Latest news with #WesternMinesGroup
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Western Mines at starting blocks for extensive Mulga Tank exploration
Phase 4 drilling at Mulga Tank is aimed at infilling and extending the mineral resource estimate DY6 has identified visible natural rutile, including large residual nuggets, at Central Rutile project in Cameroon Six new gold anomalies have been identified at the Burbanks East project in WA's Goldfields Your standout small cap resources stocks for Friday, July 4, 2025 Western Mines Group (ASX:WMG) At the starting blocks for the resumption of exploration at Mulga Tank nickel-cobalt-copper-PGE project in WA's Eastern Goldfields is Western Mines Group, which increased 40% to 28c. A team has mobilised to the site on the Minigwal Greenstone Belt to prepare for a phase 4 RC drilling program aimed at infilling and extending the mineral resource estimate within the main body of the Mulga Tank Complex. The 1.968Bt MRE for Mulga Tank contains 5.3Mt of nickel, 257,000t of cobalt, 161,000t of copper and 1.1Mt of platinum+palladium. WMN also plans high-impact diamond drilling targeting the western margin of the complex following a prospectivity review of the basal contact. The extensive exploration program in the second half of 2025, funded by a recent $1.287m capital raise and $440,000 in WA Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grants, will include a Down Hole ElectroMagnetic (DHEM) survey and follow-up diamond drilling around MTRC046 which previously returned shallow high-grade intersections. Two diamond holes targeting komatiite channels within tenement E39/2134 will be drilled with the aid of an EIS grant and a further EIS-funded deep diamond hole will test revised interpretation and a basal MobileMT anomaly in the centre of the complex. A DHEM survey crew is scheduled to mobilise to site in the coming weeks to survey a number of phase 3 RC holes including MTRC046 5m that returned 1.92% Ni and 0.21% Cu from 283m, and MTRC055 with 4m at 1.16% Ni and 0.13% Cu from 182m, including 1m at 2.46% Ni and 0.43% Cu from 183m. Ongoing exploration modelling, targeting work and results from the DHEM surveys will likely add further drill holes as the programs progress. 'The team is looking forward to getting back on site to commence further drilling at the Mulga Tank Project,' WMG MD Dr Caedmon Marriott said. 'It has been just under nine months since we completed the phase 3 RC program and the company has tried to carefully manage capital through the current trough in nickel prices. 'We've planned a combination of further RC and diamond drilling for the third quarter of 2025. 'With a significant initial mineral resource defined, the company can now 'swing the bat' a bit with further diamond holes testing for basal massive sulphide accumulations in what we believe is a hybrid Type 1-2 system. DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) A strong performance from DY6 Metals, which moved 35.6% higher to 21c and has more than doubled this week, prompted a price and volume query from the ASX with the company now in a trading halt pending a response. On June 30, DY6 announced that it had identified visible natural rutile, including large residual nuggets, at the Central Rutile project within the Bounde licence in Cameroon. The rutile was observed in alluvial and eluvial sources in a new area during a reconnaissance sampling program with the nuggets ranging in size from 2cm to more than 4cm. Heavy minerals and residual rutile mineralisation were encountered over a 100km2 area. The reconnaissance program consisted of some auger drilling and the collection of channel, surface grab and stream sediment samples. Samples are being prepped for laboratory analysis in Cape Town, South Africa, with results expected in the September quarter. The identification of rutile across the entire tenement package is highly encouraging for DY6 as it confirms that this region is an emerging, globally significant rutile province. 