Maximus primes up drills after Kambalda nickel find

Maximus Resources is set to embark on a new reverse circulation (RC) drilling program in WA’s Goldfields after finding shallow nickel deposits up to a credible high grade of 1.2 per cent at its newly-discovered Misho prospect.

The company drilled 19 air-core holes along strike at the prospect, which sits 25km south-west of BHP’s nickel concentrator near Kambalda. Misho is also located just 1km from former high-grade 1A nickel mine, Estrella Resources, which produced 112,000t at 3.8 per cent nickel from a 100-metre vertical shaft.

Maximus says nickel, copper and platinum group elements are in in the centre of an interpreted 350m komatiite channel. Initial priority assays include a 20m hit at 0.5 per cent nickel, 492 parts per million copper and 126 parts per billion platinum and palladium from 10m downhole, including 2m grading 1.2 per cent nickel, 1705ppm copper, 987ppm cobalt and 293ppb platinum and palladium.

The results have prompted management to pursue a nine-hole, 1200m RC drilling follow-up program to test the strike and plunge of the shallow nickel discovery. Drilling will focus on the apex of a magnetic flexure and the company hopes it will prove to be the bottom of a Kambalda-style nickel komatiite channel. A deeper RC hole is also planned for an electromagnetic survey designed to uncover zones of higher-density sulphide mineralisation.

The two-week drilling campaign is expected to start early next month, with assay results expected to be delivered in the latter half of May.

Maximus owns 80 per cent of the nickel rights at the Misho prospect, with the other 20 per cent taken by ASX-listed company, Essential Metals. Misho is also 5km north of and along the same komatiite basal contact as the Andrews Shaft nickel mine, which produced 310,000t grading 2.5 per cent nickel.

Maximus says it is encouraged by the elevated nickel, copper and platinum group elements and believes the gossan in the weathered zone suggests potential nickel sulphide origin at depth.

It is exciting at this early-stage exploration programme, to intersect strong nickel intervals and highly anomalous copper and PGEs, suggesting a nickel sulphide origin rather than lateritic supergene enrichment of nickel, indicating the potential discovery of a fertile mineralised komatiite channel. We are excited to start the follow-up reverse circulation drill programme at Misho in the coming weeks.

The company says it has the funds to now pursue systematic gold and nickel exploration programmes, while also anxiously awaiting the remaining assay results for Misho and the other gold and nickel targets drilled during its recent 4250m air-core program. The campaign was designed to target nickel sulphide path-finder elements such as copper and platinum along an interpreted komatiite channel basal contact position.

A major key to Maximus’ hopes is that historic drilling in the area is believed to have only intersected the flank of the mineralised channel. Management believes it has now defined the location of the komatiite basal contact by pinpointing associated nickel, copper and platinum group elements in the weathered zone – all of which suggests mineralised ultramafic rocks below.

Maximus tenements at Spargoville, where Misho is located, cover 16km of strike length at the nickel-prospective ultramafic belt, immediately north of Widgiemooltha – an area which is becoming hot property for shallow high-grade nickel discoveries.

Maximus’ latest discovery comes just a week after a significant nickel discovery by Dynamic Metals sent the West Perth-based company’s share price skyrocketing.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au