Western Mines reveals 4.35% nickel surprise at monster WA project

Western Mines has unearthed a fresh set of high-grade nickel sulphide drilling results at its flagship Mulga Tank project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, with fresh assays returning the second-highest grade ever recorded at the site.

The standout result came from one hole, which delivered a one metre-section grading a massive at 4.35 per cent nickel, 0.17 per cent cobalt, 0.19 per cent copper and 0.29 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum with palladium from 289 metres.

The supercharged slice sits within a broader mineralised intercept of 27m at 0.61 per cent nickel from 273m, which, in turn, is wrapped inside a whopping 225-metre zone averaging 0.32 per cent nickel from 93 metres.

Management says the results from this deep hole have come as a welcome surprise, since the hole was originally designed only as part of an infill drilling program within the current resource area. The company now believes the discovery of such high-grade mineral accumulations could hint at a much bigger system, with potential to host further significant massive sulphide mineralisation beyond the known disseminated nickel resource.

The scale of the project is already immense. Western has outlined a resource of almost 2 billion tonnes, containing 5.3 million tonnes of nickel, 257,000 tonnes of cobalt, 161,000 tonnes of copper, alongside a rich endowment of 1.1 million ounces of platinum and palladium. The sheer scale puts the Mulga Tank project among Australia’s largest nickel sulphide deposits.

The company also reported strong results from two other phase-four reverse-circulation holes. The second hole returned a chunky 104m at 0.29 per cent nickel from 115m, featuring a higher-grade one-metre hit running at 1.26 per cent nickel from 125m.

A third hole produced a whopping 200- metre interval grading 0.29 per cent nickel, confirming the continuity of the mineralised system.

Hole MTRC069 again shows we can expect surprises and higher-grade results as we increase the drilling density within this mineralised system.

Similar to previous findings, the host rock encountered in these holes consisted of high temperature adcumulate dunite, which is often associated with major nickel systems such as BHP’s Mount Keith and Perseverance mines in WA’s Northern Goldfields. The presence of “live” magmatic sulphide processes is supported by elevated concentrations of copper and platinum-group elements alongside nickel.

The area surrounding the hole hosting the rich 4.35 per cent nickel hit has now been designated as a high-priority follow-up zone. Notably, it sits just 225 metres from a previous hole that recorded the project’s best copper result of 1 metre at 4.88 per cent from 293 metres. This leaves a major untested gap, which Western Mines says it is extremely eager to explore.

Unsurprisingly, given the aftermath of cyclone Narrelle, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Rain, road closures and even fuel shortages have slowed progress, driving the company to switch some of its drilling to less fuel-intensive diamond rigs to keep the program ticking over.

The company is now moving immediately into a phase five exploration program, with 32 holes planned across 10,000 metres. These high-grade zones will now be a major focus alongside plans to plunge 25 holes into the main body of the deposit, as the company looks to unlock the full potential of this massively under-explored greenstone belt.

With over 25 shallow intersections of more than one per cent nickel now identified across a 2-square-kilometre area, it hints at the potential for higher-grade accumulations lurking within the broader mineralised package – the kind of sweet spots that can transform a project.

For a company still with a modest market cap of less than $25M, Mulga Tank is shaping as a project with genuine scale and growing signs of quality. The wide mineralised zones provide the bulk, while those high-grade hits are beginning to whisper the possibility of something much bigger.

If Western Mines can continue to stitch together these higher-grade pockets within its vast mineralised system, Mulga Tank could quickly move from an interesting exploration story to one that demands far closer market attention.

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