'The reconnaissance program has been a great success, having identified visual HM and rutile mineralisation across each licence,' technical consultant Cliff Fitzhenry said. 'What we have uncovered at the Bounde licence is particularly exciting. I have never seen rutile nuggets of this size before.' The target mineralisation type at Central Rutile is in-situ, residual, saprolite-hosted natural rutile analogous to Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) Tier-1 Kasiya deposit in Malawi – the world's largest primary rutile deposit at 1.8Bt at 1.0% rutile. The project borders Peak Minerals (ASX:PUA) Minta rutile project where initial sampling revealed valuable heavy minerals up to 93% of total heavy minerals, with the dominant VHMs being rutile (up to 69.8%). Exploration is moving to the next phase with a systematic regional soil sampling program seeking to identify areas of higher-grade residual rutile. Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM) Hitting a new 12-month high of 3.5c, a jump of 75% on the previous close, was Future Battery Minerals after an extensive review of historical exploration drilling and surface sampling data at the Burbanks East project in WA's Goldfields identified six new gold anomalies. Investigation into shallow aircore and rotary blast drilling conducted by companies such as Croesus Mining, Monarch Resource, Mt Kersey Mining and Cazaly Resources, highlighted a number of gold intercepts within regolith including: 8m at 3.37g/t gold from 32m; 6m at 1.84g/t Au from 44m; and 10m at 0.9g/t Au from 36m, including 2m at 3.1g/t Au. While most of the drilling is shallow and wide spaced, many of the anomalous intercepts are poorly understood or not closed out and remain open to future testing. FBM managing director and CEO Nick Rathjen said Burbanks East represented a compelling exploration opportunity complementary to its existing gold focused exploration strategy at Miriam. 'We see Burbanks East adding further gold upside to the Coolgardie project and are currently undertaking a litho-structural review targeting prospective bedrock structures and intrusions to generate drill-ready targets at the project.' Cavalier Resources (ASX:CVR) The appointment of Colin Bald as general manager of operations for the Crawford Gold Project near Leonora in WA has seen Cavalier Resources garner some investor support with shares at 23.5c, a 17.5% lift on the previous close. Bald brings more than 30 years of experience in the start-up, operation and closure of open pit projects worldwide, including experience in gold in WA in quarry manager and mine superintendent roles. He will contract to CVR through his company, Quarry Management Services WA, and will transition from Perth-based work to the Crawford site as the start-up of stage 1 nears. The company recently revised a PFS, incorporating higher gold prices and updating the mining and heap leach capital cost estimates, generating the following outputs: Stage 1 project life 18 months; Capital payback 9 months; Gross revenue A$103.6m; Production of 23,467 recovered ounces, Lowest quartile C1 AISC of A$1,574/oz, C3 AISC of A$1,793; NPV8 of A$51.7m; and IRR of 580%. Peak Minerals (ASX:PUA) After raising $3.5 million through a strategic placement to a European-based investor at 3.5c per share Peak Minerals reached 5.4c, a new high of more than six years and an increase of 25.6% on the previous close. 'This $3.5 million placement represents a strong endorsement of the scale and potential of the Minta rutile project and provides the funding necessary to accelerate exploration and development activities on the ground in Cameroon,' Peak Minerals CEO Casper Adson said: "Importantly, the placement was completed with no discount to the last market closing price, which happened to be at a multi-year high, and will be subject to a voluntary escrow of 12 months from the date of issue, reflecting strong confidence in the Minta rutile project. 'The support from a strategic European-based investor highlights the increasing international interest in Peak Minerals and underscores the significance of the high-value rutile, monazite and zircon discovery at Minta.'
