Assaying of mafic intrusive rocks containing semi-massive pyrrhotite veins in the Three Ways drill hole TWD2001 have returned anomalous values of nickel and platinum group elements with the best one metre sample returning 0.28% nickel, 399ppm copper, 672ppm cobalt, 258ppb palladium, 43ppb platinum.
Subsequent petrology has shown the presence of fine nickel sulphide inclusions within the vein-hosted pyrrhotite.
Drill hole TWD2001 targeted a high conductance magnetotelluric anomaly and intersected mafic intrusive rock (gabbro) from 246 metres to the end of hole at 717.7 metres. Potentially conductive rock types include a 7.8 metre interval of semi-massive pyrrhotite veins from 665 metres and a narrow 0.5 metre interval of pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite veining from 613.4 metres. Although the veins contain the highly conductive minerals pyrrhotite and pentlandite, the vein intervals are considered too narrow to cause the strong magnetotelluric anomaly.
Reprocessing of the magnetotelluric data subsequent to the drilling has generated an alternative interpretation that shows the location of the high conductance anomaly east of TWD2001. This new interpretation remains to be drill tested.
The thick mafic intrusive host rock, together with the elevated nickel and platinum group elements in the remobilised pyrrhotite veins point to the nearby potential for magmatic nickel sulphides. This mineralisation style may relate to the unresolved high conductance magnetotelluric anomalies at Three Ways.
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