Metal Hawk (ASX:MHK) has entered into a binding agreement for an option to purchase the western Yarmany project tenements from Black Mountain Gold, a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ).
The company is reviewing historical data of the Yarmany Project with a ‘high level’ of systematic target-generating field activities scheduled for Q3-Q4 2023.
Metal Hawk plans to start drilling in H2 2023 and programs of work (PoWs) have been approved for much of this work.
As part of project rationalisation plans following the purchase of IGO’s (ASX:IGO) 51% joint venture interest in May 2023, Metal Hawk recently signed a binding term sheet to sell the Emu Lake project to privately held Raptor Minerals for 2 million $0.20 shares (payable upon listing on the ASX).
The company intends to focus future exploration work on the Yarmany, Berehaven, and Fraser South projects.
The Yarmany Project consists of 7 granted exploration licences with annual expenditure commitments totalling $175,000 per year. Access to the project is excellent via the Great Eastern Highway from Coolgardie.
The Yarmany project is located 40km north-west of Coolgardie in Western Australia and covers an area of 282km-square. The tenure has 50km of strike potential along the Ida Fault and is considered prospective for both nickel sulphide and lithium mineralisation.
Metal Hawk’s Managing Director Will Belbin says: “We are pleased to have secured this quality belt-scale nickel and lithium project, which complements our existing Goldfields portfolio. The Yarmany project has seen very little nickel sulphide exploration activities since the 1970s and limited lithium exploration. With a favourable geological setting along the Ida Fault, this large and contiguous tenement package presents as a tremendous discovery opportunity for the company.
Metal Hawk will be applying targeted exploration for nickel and lithium mineralisation and is aiming to fast-track plans for drilling in 2023.”
“Metal Hawk will be applying targeted exploration for nickel and lithium mineralisation and is aiming to fast-track plans for drilling in 2023″
The majority of historical drilling at Yarmany is limited to regional gold exploration. More recently and since the grant of the tenements, Horizon has completed a total of 2,617m of aircore (AC) and 1,550m of reverse circulation (RC) drilling across the project.
Only sparse nickel sulphide exploration has been carried out on the project since the 1970s. This work was done prior to the modern and game-changing geophysical methods of electromagnetic (EM) surveying, which is now used by nickel explorers to great effect to detect conductive responses caused by massive nickel sulphide mineralisation.
The tenements have received only limited, mostly superficial exploration for pegmatite hosted lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) mineralisation.
Metal Hawk’s dual focus at Yarmany will be regional nickel sulphide and lithium exploration. Pegmatite mapping and geochemical sampling has commenced, and planning is underway for extensive high-powered ground EM surveys.
Horizon conducted limited nickel exploration drilling in 2021-2022, with high MgO ultramafic rocks identified at a number of locations. Prior to Horizon’s recent work, the most significant historical nickel sulphide drilling activities were carried out in the far north of the project area by INCO, Amax, and Barrier Exploration in the early 1970s.
Metal Hawk is currently reviewing and digitising open file data (none of which is in digital form). The main lithologies reported included ultramafics, felsic volcanics, granites and pegmatites.
The company believes there is potential for komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide mineralisation along the regional Ida Fault, a major crustal boundary that represents the margin of the Kalgoorlie and Youanmi Terranes.
The company plans to conduct a fast-tracked systematic nickel sulphide exploration program throughout the remainder of 2023, with plans for targeted soil geochemical surveys, high powered ground EM surveys and drilling.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Metal Hawk Ltd & iStock
