Western Mines has locked in a lucrative lift from the Western Australian Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), snagging the maximum $250,000 grant available to junior explorers.

The funds will be used to fire up a seismic campaign at its Mulga Tank nickel–cobalt–copper–platinum group elements system on the eastern margin of the Yilgarn Craton, 150-200 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie.

The seismic survey will extend over an area of 35 square kilometres, aiming to peel back the geological layers of the deposit and pinpoint the deep-seated architecture of the ultramafic complex within the Minigwal Greenstone Belt.

The sub-surface campaign will focus on basal contacts and feeder zones that may host thick, high-grade massive sulphide accumulations, targeting the structural sweet spots where scale and grade can collide.

The company will roll out a carefully crafted grid, largely following existing tracks to minimise environmental disturbance. It will stitch together 100-line kilometres of data using 65 kilometres of active two-dimensional seismic lines 1 kilometre apart. This will then be supported by a further 35 kilometres of receiver-only lines infilling to 500-metre spacing to generate a pseudo three-dimensional seismic cube.

This tightly spaced setup is expected to deliver crisp, coherent imaging beyond 2000 metres depth, offering a rare window into the internal framework of the Mulga Tank intrusion and how it was laid down into the surrounding host rocks.

At the heart of the hunt is the basal contact, a prime geological trap where dense sulphide liquids can settle and concentrate into potentially mineable masses. These zones mirror the architecture of globally significant nickel sulphide camps such as the Perseverance deposit in Western Australia, providing a compelling analogue for exploration success. Western Mines will also use the seismics to root out potential feeder conduits and vents - magmatic highways that can channel metal-rich melts into favourable structural traps.

Notably, the program carries the added upside of potentially detecting massive sulphide bodies exceeding four metres in thickness. If realised, this could provide a powerful pre-drilling tool for spotlighting high-priority targets and stripping out much of the guesswork that often shadows deep exploration campaigns.

The results will then be layered over existing three-dimensional magnetic and gravity datasets, building a richer, more resolved geological model of the system. This integration may illuminate broader magma pathways through the Minigwal belt, de-risking future drilling programs and extending the exploration horizon well beyond the current footprint.

This survey will help unlock the 3D architecture of the Complex and combined with our other datasets will greatly aid our understanding and targeting of Perseverance-style basal massive sulphide accumulations.

Under the terms of the EIS, the grant will cover 50 per cent of the seismic survey costs. The work is expected to kick off mid-year, setting the stage for a pivotal push to unearth deeper, higher-grade massive sulphide potential within one of Australia’s largest nickel sulphide systems.

The seismic program comes as Mulga Tank continues to mature into a monster-scale nickel system. The project already hosts a 5.3-million-tonne contained nickel resource, placing it firmly among Australia’s heavyweight sulphide deposits, with sniffs of even greater upside at depth.

Recent drilling has delivered long runs of nickel-bearing ultramafics and sulphide mineralisation, steadily stepping out and drilling deeper to refine its geological model and home in on the high-grade engine room beneath the broad mineralised envelope.

Beyond the drill rig, Western Mines has been quietly building its strategic edge, securing additional ground along the fertile margins of the Yilgarn Craton.

The company also recently signed a deal to monetise hundreds of millions of tonnes of overburden at site with private technology firm Magnium Australia. The partnership will investigate the supply of magnesite from the deposit’s near-surface oxide cap.

Although the zone is currently classified as waste in the company’s resource model, Magnium believes it could become valuable feedstock for its plans to become a leading producer of low-carbon magnesium metal.

Western Mines says the upper 10-to-20 metres of the project’s dunite intrusive has weathered to form a magnesite-rich layer, with recent X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of samples from the zone returning magnesite grades of up to an eye-watering 48 per cent.

Mulga Tank remains the undisputed flagship for Western Mines. It anchors a broader portfolio spanning the Jasper Hill gold project, its Fraser Range nickel-copper-cobalt ground and the Mt Narryer and Youanmi prospects.

From a broader market lens, nickel sulphide deposits are increasingly prized for their ability to produce battery-grade material, as global supply continues to tighten from the insatiable demand of the electric vehicle and energy storage industries.

With the seismic study slated to kick off shortly, Western Mines appears poised to press deeper into its Mulga Tank play. If the survey delivers the structural clarity it promises, the company could find itself closing in on the kind of deep, high-grade discovery that transforms scale into serious shareholder value.

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