IGO digs into Dogleg Buxton JV in the West Kimberley

IGO has begun new drilling at Dogleg with a six-to-eight-hole diamond campaign over the Quick Shears joint venture with Buxton Resources and its starring nickel-copper-cobalt prospect in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Even through a deflated nickel market, the 13.24 metre at 4.35 per cent nickel, 0.34% copper, and 0.15% cobalt massive sulphide strike recorded late last year was just cause for excitement.

The West Kimberley joint venture was formed in 2016 to target magmatic nickel-copper sulphides in the style of IGO’s Nova-Bollinger around Buxton’s 2015 discovery of high-grade nickel sulphides and confirmation of a new province.

IGO remains the operator with its 64% share, Buxton holds 16%, with the ground’s original owner Timothy Tatterson holding the remaining 20%.

Buxton holds a free carry on the project through to completion of a feasibility study and Tatterson through to a mining decision.

The plan now is to further test a moving loop electro-magnetic conductor corresponding to the starring intercept and establish a geophysical platform to allow detection of related downhole anomalies away from past drilling.

Drilling is also directed at intersecting the interpreted Dogleg intrusion along strike to guide future programs, with imminent multi-loop electromagnetic surveys across the greater project expected to generate further targets.

Nickel sulphide deposits are deep, rare and with the high grades particularly valued by battery markets.

And while the energy and waste intensive process of refining Indonesia’s large laterite deposits have disrupted Australian industry, there is clearly some interest in finding the next big sulphide deposit with light at tunnel’s end.