St George Mining – (ASX: SGQ, Share Price: $0.15, Market Cap: $41m, coverage initiated @ $0.175 in May 2016)
Key Catalyst
Drilling at Mt Alexander project has resumed, with an expanded program designed to test four new EM conductors at the Investigators Prospect.
Along with our fellow coverage stock Legend Mining (ASX: LEG), SGQ was of the two best-performing nickel exploration plays of 2018. Like LEG, which has an exclusive regional focus on WA’s Fraser Range province, SGQ too maintains a regional focus on its Mt Alexander project in WA’s goldfields region.
SGQ set the market alight during late 2017 (as can be clearly seen in the share price graphic above), with exciting high-grade drilling results that comprised nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphides – with assays including 17.45m @ 3.01% Ni, 1.31% Cu, 0.13% Co and 1.68g/t Total PGEs from a very shallow 37.45m depth. These intercepts represent the best exploration results achieved so far from Mt Alexander, with the key aspects being the strong tenor and near-surface nature of the mineralisation, which enhance the prospect of any commercial mining operation. Encouragingly, the latest drill program has just commenced.
Latest Activity
Mt Alexander Exploration Update
I had the opportunity to catch up for lunch this week with SGQ MD, John Prineas, where he provided an overview of the company’s immediate exploration outlook. The drill program for SGQ’s Mt Alexander Project, located near Leonora in WA’s north-eastern Goldfields, has been expanded and is now firmly underway. The company has just under $6m in cash reserves to fund its exploration campaign.
Investigators
The initial focus of the program will involve testing of four new EM conductors at the Investigators Prospect. The first EM conductor to be drilled will be MAD98: X1, which is a very exciting prospect as it’s been modelled with a very strong conductivity of 67,000 Siemens, combined with the fact that it’s situated down-dip from the significant intersection in MAD60 (assays of 3m @ 6.40% Ni, 3.55% Cu, 0.21% Co and 5.25g/t total PGEs from 159.38m).
SGQ regards this conductor as an outstanding target for massive nickel-copper sulphides, with the potential to significantly extend the down-dip extent of nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation on the MAD60 section to a strike of about 320m.
Figure 1: Schematic long section of the Investigators Prospect (facing north) based on interpretation from drill-hole data. Drill-holes shown near the DHEM Plate 67,000 Siemens are to the south of the Plate and have not intersected the conductor.
The graphic above represents a long-section view of Investigators that highlights the mineralised ultramafic intersected to date over a part of Investigators with a 1,000m strike, with the EM conductors to be drilled also highlighted.
The graphic below is a schematic cross section of the MAD60 line at Investigators and shows that mineralisation potentially extends down-plunge to the northwest. The very strong EM conductor MAD98:X1 is located within this high-priority target area.
Figure 2: Schematic cross section of the MAD60 line (facing west) at Investigators based on interpretation of drill-hole data. The mineralised ultramafic dips to the northwest, with potential for a down-plunge extension, where the new DHEM conductor is located (MAD98 is off the MAD60 line, and to the west of the target conductor).
Technical Significance
As mentioned earlier, the initial focus of the current program will involve the testing of four new EM conductors at the Investigators Prospect, of which the highlights is MAD98: X1. It’s a very exciting prospect – as it’s been modelled with a very strong conductivity of 67,000 Siemens, combined with the fact that it’s located down-dip from the significant intersection in MAD60.
The drilling of conductor MAD98: X1 will target similar high-grade mineralisation and could confirm the down-dip extent of mineralisation on the MAD60 section to about 320m.
Drilling so far by SGQ within the Cathedrals Belt has identified high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphides over a strike length of 4.5km.
Other Current Activity
Stricklands
At Stricklands, definition drilling will continue with a combined diamond and RC drill program designed to fully delineate the extent of the mineralisation across the +400m strike of the Stricklands ultramafic.
The graphic below represents a long-section of Stricklands that highlights the intersections to date of +1% Ni mineralisation over the interpreted 400m strike of the Stricklands ultramafic. Ongoing definition drilling will test the large areas between the significant intersections of mineralisation that have not been drilled.
Figure 3: Schematic long section of the Stricklands Prospect (facing north) based on interpretation from drill-hole data. The mineralised ultramafic has an interpreted strike of over 400m.
Technical Significance
The high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphide mineralisation at Stricklands commences from a shallow depth below surface of approximately 40m and is open to the west, north and east.
There are large areas between the significant intersections of mineralisation that have so far not been tested by drilling, which offer potential to host further ultramafic with nickel-copper sulphides. There is also potential for additional mineralisation at depth with most drill-holes completed within 120m of surface. The upcoming drill program for Stricklands will further test these prospective areas.
Summary
The thick widths of high-grade mineralisation at shallow depths so far identified within the Cathedrals Belt has favourable consequences in terms of a potential mining operation. SGQ has already established recurrent high-grade mineralisation over a 3.5km strike length within the Cathedrals Belt. With interest in nickel plays growing, especially those with resource potential, there is the possibility of near-term share price upside.
