Andover Nickel-Copper Project (Azure 60% / Creasy Group 40%)
This 70km2 project covers most of the Andover Mafic-Ultramafic Intrusive Complex. Historical exploration demonstrated that it hosts nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum and palladium mineralisation. Being a layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion, Andover is similar geologically to the Fraser Range Province (host to the Nova-Bollinger nickel-copper mine and Legend Mining’s Mawson nickel-copper discovery) and the Julimar Intrusive Complex (host to Chalice Gold Mine’s Gonneville nickel-copper-PGE discovery).
Andover is located 35km southeast of Karratha and immediately south of Roebourne with excellent local infrastructure such as airports, port access, railway, grid power, sealed highways, and support services readily available.
Andover is situated in a well-mineralised district, with the Carlow Castle gold-copper-cobalt deposit 3km to the west, the now-closed Radio Hill nickel-copper mine and plant 28km to the southwest, and the Sherlock Bay nickel deposit 30km to the east.
Drilling by the Creasy Group in 2018 intersected significant nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation at shallow depths in two separate targets.
Azure’s maiden exploration program at Andover, which commenced in August 2020, comprised:
- Surface electromagnetic surveys (FLTEM) covering 12 separate targets;
- Diamond core drilling of 12 holes for ≈3,000m; and
- Downhole EM (DHTEM) surveying of the drill holes.
FLTEM surveying was undertaken over 12 separate geophysical anomalies identified by an historical airborne electromagnetic survey and the presence of numerous high-quality conductors was confirmed. Importantly, the Andover project area does not appear to host sulphidic sediments, black shales, conductive overburden, saline groundwater or other properties that may generate false positives for the EM surveys, indicating that these electromagnetic conductors represent bedrock-hosted sulphide bodies.
Azure’s diamond drilling is targeting strong and extensive conductor plates which are interpreted to represent significant bodies of nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation. The first six holes drilled and reported by the Company (ANDD0001 to 0006) contained wide intervals of nickel and copper sulphide mineralisation in the form of massive, semi-massive, matrix, blebby and disseminated pentlandite (nickel sulphide), chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) and pyrrhotite (iron sulphide) hosted in gabbro and similar mafic rocks.
In every hole drilled to date, massive sulphide zones coincide with strong electromagnetic conductors detected by surface fixed-loop electromagnetic (FLTEM) surveys and subsequently confirmed by down-hole (DHTEM) surveys.
Importantly, assay results from ANDD0004 confirm that zones of massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation are clearly associated with the strong and continuous VC-07 EM conductor. Geophysical modelling indicates that VC-07 extends for at least 1,050m to the west-northwest and has a potential depth extent in excess of 150m-200m.
Significant mineralised intersections returned from ANDD004 include:
- 4.1m @ 3.52% Nickel and 0.36% Copper from 354.8m within;
- 8.5m @ 2.77% Nickel and 1.04% Copper from 354.8m which is within;
- 16.2m @ 2.08% Nickel and 0.75% Copper from 347.5m.
These and several other nickel and copper-rich sulphide intersections in ANDD0004 are contained within an overall mineralised envelope of:
- 41.9m @ 1.10% Nickel and 0.57% Copper from 336.1m.
Follow-up drilling intersected substantial nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation both up-dip (ANDD0005) and down-dip (ANDD0006) from ANDD0004. ANDD0006 intersected a broad 53.6m-wide mineralised envelope containing multiple intervals of strong nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation approximately 60m down-dip from ANDD0004. This includes two intervals, 12.4m-wide and 5.5m-wide, of continuous matrix to massive nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation visually similar to the ANDD0004 high grade mineralised zones reported above.
Importantly, these three holes combine to define a vertical mineralised extent exceeding 120m with strong down-dip continuity of the mineralisation. The mineralised zone remains open to depth and further drilling is planned to test the deeper extensions as part of the accelerated 2021 exploration program.
