified nickel-copper mineralisation in an ultramafic that is interpreted to be in a fault offset position from the Copernicus Mine. Results included 17m @ 0.31% Ni, 0.18% Cu from 36m (including 2m @ 0.68% Ni and 0.31% Cu). The current structural interpretation suggests mineralisation plunges to the northwest and drilling at Salk has only been to the south.
Further along strike to the north, within the farm in and joint venture with Octava Minerals Ltd (ASX:OCT) where FME is earning a 70% interest, is the Palamino prospect. Historic drilling confirmed a thick pyroxenite body dipping to the northwest that was not previously mapped. Disseminated sulphides were intersected with best results being 5m @ 0.39% Ni and 0.32% Cu in WCR016.
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