Ringerike Confirms High-Grade Copper-Nickel and District-Scale Potential
Sydney, Oct 10, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Kuniko Limited's (
ASX:KNI) (912:FRA) field campaign identifies key high-grade Copper, Nickel, and Cobalt targets, supporting districtscale exploration potential.
Highlights:
- Assays returned for 30 mineralised samples from reconnaissance sampling across key mineral occurrences along the ~20 km mineralised trend throughout Ringerike.
- Significant copper results with assays up to 4.72% Cu, 3.21% Cu and 1.86% Cu.
- Samples of massive sulphide collected at Tysklandsgruve returned grades of up to 1.86% Cu, 1.87% Ni, 0.10% Co, 0.43 ppm Au and 0.21 ppm Pd.
- Ertelien-style footwall vein mineralisation confirmed at Skaug, with samples grading up to 4.72% Cu, 1.64% Ni, 0.16% Co and 0.56 ppm Au.
- Anomalously high metal concentrations were confirmed from disseminated mineralisation at Jolinatten, with samples grading up to 0.34% Cu, 0.31% Ni, 0.34 ppm Au, 0.53 ppm Pd and 0.20 ppm Pt.
- Samples from the Stoverentangen Mine confirm high-grade mineralisation on the Hogas trend, spanning ~3.6 km, with assays grading up to 3.21% Cu and 1.50% Ni.
- A geological mapping program and collection of 110 soil samples were completed over the Jolinatten Prospect.
o Soil sampling reveals anomalous Ni-Cu-Co-PGE trend, detected over ~1 km of strike across the prospect.
o Mapping identified new extensions to a complex of mafic-ultramafic intrusions, with ~300 m of strike extent added both to the north and south of the historically mapped intrusion.
o Anomalies detected on the margins of the survey area show unconstrained potential in all directions, highlighting the merits of further expanded surveys in future.
- Final Ertelien drill core assays add new and updated intervals of disseminated sulphide mineralisation, including:
o 347.0 m @ 0.18% NiEq1
from 115.0 m (KNI_ER009)
o 363.8 m @ 0.15% NiEq1
from 102.2 m (KNI_ER008b)
o 333.9 m @ 0.15% NiEq1
from 299.0 m (KNI_ER011)
o 135.6 m @ 0.17% NiEq1
from 88.25 m (ER2006-11)
- An updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Ertelien is now in progress.
- Ringerike shares geological characteristics with Voisey's Bay, offering potential for even higher-grade mineralisation with further exploration.
2024 Ringerike Field Campaign & Plans to Advance Ringerike
In Q3'24, Kuniko completed a field campaign across key prospective areas of the Ringerike Project. The program initially focussed on ground-truthing and reconnaissance sampling of mineralisation at key occurrences and extended with geological mapping across the Jolinatten and Holleia intrusions, complemented by a soil sampling campaign at Jolinatten.
Kuniko's approach to advancing the Ringerike project will utilise a comprehensive mineral systems strategy, drawing upon analogies to world-class deposits like Voisey's Bay to guide exploration. The next steps will include:
- Target Ranking and Prioritisation: Initially, targets across the Ringerike trend will be ranked and prioritised based on data from recent sampling, mapping, and geophysical surveys, directing efforts toward the highest-potential zones.
- Sampling and Mapping: Plans for expanded soil sampling and geological mapping will aim to refine the extent of known mineralised zones and identify new exploration targets.
- Geophysics: Ground-based electromagnetic (EM) and other geophysical surveys would be utilised to focus in on high-confidence drill targets with potential for high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt mineralisation.
- Targeted Drilling: A targeted drill program would follow, targeting promising prospects such as Tysklandsgruve, Skaug, and Jolinatten, where initial results indicate significant potential for massive sulphide discoveries.
This systematic approach aims to advance the Ringerike project and capitalise on its district-scale potential.
Tysklandsgruve & Skaug Sampling
Following the success of the ground electromagnetic surveys completed in Ringerike earlier in the year (Refer: ASX Release 7 Aug. '24), Kuniko's field team initiated a sampling campaign across key historical mines. With a conductor target modelled below the historical workings at Tysklandsgruve, this area was prioritised in the field.
Tysklandsgruve is located on a ~1 km trend of historical mine workings, stretching from Langedalen in the north to Skaug in the south. A total of 8 mineralised samples were collected from the historical waste dumps at the mine, along with a further 2 samples collected from the outcropping intrusion. Massive sulphide samples identified amongst the waste at the mine returned high Nickel grades between 1.74% - 1.87% Ni, with another waste sample returning 1.86% Cu. The remaining samples graded on average 0.66% Ni, 0.39% Cu, 0.04% Co and 8.49% S (Refer: Table 2*). The Tysklandsgruve intrusion showed similar textural characteristics to the Ertelien Project, both in the styles of mineralisation and the gabbroic host rocks.
Sampling at the adjacent Skaug Mines confirmed the presence of Ertelien-style footwall vein mineralisation, with waste samples showing massive sulphide veins that have similar textures and host rock relations to those seen in drill core at Ertelien. Assays show additional potential for high-grade mineralisation in the Langedalen trend, with assay grades of up to 1.64% Ni, 4.72% Cu, 0.17% Co and 0.56 ppm Au (Refer: Table 2*).
A comparison of these assay results with those from Ertelien (Refer: Figure 3*) suggests that both systems share common genetic processes.
The Company believes that all lines of evidence investigated to date on the Langedalen trend (Refer: Figure 1*) indicate the presence of an Ertelien-like conduit system (Refer: Figure 4*), consisting of sulphide-mineralised mafic intrusions and footwall-hosted sulphide veins. With two untested conductor targets below and along strike of known workings, Tysklandsgruve is a clear drill-ready target with the potential to deliver a new massive sulphide discovery.