West Australian
30-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Western Mines targets further growth at huge Goldfields nickel deposit
Western Mines Group is returning to the fray at its 5.3-million-tonne contained nickel project at Mulga Tank, 190 kilometres east-northeast of Kalgoorlie, to begin its next round of exploration drilling. The program will include reverse circulation drilling to infill and potentially extend the company's remarkable nickel-cobalt-copper-platinum-palladium resource, as well as further diamond drilling to test high-impact targets. Western Mines believes its April mineral resource estimate represents the biggest nickel sulphide deposit in Australia and could easily find itself among the top 10 nickel sulphide resources in the world. The total combined inferred and indicated mineral resource at a 0.2 per cent nickel cutoff grade amounts to 1.97 billion tonnes at 0.27 per cent nickel, 131 parts per million (ppm) cobalt, 82ppm copper and 17 parts per billion combined platinum plus palladium group elements (PGE). Translated to metals, the total combined resource contains 5.3Mt of nickel, 257,000t cobalt, 161,000t copper and 1.1 million ounces of combined platinum and palladium. The delivery of this inaugural combined mineral resource estimate about 2.5 months ago was a transformational milestone for the project and the company. While its scale is eye-popping at this stage, more remarkably, the results represent only a modest proportion of the total apparent prospective volume swept by drilling to date, which has mostly focussed on the central zone of the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex. Drilling planned for the second half of the year will involve a combination of new reverse circulation and diamond drill holes, funded by the company's recent capital raise in May and three state government Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grants for the Mulga Tank project. The upcoming work will be the company's fourth reverse circulation program and is designed primarily to test south of the previous central area of drilling. WMG will also put in some infill holes within the current resource estimate in the main body of the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex. Western Mines has already pre-collared four of the reverse circulation holes, which are about 300 metres south of the previous block of drilling undertaken in a phase three program. More holes are planned to infill between the two areas of indicated mineral resource to increase the company's resource confidence. Subject to the results, another fence of seven or more holes might be drilled immediately south of the current resource to extend the mineral resource. The company says the step-out drilling will target new areas to identify higher grade nickel which could offer shallow zones of about 0.40 per cent nickel as 'starter pits'. Further diamond drilling will follow-up on high-grade results from a previous hole in September that hit 5m at 1.92 per cent nickel and 0.21 per cent cobalt. These additional holes will target the western margin of the Mulga Tank complex to follow-up results of the company's prospectivity review of the basal architecture and its mapping of high-grade and high-tenor massive sulphide globules Marriott says the company's exciting results from its review of the basal architecture and frequent occurrences of massive sulphide globules has led it back to the western margin of the complex. Two diamond holes will chase up results from two regional reverse circulation holes. WMG's first regional-scale belt-wide drilling program, northwest of the main area of resource drilling, set out to test the interpreted komatiite channel system, which radiates mainly north and northwest from the main body of the ultramafic. The two holes will test the 1.3km-long body interpreted from aeromagnetic imagery and will attempt to capture the stratigraphy of the komatiite system and target basal contact that wasn't reached with the shallower reverse circulation holes. The company also plans to put a diamond tail onto a previous reverse circulation hole that ended in mineralisation. A further deep diamond hole will be drilled via the EIS scheme to test the basal contact of the complex and target the far eastern portion of a conductive MobileMT anomaly 'grazed' by a previous diamond drill hole. That hole returned 96m at 0.40 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt 1208m downhole, including 38m at 0.56 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt from 1262m. Within the hit, an 8m section went 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.018 per cent cobalt from 1270m at a corresponding depth to the anomaly. Those results, from heavily disseminated sulphide mineralisation, may represent Perseverance-style 'cloud' nickel sulphides named after those seen at Leinster, 330km north of Kalgoorlie and which could be close to a basal massive sulphide accumulation. Diamond drilling at Mulga Tank has also revealed textures characteristic of Type-2 disseminated nickel sulphide systems, which are exemplified by Western Australia's Mount Keith nickel deposit, 80km south of Wiluna in WA. These dual styles suggest that Mulga Tank could be a hybrid system, where different