Gold and critical mineral explorer Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) has announced its commencement of drilling at Hayes Hill, WA.
The company is going after gold targets with an aircore drill and chasing after nickel targets with a Reverse Circulation (RC) drill rig.
On the gold front, Zenith’s exploration team are going after a large area of interest some 2.5km in size believed to contain new gold targets.
The Hayes Hill project has its nearology aspects – it’s located between the Norseman project operated by Pantoro, and King River Resources‘ Higginsville project. Zenith also flagged on Wednesday that open pit mining is carried out “immediately west of [the Hayes Hill] project area.]”
All in all, the exploration team is hoping it can replicate a potential commercial-scale gold discovery in the area, given the success of its nearby peers.
As for nickel, the company has spent more money on an RC rig to sniff around at the ‘Green Bananas’ target.
Hopes are buoyed by an underground electromag target which is located immediately nearby an area where auger drilling turned up nickel anomalies in soil. Those concentrations clocked in at 0.43%.
“This large-scale gold drill target is located between the major active gold mining districts of Norseman and Higginsville in the Eastern Goldfields,” Zenith chief Michael Clifford said, also nodding at historically high gold prices.
“We will also undertake an RC drill test of the Green Bananas nickel sulphide target. This is at a time where the nickel market has shown significant resilience with a rapid rebound in the nickel price.”
It’s true that nickel has shaken off its lows from early year, however, Indonesian supply is set to guarantee a surplus for the world in the coming years. Recent upward activity has come from riots in New Caledonia, a large producing region.
ZNC last traded at 7.3cps.