Sultan Resources (ASX:SLZ) reports it has started a ‘deep’ diamond drillhole to follow up on positive aircore results generated at the Kulin Hill Nickel Project, located in Western Australia.
The company is drilling a single stratigraphic diamond hole over 500m deep to gather information of the nature of a layered ultramafic sequence beneath the weathered horizon, and assess the potential for sulphide mineralisation in the area.
The hole is collared in the vicinity of the previously drilled aircore holes, and is drilling at -60 degrees towards the southeast to target a ‘strong’ magnetic body within the sequence, revealed by 3D inversion modelling.
Sultan reports this will be the deepest hole ever drilled at the Kulin Hill prospect and will provide the ‘best’ look to date of the layered ultramafic sequence.
Previous drilling includes the aircore holes drilled by Sultan earlier this year, and a series of 4 diamond holes drilled around 2km to the southeast in the 1960s, and the deepest of these holes reached around 265m.
this will be the deepest hole ever drilled at the Kulin Hill prospect and will provide the ‘best’ look to date of the layered ultramafic sequence
In late December 2021 and early January this year, Sultan completed an aircore drilling program across 3 areas at the Lake Grace Nickel Project, aiming to confirm the presence of ultramafic rocks interpreted from the magnetics, and to also determine the prospectivity of the region for hosting nickel-sulphide deposits.
The company reports 3 of the 4 holes drilled at Kulin Hill showed ‘strongly elevated responses’ in elements such as nickel, chromium, magnesium, iron, sulphur and cobalt that it believes is indicative of weathered ultramafic lithology.
Sultan says all 3 holes demonstrated these responses throughout their entire length, indicating that the sequence is ‘thick’, and warrants deeper testing of the ‘fresh’ ultramafic sequence.
It also reports microscopic examination of the holes showed the sequence to be weathered throughout, leaving Sultan unable to identify visible sulphide minerals.
The company is encouraged that sparsely distributed disseminated nickel sulphides could be present as high levels of coincident MgO, sulphur and nickel in intersections in the lower portions of hole SLGCA03 and SLGCA04 were found.
The company found up to 0.86% Ni, 575ppm Co and 1.98% Cr from aircore drilling at Kulin Hill.
Sultan states the confirmation of over 2km of strike of a ‘thick’ ultramafic sequence containing historically reported nickel bearing sulphides at Kulin Hill has ‘elevated’ the prospect to be the company’s priority exploration target, and follow up drilling in the area is required to fully understand the layered stratigraphic sequence to test for the presence of sulphide minerals.
The company is currently in negotiations to access the full length and breadth of the body, some of which extends beneath a salt lake, and once access is granted the company will assess the full potential of the target.
A work program consisting initially of electromagnetic techniques such as Fixed Loop EM or magnetotellurics will be undertaken to detect any areas of ‘strong’ conductance that may mark the location of sulphide accumulation.
Any conductors identified will be ranked by Sultan and the priority targets drilling with either reverse circulation or diamond drilling.
Sultan Resources is an Australian exploration company with a portfolio of assets in ‘emerging’ discovery terranes currently being targeted by successful explorers such as Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM), Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK), Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR), and Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR).
The company’s tenement portfolio includes ‘prospective’ targets for gold-copper, structurally hosted gold, nickel, cobalt and base metals, and includes tenements in the Lachlan Fold Belt region of central New South Wales, as well as projects in the southern terrane region of the Yilgarn Craton in south and southeastern Western Australia.