settling mechanisms of the sulphides took place, and that greatly increases the system's prospectivity. It could also point to possible significant basal accumulations of massive and matrix-type sulphide. The company has arranged for a down-hole electro-magnetic (DHEM) survey team to mobilise to site shortly to run the probe down some of its phase three reverse circulation holes, including the high-grade hole that yielded 5m at 1.92 per cent nickel and 0.21 per cent copper from 283m. The survey will also test a second hole that ran 4m at 1.16 per cent nickel and 0.13 per cent copper from 182m, including 1m at 2.46 per cent nickel and 0.43 per cent copper from 183m. Results from the survey will be used to plan follow-up diamond holes looking to twin higher grade reverse circulation holes and/or target off-hole conductors, potentially indicating thicker intersections of shallow massive sulphide material. They will also help the company follow-up other diamond holes in these areas. If this new program is as successful as the company's previous campaigns, Mulga Tank will almost certainly continue to yield a host of intriguing intercepts from its lateral extensions, the regional komatiitic channels and its deeper massive sulphide zones. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Western Mines receives EIS funding for Mulga Tank project in Australia
Australian mining company Western Mines Group has received two awards totalling A$440,000 ($281,256) for further drilling at the Mulga Tank nickel-copper-platinum group elements project in Western Australia (WA). The financial support was granted under the WA State Government's Co-funded Exploration Drilling Programme, part of the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS). The company was successful in both of its two applications in EIS Round 31. The Mulga Tank project is located on the Minigwal Greenstone Belt in the Eastern Goldfields region of WA. The first award of a maximum of A$220,000 was allocated to drill a deep exploration hole within the main body of the Mulga Tank complex, targeting a sulphide-enriched area near higher-grade geochemical results. The second maximum award of A$220,000 will support drilling two diamond holes to explore a komatiite channel system within tenement E39/2134, located north of the main body of the Mulga Tank complex. Western Mines plans to commence drilling any time after 1 June 2025, as part of its exploration plans for the year. The latest funding will enable Western Mines to drill another deep diamond hole over 1.5km, following up on previous successful drilling programme aided by EIS awards in Rounds 26 and 28. Western Mines started deep diamond drilling at its Mulga Tank project in April last year. The upcoming hole aims to target the eastern portion of the MobileMT anomaly at the base of the intrusion. In addition to the main body drilling, the company will drill two diamond holes to investigate a 1.3km-long komatiite body, aiming to reach the basal contact not previously accessed by shallower reverse circulation holes. This drilling will record the stratigraphy of the komatiite system and target visible nickel sulphide mineralisation. Western Mines Group chairman Rex Turkington said: 'Once again, congratulations and great work by Caedmon, Ben and the exploration team in our fourth successful EIS application round – especially to again receive two awards in this round, both for the maximum amount of $220,000 for deep diamond drilling. The first award will be used to drill another exciting deep hole aimed at testing the significant MobileMT target at the base of the Mulga Tank Complex. The second award will step out to test the komatiite channels up the belt, looking to capture the stratigraphy of the system and target the basal contact. Previous EIS drilling has been very successful and we hope that continues.' The Australian Government has offered A$11.2m across three EIS programmes including Round 31, Series 8 of the Energy Analysis Programme (EAP) and Venture 2 of the Co-funded Geophysics Programme. A total of 49 projects will be funded with A$7.8m for drilling, 25 geophysics ventures with A$3.2m and three EAP projects with A$200,000. "Western Mines receives EIS funding for Mulga Tank project in Australia" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
West Australian
28-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
$440K govt grant to extend Western Mines Goldfields drilling program
Western Mines Group has been granted two applications under the WA Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) for a total of $440,000 to co-fund more drilling at the company's Mulga Tank nickel-copper project in the Eastern Goldfields. Both awards comprise the maximum 50 per cent co-funding available under the government incentive program and were awarded within a competitive application process. WMG will put the funding towards the direct drilling costs of three diamond holes to further test the main body of the company's Mulga Tank complex and an interpreted komatiite channel system that is 8.2 kilometres northwest of the complex. The work will include a 1500-metre deep diamond hole into the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex to follow up results from a previous diamond drilling