Aberdeen Minerals has announced the completion of its first phase of drilling and assaying at the Arthrath Project in Aberdeenshire, where it is exploring for deposits of nickel, copper and cobalt.
KEY POINTS
- The company’s maiden drilling programme involved the completion of seven angled diamond drill holes ranging in length from 130 to 400 metres for a total length of 1,715 metres.
- High grade highlights in the longest hole ever drilled at Arthrath, AR007DD (400 metres), confirm the depth continuity of mineralisation 100 metres below the level of historical drilling and include:
- 1.7 metres grading 0.66% nickel (Ni), 0.47% copper (Cu), 0.06% cobalt (Co) (0.91% nickel equivalent, NiEq) from 249 metres
- 4.5 metres grading 0.70% Ni, 0.39% Cu. 0.06% Co (0.92% NiEq) from 258 metres
- 2.0 metres grading 0.73% Ni, 0.70% Cu. 0.07% Co (1.08% NiEq) from 270 metres
- Validated the Aberdeenshire mafic-ultramafic intrusive system is dynamic and the application of modern nickel exploration technology and the latest ‘conduit style’ geological models could uncover higher grades than the shallow historical results.
- Intervals of net-textured and massive sulphides were intersected within a broader zone of disseminated style mineralisation, with individual sample grades up to 2% nickel and 1.2% copper providing evidence for higher grade potential.
- All holes intersected nickel-copper-cobalt sulphides within a wide and continuous zone of “magmatic sulphide” mineralisation which extends from near surface and is confirmed by drill intercepts including:AR007DD: 90 metres grading 0.28% Ni, 0.18% Cu, 0.02% Co (0.38% NiEq) from 184 metres
- AR001DD: 89 metres grading 0.22% Ni, 0.17% Cu, 0.02% Co (0.30% NiEq) from 95 metres
- AR002DD: 44 metres grading 0.30% Ni, 0.29% Cu, 0.03% Co (0.44% NiEq) from 98 metresIncludes 12 metres grading 0.45% Ni, 0.44% Cu, 0.04% Co (0.67% NiEq)
- AR003DD: 15 metres grading 0.42% Ni, 0.28% Cu, 0.05% Co (0.59% NiEq) from 39 metres
- These results validate data from Rio Tinto drilling in 1972 therefore providing confidence in the historical dataset across the Project area.
- Confirmed airborne geophysics as the leading vectoring tool for identifying increasing intensity of mineralised sulphides beyond the limits of historical drilling.
Exciting exploration potential for clusters of high priority targets in the broader 100km x 100km intrusive district generated from the Company’s proprietary geophysical dataset (SkyTEM survey conducted in September 2022)
Aberdeen Minerals is grateful to the landowners and community in the project area for their cooperation and support, as well as to Aberdeenshire Council and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) for their constructive engagement ahead of the drilling programme. The Company also appreciated the visits of local Members of the Scottish Parliament, investors and other stakeholders interested in its work.
Next steps
The company has retained CSA Global (a division of ERM), an independent mining industry consultancy, to prepare a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate and / or Exploration Target in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 Edition (Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves). This first modern standard model and report for the Arthrath Project will represent a major milestone for Aberdeen Minerals, and is a key step towards accelerated investment in exploration and development of its projects in North East Scotland.
SOURCE: Aberdeen Minerals
DATE: 9 June 2023