Huntsman Exploration says early indications from its new 16-hole, 3500m drill programme at the Canegrass project in Western Australia show strong nickel sulphide intersects among targets located along a 7km mineralised trend. The programme follows up on the company's 2018 success, which according to CEO Peter Dickie, show massive potential.
Although assays from the current programme are pending, nickel sulphides were identified in diamond drilling core and reverse circulation drilling samples. Drilling in 2018 returned high-grade near-surface nickel, copper PGE and vanadium values in multiple holes. Highlights from the maiden drill programme included 14m grading 1.17% nickel, 0.88% copper and 0.05% cobalt from 65m downhole, 6m grading 1.4% nickel, 0.96% copper and 0.06% cobalt from 66m downhole. Another hole returned 4.9m grading 1.33% nickel, 1.26% copper and 0.1% cobalt.
Follow-up downhole electromagnetic testing identified anomalies that strongly suggested the mineralisation was more extensive than that intersected, especially along strike and at depth.
"We are very confident this programme will lead to success, based on our previous drill results and also what we've learnt so far about the geology in play," said Dickie.
The reason for Dickie's confidence is the success of the company's drill targeting approach.
"We carried out an airborne VTEM TM survey and a surface EM survey back in 2018 covering a few key areas of the property. We cross referenced the anomalies and started drilling. In 2018, we hit on every single anomaly that we targeted. It's a straightforward technique but it's rare to have this degree of success at any project. The way we see it, either we've been really, really lucky with every single hole we've drilled, or we're onto something special at Canegrass," said Dickie.
Huntsman has more cross-referenced anomaly targets to drill and it is also running the same surveys in other areas of the 4,200-hectare property, which is in the Windimurra Intrusive Complex and 500km from tidewater with good infrastructure in place.
Dickie said the overall goal was to make a sizeable nickel discovery. Australia is host to a number of world class sulphide nickel deposits and Huntsman is gunning to be added to that list.
Dickie has previous experience of such share price growth as he spent six years as part of the senior executive team of NioCorp, which is developing the largest superalloy deposit in the USA, and whose market cap grew from US$5 million to more than US$200 million.
Dickie's investment thesis with Huntsman is simple: Target the emerging global green economy via the company's Canegrass sulphide nickel discovery in Western Australia while also providing investors with a gold hedge against the expected wall of inflation expected in the wake of unprecedented global stimulus spending. This later part of the strategy is via Huntsman's recently acquired Baxter Spring project in the heart of Round Mountain Trend in Nevada.
Besides being in the top-tier mining jurisdiction, the 1,040-hectare exploration-stage Baxter Spring asset has notable neighbours including Newmont's 3.5 million ounce Northumberland project and Kinross Gold's 15Moz Round Mountain and 1.5Moz Manhattan deposits. The project, which has widespread and bonanza-grade historical drill results, including 24.4m grading 2.49 grams per tonne gold and 12.2m grading 60.4g/t, including a 3.1m section of 240g/t, has some obvious, high-priority drill target locations. The company is permitting a drilling and ground programme, which is expected to start in the second quarter.
While Huntsman's team is looking forward to sinking its teeth into Baxter Spring, the flagship remains Canegrass and its high-grade nickel sulphide. "We want to be part of the renewed global effort to create a green economy, based on the continued electrification of everything. For that to happen, nickel will be playing an increasingly important role becuase nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries are expected to remain the most widely used battery, and nickel loadings, currently at about 80%, will continue to increase. The data is pointing to a real crunch point coming up for battery-grade nickel and that's going to put the spotlight on Western Australia's nickel sulphides," said Dickie.
Huntsman Exploration - at a glance
HEAD OFFICE: Suite 1680 - 200 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 3L6
Tel: +1 855 584 0160
Email: info@huntsmanx.com
Web: http://huntsmanx.com
DIRECTORS: Peter Dickie, Neil MacCallum, Nathan Tribble, Jeremy Ross, Joseph Meagher