program and an EIS-funded hole that was drilled last year. The new hole, designated EIS8, will target the eastern portion of a Mobile magneto-telluric anomaly at the base of the intrusion. It will pass close to higher grade geochemical results from a previous diamond hole put into the zone. WMG believes the targeted zone could represent a sulphide-enriched keel and/or a feeder vent for the overall intrusion. The company has also designed two more diamond drill holes to probe to about 700m depth in one of the numerous elongate inferred komatiitic channels in its contiguous exploration licence, about 8.2km northwest of the proposed single deep hole. Komatiite rocks are a type of ultramafic mantle-derived volcanic rock defined as having crystallised from a lava of at least 18 per cent magnesium oxide and containing low silicon, potassium and aluminium and high to extremely high magnesium. The rare rocks almost all formed during the Archaean Eon, between 4.03–2.5 billion years ago, although a few younger examples are known. Geographically, komatiites are mainly distributed to Archaean shield areas – including Mulga Tank for example - and occur with other ultramafic and high-magnesian mafic volcanic rocks in Archaean greenstone belts. WMG first tested the Mulga Tank channel system during a belt-wide reverse circulation drilling program last year. The two new holes will follow up the results of two holes drilled under a previous EIS grant into one of the elongate zones. They will test a body interpreted from aeromagnetic imagery to be about 1.3km long and which drilling confirms as high-magnesium oxide olivine cumulate/dunite and komatiite lithologies, with visible nickel sulphide mineralisation. The planned holes will examine the stratigraphy of the komatiite system and target basal contact that last year's reverse circulation holes did not reach. The company has undertaken various diamond and reverse circulation drilling programs at its Mulga Tank project over the past two years, which have demonstrated significant nickel sulphide mineralisation and an extensive nickel sulphide mineral system within the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex. The company's exploration has included three deep co-funded diamond holes drilled with the aid of its EIS grants in rounds 26 and 28 of the State Government's co-funded exploration drilling program. Previous EIS awards have been instrumental in the discovery of an extensive nickel sulphide mineral system within the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex. The proposed deep EIS hole, EIS8, will look to test the basal contact of the complex and will target the eastern portion of a conductive MobileMT anomaly that was 'grazed' by a non-EIS hole. That hole returned 96m at 0.40 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt from 1208m, including 38m at 0.56 per cent nickel and 0.016 per cent cobalt from 1262m, and 8m at 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.018 per cent cobalt from 1270m at a depth corresponding to the MT anomaly. These results are hosted within heavily disseminated sulphide mineralisation that could represent Perseverance-style 'cloud' sulphides occurring near a basal massive sulphide accumulation. WMG has carefully planned a mix of the two drilling methods at Mulga Tank, using reverse circulation rigs to scout and infill previous drilling and then to prove-up the extent of shallow disseminated nickel sulphide mineralisation. The outcome of this work is reflected in the company's giant mineral resource modelling released two weeks ago, containing an eye-watering estimated 5.3 million tonnes of contained nickel, 257,000t cobalt, 161,000t copper and 1.1M ounces combined platinum and palladium. The resource included a stunning combined indicated and inferred total of 1.97 billion tonnes at 0.27 per cent nickel, 131 parts per million (ppm) cobalt, 82ppm copper and 17 parts per billion combined platinum and palladium. WMG's diamond drilling program comprises specific areas of investigation by testing deeper targets for basal massive sulphides potentially hosting nickel, copper and platinum group elements. So far, the company has only drilled the relatively shallow disseminated zone within the more densely drilled parts of its central grid over the complex. Ample space is indicated across the magnetic signature of the central complex area for lateral extensions of this zone. Additionally, the company has only scratched the edge of the possible significance of the multiple north and northwest trending multiple komatiitic feeder/channel system that radiates outwards from the main complex for as much as 15km. And the company has yet to flesh out the extent of the deeper massive sulphide system that may be lurking at depth in or near the keel of the intrusive complex. The next deep hole will help resolve this. Under the terms of the two EIS grants, WMG can kick off drilling of the latest holes from June 1 and the work will be included in its exploration plans for the year. The current nickel price has increased by US$305 (A$478) per tonne since the beginning of the year and is currently US$15,606 (A$24,458) per tonne, offering a great portent for the project's potential. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
