St George hits massive sulphides with Stricklands maiden drilling program

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) continued its recent love affair with the drill bit by announcing it has intersected massive nickel-copper sulphides in the first ever drilling carried out at the Stricklands prospect, part of the company’s Mt Alexander project in Western Australia.

Drill holes MAD20, MAD22 and MAD23 targeted separate modelled EM conductors at the Stricklands prospect, and all three have intersected nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation at shallow depths.

“The discovery of massive nickel-copper sulphides in the first ever drill program at Stricklands illustrates the strong potential that exists for additional new discoveries at Mt Alexander,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The effectiveness of EM techniques and our rapidly increasing knowledge of the geology of the region are substantially enhancing the prospectivity of the project.

“With more EM targets being defined and drilling ongoing, we are in an excellent position to deliver further exploration success.”

The company explained MAD20 was completed to a downhole depth of 100.1 metres and intersected approximately 7.9m of ultramafichosted sulphide mineralisation from 46.5m to 54.45m which comprises:

3.8m, from 46.5-50.3m, of weak-moderate disseminated sulphides;

1.65m, from 51.9-53.55m, of moderate increasing to heavy disseminated sulphides;

0.45m, from 53.55-53.95m, of matrix and stringer sulphides (spot XRF reading of 2.3 per cent nickel, 0.5 per cent copper); and

0.5m, from 53.95-54.45m, of massive sulphide (spot XRF readings average 4.6 per cent nickel, 1.9 per cent copper).

MAD22 was completed to a downhole depth of 138.9m and intersected approximately 4.7m of ultramafichosted sulphide mineralisation from 49m to 53.7m which comprises:

2.7m, from 49-51.7m, of ultramafic with thin stringer sulphides and veinlets;

0.8m, from 51.7-52.5m, massive nickel-copper sulphide stringers (spot XRF readings average 2.8 per cent nickel, 8 per cent copper);

1.2m, from 52.5-53.8m, minor blebby sulphides and sulphide veinlets.

MAD23 was completed to a downhole depth of 123.3m and intersected approximately 4.25m of ultramafic-hosted sulphide mineralisation from 53.45-57.7m which comprises:

2.15m, from 53.45-55.6m, of weak disseminated and blebby sulphides;

1.85m, from 55.6-57.45m, of heavy disseminated sulphides (spot XRF readings average 0.8 per cent nickel, 0.6 per cent copper); and

0.25m, from 57.45-57.7m, of massive sulphides (spot XRF readings average 2.3 per cent nickel, 5.1 per cent copper).

St George stressed in its announcement that the metal values quoted are based on field XRF analysis and are preliminary only.

The Stricklands prospect is located within the Cathedrals shear zone, approximately one kilometre west-southwest of the Cathedrals prospect.

St George has now tested seven EM conductors in the current drill program – four at Cathedrals and three at Stricklands – and all have been demonstrated to represent nickel-copper sulphides.

The company considers this strike rate to be exceptional, saying it confirms the effectiveness of EM surveys as a targeting tool for mineralisation within the Cathedrals shear zone.

Website: www.stgm.com.au