Jolinatten Sampling
During the first pass reconnaissance programme, the field team visited the Jolinatten Mineral Occurrence for the first time. Several rock samples were collected from the waste dump of a small trial working, as well as some from outcrop. It became apparent that the mapped intrusion was larger than previously thought with outcropping gabbros observed over 100 m outside existing Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU) mapping data.
The intrusion was prioritised for further field work later in the summer to investigate the extent and nature of this system.
The Company is pleased to report that assays of samples containing disseminated sulphide mineralisation returned comparatively high grades in both base and precious metals with values reaching up to 0.31% Ni, 0.34% Cu, 0.34 ppm Au, 0.53 ppm Pd and 0.20 ppm Pt (Refer: Table 2*). These grades are an initial indication that Jolinatten has the potential to be a "high-tenor" system, in which mineralisation is relatively enriched in commodity metals. An example of this can be seen in Figure 3, which shows that samples from Jolinatten have an anomalously high Ni:S ratio compared to similar samples from Ertelien, and that the Ni content in these samples is likely sulphide-hosted rather than silicate-hosted (i.e. in Pentlandite rather than in Olivine).
It is notable that the highest PGE sample (ID: 15628, 0.86 ppm 3E including 0.53 ppm Pd, 0.20 ppm Pd and 0.13 ppm Au) was obtained from an outcrop ~20 m north of the known workings.
Following the initial visit, the field team undertook a programme of detailed geological mapping and soil sampling, in order to advance the prospect further. Mapping efforts redefined the morphology of the intrusion, and located numerous satellite intrusives that together may form part of a previously unknown magma conduit system (see Figure 6*). Field observations also indicated the presence of two unmapped mining trials around ~100 m to the south of the main occurrence, and an additional 8 rock samples were collected from across the system (assays pending).
In conjunction with the mapping, a grid of 110 soil samples was collected at a spacing of 100 x 100 m, with an offset 50 x 50 m infill over the previously mapped extent of the intrusion. The results of this programme show significant potential for a broader system of mineralisation at Jolinatten. Sample 18702, collected ~90 m east of the known workings at Jolinatten, returned an exceptionally high gold assay of 314 ppb Au. Repeat analysis of this sample requested by the Company returned a value of 4 ppb Au, highlighting a nugget effect potentially induced by a grain(s) of Au-rich material in the soil.
Combining anomalies in Ni, Cu, Co, Au, Pd and Pt reveals a strong NNE-SSW trend (Refer: Figure 5*) over ~1 km of strike length. Anomalies were identified at both ends of the trend, suggesting this trend remains open along strike in both directions. In addition to this main trend, there are additional anomalies on the southwestern and northeastern margins of the survey area, suggesting there could be multiple unconstrained trends that have only just been picked up by this sampling layout.
Of particular interest are the anomalies in the southeast of the grid, which lie close to the Seterkollen intrusion (Refer: Figure 1*), a metagabbro mapped by the Norwegian Geological Survey around 800 m to the southeast of Jolinatten. With the potential for mineralisation indicated by these soil sample anomalies, the Seterkollen intrusion is a key greenfields exploration target for Kuniko to investigate further as the Company seeks to exploit the district-scale exploration potential of the Ringerike Project.
Stoverentangen Samples
As part of the summer reconnaissance programme, the field team also visited the Stoverentangen Mine. This site shows the best developed mine workings on the Hogas Trend (Refer: Figure 1), and so efforts were made to better constrain the style of mineralisation found at the site. Sample assays from this site graded up to 3.21% Cu and 1.50% Ni, with a noticeably lower Au-PGE content than at other sites sampled in this programme. Field observations suggested that at least some of the mineralisation at the site was hosted in footwall-style veins, with no mafic intrusive rocks identified during the site visit.
Holleia Mapping
Identified as a priority regional target for 2024, the Holleia Intrusion is the largest mapped intrusion in the Ringerike area, covering a surface area of around 24 km2 . With limited data available for this intrusion, the Kuniko field team undertook a programme of geological mapping across Holleia with the aim to develop a deeper understanding of the intrusion and its potential prospectivity. Over 400 mapping observations were recorded in the field, and a total of 77 rock samples were collected. The analysis of these samples is in progress, and the Company intends to use these results to inform a refined geological map for the intrusion, as well as leveraging this data to advance genetic ideas about Holleia and how it compares to the other targets in Ringerike. A key outcome of this process will be to identify potential areas of prospectivity in the intrusion, which would be considered for further investigations.
Antony Beckmand, CEO, commented:
"These latest results underscore the significant exploration potential at Ringerike, with high-grade copper, nickel, and cobalt samples confirming the district-scale opportunity for Kuniko. Notably, the strong copper results at multiple locations reinforce Ringerike's potential to meet the rising demand for copper, alongside nickel and cobalt which are strategic minerals for strengthening Europe's domestic supply chains. The results also show similarities to Voisey's Bay, one of the world's premier nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide systems. With continued exploration, we believe Ringerike has the potential to deliver mineralisation as good as Voisey's Bay, making it a highly promising development for Kuniko."
Kuniko is focused on the development of copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium projects in the Nordics and is committed to high ethical and environmental standards for all company activities. Kuniko's key assets are located in Norway.
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/D0AG43Q8
About Kuniko Limited
Kuniko Limited (ASX:KNI) is focused on the exploration and development of copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium projects in Scandinavia. We are committed to delivering raw materials responsibly and sustainably, with a strict mandate to maintain net zero carbon footprint throughout exploration, development, and production.
| ||
|
