- An airborne survey at Lort River has identified five mineral-rich zones within Lort River
- The conductors indicate the presence of valuable sulphide minerals, akin to those found in IGO’s Nova-Bollinger operations
- Terrain Minerals is planning a ground-based electromagnetic (EM) survey to further investigate these promising targets
Special report: An airborne electromagnetic survey completed over Terrain Minerals’ Lort River project has identified five high-priority bedrock conductors within the same mineralised belt as IGO’s Nova-Bollinger mining operations.
Terrain Minerals’ (ASX:TMX) Lort River project covers 320km2 within the heart of the Albany-Fraser Belt in southwest WA amongst a proven host of company-making deposits.
Home to the 5Moz Tropicana Gold project, the belt also plays host to the Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper deposit, which was discovered by Sirius Resources (former ASX code SIR) in 2012 and was subsequently purchased by Independence Group (ASX: IGO) for $1.8b.
The discovery of the Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper deposit was a result of Sirius Resources recognising the importance of an ‘eye’ feature within the aeromagnetic images over their Fraser Range tenement, which proved to be the geophysical signature of the intrusion associated with the nickel-copper ore bodies.
TMX’s focus initially homed in on rare earth elements (REEs) but has now switched towards testing the ‘eye’ feature on the granted E63/2447 tenement.
Five mineral-rich zones akin to IGO’s Nova Bollinger
An airborne electromagnetic survey has revealed five potential mineral-rich zones within Lort River, indicating the presence of valuable sulphide minerals akin to those found in IGO’s Nova Bollinger operations.
Geological analysis suggests the ‘eye’ feature at Lort River may share a similar mafic intrusion origin as the Nova-Bollinger deposits.
Importantly, two of these bedrock conductors (targets LRT0-01 and LRT-02) appear to sit on the western edge of the ‘eye’ feature at Lort River being a similar position to the late-time electromagnetic conductors associated with Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper ore bodies.
TMX has started discussions with ground geophysical contractors and landowners in relation to undertaking a ground-based electromagnetic (EM) survey and completing a soil geochemical survey over these conductors during the second half of this calendar year.
The company believes this work will be essential – while AEM results are very encouraging as conductors are prospective for massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation, they may also be related to other conductive minerals.
At the forefront of Nova-style search
“The hunt for the next Nova-style magmatic nickel-copper deposit in the Albany-Fraser Belt1 is intensifying, and we believe we are at the forefront of this search,” TMX executive director Justin Virgin says.
“IGO’s success with Nova has shown that these highly valuable ore bodies are not isolated occurrences but part of a broader, richly mineralised region.
“The fact that IGO invested $1.8 billion in Nova when nickel prices were significantly lower highlights the immense potential of these deposits.
“Our recent airborne geophysical survey has revealed compelling evidence that the southern half of the Albany-Fraser Belt could be just as promising as the northern region where Nova was discovered.
“The presence of late time bedrock conductors within a Nova look-alike ‘eye’ feature at our Lort River Project strongly supports our belief that we’re in the right location to make a potential new discovery.”
What’s coming up?
Following the completion of these ground-based surveys, TMX intends to drill test the conductors which, subject to landowner approval, is scheduled to occur during the fourth quarter of 2024.
TMX has also been actively exploring multiple targets using various geological techniques over the Smokebush tenement package, exploring for multiple commodities including gold, gallium and REEs.
Three historical gold targets are currently under assessment for potential drilling.
A first pass aircore program consisting of ~41 holes is due to kick off in late August at the Wildflower gold project in WA’s Murchison province.
TMX’s Wildflower asset represents the southern extension of the company’s Smokebush project and is positioned south of Warriedar Resources’ (ASX: WA8) Ricciardo gold system and within proximity to Red 5’s (ASX: RED) Rothsay gold mine.
This article was developed in collaboration with Terrain Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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