Pioneer identifies new nickel target at Fairwater
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) has identified a new, high-priority nickel sulphide target at the company’s 75 per cent-held Fairwater project in the Albany-Fraser Province in south-east Western Australia.
Pioneer defined the target, currently designated FWNi003, from results of a recent reconnaissance soil geochemistry program at the project, which included 698 new samples at the target.
The company said it had received a technical report received from a geochemistry consultant, which gave an interpretation of these latest soil geochemistry results.
The report highlighted the FWNi003 nickel sulphide target to be a standout.
Pioneer described the target to be a nickel anomaly with supporting coincident copper, chrome and platinum group element (PGE) results.
The company explained these elements are generally recognised as pathfinders when exploring for magmatic nickel sulphide deposits.
“The Pioneer board, management and specialist consultants are very encouraged by the latest available data,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The FWNi003 anomaly has already fulfilled the objective of our recent soil geochemistry program, which was to define nickel-chromium, with copper and platinum group element soil anomalism that coincide with aeromagnetic highs, being the characteristic signatures of a potentially mineralised mafic-ultramafic intrusion such as that hosting the Nova and Bollinger nickel-copper deposits.”
Pioneer has previously informed the market of progress at other high-priority nickel-copper-chromium and VTEM anomalies, including initial targets at FWNi001 and FWNi002.
Regional interpreted geology, nickel and gold prospects. Source: Company announcement
These prospects remain within a pipeline of exploration targets Pioneer is advancing towards drill-testing.
In addition, three other nickel and six gold target areas have been reconnaissance-sampled following up anomalies in sampling undertaken by Pan Australian and Anglo-Gold-Ashanti between the mid-1990s and 2012.
Verification of pXRF results for samples is currently in progress, from which Pioneer expects to receive results in August.
Email: pioneer@pioresources.com.au
Website: www.pioneerresources.com.au