Results included 54.2m at 3.6 grams per tonne palladium, platinum and gold (3E), 0.21% nickel, 0.39% copper and 0.02% cobalt, or 1.7% nickel equivalent from 1132.8m, including 49m at 3.9gpt 3E, 0.22% nickel, 0.43% copper and 0.02% cobalt (1.8% NiEq), including 9m at 10gpt 3E, 0.24% nickel, 1.2% copper and 0.02% cobalt (4.3% NiEq).
The zones are open and appear to be associated with a gabbro unit not present in up-dip drilling, which Chalice said opened up a highly prospective new horizon for exploration.
The company said there was significant high-grade underground potential beyond the 600m-deep pit shell.
Early underground mining options targeting high-grade zones from a depth of about 400m to more than 1100m, in parallel with open-pit mining, will now be investigated to determine high-level economics and the optimal drill-out strategy.
A scoping study on an open pit operation is due in the current quarter.
There are currently four diamond rigs focused on wide-spaced step-out drilling and resource definition.
Gonneville has a resource of 560 million tonnes at 0.88 grams per tonne 3E, 0.16% nickel, 0.09% copper and 0.015% cobalt, or 0.54% NiEq or 1.7gpt PdEq, for 16 million ounces of 3E, 860,000t of nickel, 520,000t of copper and 83,000t of cobalt, or 3Mt of NiEq or 30Moz PdEq.
The company has hit further mineralisation at Hooley, 5km to the north of Gonneville in the Julimar State Forest.
The latest results included 33.5m (estimated true width 9m) at 1.4gpt 3E, 0.18% nickel, 0.21% copper and 0.01% cobalt, or 0.8% NiEq, from 358.5m, including 22.8m (ETW 6.8m) at 1.9gpt 3E, 0.24% nickel, 0.29% copper and 0.02% cobalt, or 1.1% NiEq, from 362.2m.
The drilling completed to date supports the interpretation of the Gonneville Intrusion (and the broader Julimar Complex) as having a rare chonolith-like geometry – which is similar to other major ultramafic-mafic orthomagmatic systems worldwide that host some of the world’s largest nickel-copper-PGE deposits, including Norilsk-Talnakh and Jinchuan.
Deeper drilling is planned to test the thickening of the Gonneville stratigraphy at depth.
The company requires government approvals for closer-spaced drilling and expects to get permission to restart drilling at Hooley in the current quarter.
Chalice finished June with about A$145 million cash.
