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Let’s take a look at WA’s nickel hot spots and which ASX-listed juniors are looking to cash in.

Murrin Murrin feeders

Glencore is hoping juniors will prove up resources in the vicinity of its vastly underfed Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt plant in WA’s northern Goldfields.

One such explorer close by is Alliance Nickel (ASX:AXN), which is well on its way to developing its NiWest project of 456,000t of nickel in nickel sulphate and 31,400t of cobalt in cobalt sulphate over its mine life, with an annual production of 19,200t of nickel and 1,400t of cobalt over its first 15 years.

Cavalier Resources (ASX:CVR) also has its Maleta Creek nickel-cobalt project just 10km from the Murrin Murrin nickel plant.

It’s a sulphide search frenzy at Fraser Range

Across to the Fraser Range north of Esperance where IGO (ASX:IGO) is in production at its 11.8Mt averaging 1.76% Ni, 0.71% Cu and 0.06% Co Nova-Bollinger mine.

The region is experiencing high levels of exploration activity from nearby juniors as they look to take advantage of nearology to IGO’s nickel mineralisation.

Diamond drilling at Legend Mining’s (ASX:LEG) Octagonal prospect at its Rockford project at the end of last month intersected nickel-copper sulphide increasing with depth, which the explorer says has characteristics for a Nova-style orebody.

Diamond drilling of target areas are currently being conducted to test a seismic zone with focused intrusions along strike at Target Area B of the prospect.

Constellation Resources (ASX:CR1) has been busy conducting ultrafine infill soil sampling at its Fraser Opheus JV with Enterprise Metals (ASX:ENT) and plans to test prospective basement units with AC drilling this quarter.

Galileo Mining (ASX:GAL) has a JV with Creasy Group over tenements prospective for nickel-copper sulphide deposits similar to Nova, with recent regional EM surveys aim to define new undercover nickel targets for drill testing.

It’s also exploring the nearby Norseman project that contains a near-surface laterite deposit with over 122,000t Co and 26,000t Co.

A recent 4,000m RC drill campaign is ongoing at the project’s Jimberlana and Mission Still prospects and drilling at the Callisto deposit is focused on defining mineralisation within a 5km target horizon extending to the north.

Rockin’ Ravensthorpe

Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals produced 22,000t of contained nickel last year at its Ravensthorpe nickel-sulphide operation on WA’s south coast.

Nearby NickelSearch’s (ASX:NIS) Carlingup project is strategically located adjacent to the Ravensthorpe nickel mining complex, with recent drilling showing up sulphide mineralisation from 285m down plunge.

NickelSearch is currently waiting on assay results from two diamond holes, which will be combined with the DHEM data to generate follow-up drill targets to extend mineralisation.

It will also consider historical EM surveys at the B1 target area and the opportunity to conduct further ultrafine soil sampling.

This could result in the consideration of further drilling within the B1 mineralised horizon to test areas where sulphides may have accumulated.

Piggybacking Kambalda

Mincor Resources (ASX:MCR) kickstart to historic WMC Resources’ mines – including its flagship Cassini operation in North Kambalda – helped BHP’s Nickel West concentrator back into action, and there’s a flurry of explorers eager to get in on the action.

Down the road from BHP’s Nickel West concentrator itself is Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8), which owns four historic mines once developed by WMC, including Foster, Jan, Fisher and the Silver Lake shaft.

Yet it’s the new Kambalda-style discoveries at Baker and Warren looking exciting as a PFS showed an ore reserve @ 2.86% Ni for 17,500t that would cost just shy of $18m to bring into production.

Source: Stockhead