Venture Minerals' partner Chalice Mining begins on-ground exploration at Julimar lookalike

Venture Mining Limited’s (ASX:VMS) (OTCMKTS:VTMLF) partner Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN) has started a program of ground EM surveying on the South West Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in Western Australia over selected areas of the Julimar lookalike magnetic anomaly and other interpreted mafic-ultramafic intrusions.

A total of around 42-line kilometres of moving loop EM (MLEM) is planned for the initial stage with any resultant anomalies to be infilled to define targets for subsequent follow-up with surface geochemical sampling or drilling.

The program is expected to be completed within 4-6 weeks subject to weather constraints and is part of the first stage of the JV earn-in through which Chalice may earn up to 70% by spending $3.7 million on exploration over four years.

Two main prospects within the project are Thor and Odin and both contain areas of potential nickel-copper-PGE prospectivity.

“Proprietary knowledge” to select targets

Managing director Andrew Radonjic said: “The company looks forward to seeing the outcomes from Chalice’s first on-ground exploration program.

“The Chalice exploration team has used its proprietary knowledge to select areas from Venture’s previous early-stage exploration work for follow-up ground EM, aiming to repeat their success at Julimar by targeting a very similar geological setting.”

The South West Project, which covers 256 square kilometres, is 240 kilometres south of Perth hosted within the Balingup Gneiss Complex.

Thor is a 20-kilometre-long ‘Julimar lookalike’ magnetic anomaly associated with chromium-rich rocks indicative of mafic-ultramafic intrusions.

A recent airborne EM survey identified 13 highly conductive anomalies within the southern 6.5 kilometres of the magnetic anomaly, of which only two have been tested by single holes in the maiden drill program.

The last hole drilled at Thor intersected 2.4 metres of massive sulphide averaging 0.5% copper, 0.05% nickel, 0.04% cobalt and anomalous gold and palladium.

At Odin, in the only hole drilled, nickel and copper sulphides were intersected within a highly prospective mafic-ultramafic unit that extends over 10 strike kilometres.

This was further supported by surface sampling returning strong nickel and copper geochemical anomalies.

Story by ProactiveInvestors