Pantera Minerals (ASX:PFE) reports it has commenced a 1,200m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at the Weelarrana Manganese Project located in the Collier Basin of Western Australia.
The company says the drilling program consists of 30 planned holes testing an 800m long, and up to 5m thick outcropping of ‘high-grade’ manganese occurrence with surface grades of between 12% Mn to 44% Mn at Mn Area 1.
Pending the outcome of this drill program, the company will conduct infill drilling at Mn Area 1 as well as a first pass drill program will be conducted at Mn Areas 2 to 4 early in 2023.
Pantera Minerals CEO Matt Hansen said the company is excited to have commenced drilling at Weelarrana, which is the culmination of a substantial effort from its team, with the support from the Traditional Owners and local pastoralists.
“This RC drilling program will test the project’s high-grade, outcropping manganese targets at Mn Area 1 and is the first drill program targeting manganese within the tenement area”
“This RC drilling program will test the project’s high-grade, outcropping manganese targets at Mn Area 1 and is the first drill program targeting manganese within the tenement area.”
The Weelarrana Project is located within the Proterozoic Collier Basin 80km south of Newman in Western Australia covering an area of 958km-square of tenure considered prospective for manganese and precious metal mineralisation.
Pantera says all tenements cover either the Ilgarari Formation manganiferous shales or Backdoor Formation manganiferous shales which are know to host economic manganese mineralisation at Element 25’s (ASX:E25) Butcherbird Deposit, and Firebird Metals’ (ASX:FRB) Hill 616 Deposit.
Despite the presence of 2 manganese deposits along strike and within the same stratigraphy, the area covered by Pantera tenements has been underexplored for manganese, and the company aims to systematically explore for manganese within the known stratigraphy hosts as well as assess and explore the tenure for structural hosted precious metal mineralisation.
Pantera Minerals is a mineral exploration company based in Western Australia, and its assets include the Hellcat Project, the Yampi Project, the Frederick Project and the Weelarrana Project.
Images: Pantera Minerals Ltd
