Ramelius Alliance Area
Introduction
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Pioneer and Ramelius Resources Limited have entered into a series of agreements which, collectively, has resulted in a large project, managed by Ramelius, that has areas prospective for nickel and gold. The project is located approximately 60km SW of Kalgoorlie.
Wattle Dam Project
Ramelius holds a 100% interest in gold and tantalum rights and may earn up to 80% of nickel rights.
West Larkinville Project
Ramelius may earn up to a 75% interest in the gold and tantalum and 80% of nickel rights.
Nickel
Nickel deposits have been identified in the Widgiemooltha and Spargoville regions since exploration began in 1966. The majority of the exploration work has focused on the eastern ultramafic belt at Spargoville and around the Widgiemooltha Dome to the south with considerable success. Limited attention appears to have been paid to the western ultramafic belt.
The "Wattle Dam Project" surrounds the Spargoville 1A and Spargoville 5A, B & D nickel deposits and the strike continuation of the ultramafic units that host the adjacent North Widgiemooltha Nickel Deposits (Zable, McEwen and Armstrong). It also holds a 12 kilometre strike length of a second ultramafic belt along which the recently discovered Hilditch nickel occurrences and the historical 1Z prospect are located.
More recently, routine sampling of the drill core from diamond drill hole WRC024 drilled in 2005 by Pioneer Nickel Ltd north of the excised 1A deposit returned a 0.45 metre interval of 2.04% Ni and 400ppm Cu in a stringer sulphide zone on the contact of basalt and ultramafic rocks. This interval also returned anomalous As values.
The Spargoville group is located at the northern end of the Widgiemooltha Greenstone Belt and consists of a belt of linear to slightly arcuate, tightly folded, mafic-ultramafic rocks and chert, on the southeastern flank of the Depot Dome.
The ultramafics correlate with the host units of the Mt Edwards, Widgiemooltha, Miitel and Redross Nickel Sulphide Mines.
Project Summary
Geological Setting
The ultramafic rocks include spinifex textured komatiites, now altered to tremolite, chlorite and talc. Metasedimentary rocks close to the faulted contact with ultramafic rocks are laminated, micaceous, quartzo-felspathic siltstones with varying amounts of biotite, which defines a moderate foliation generally parallel to bedding. Metamorphosed felsic volcanics occur to the east.
The ultramafic sequence is repeated, due to folding or thrusting.
Exploration Activity
The Spargoville nickel sulphide deposits are located within two small excisions to Pioneer's tenements. These were discovered in the late 1960s by Selcast Exploration Limited, resulting in the construction of the Andrews Shaft which accessed the 5D deposit. Production took place between 1974-1979. Numerous other anomalies were detected and three smaller deposits, the 1A, 5A and 5B, identified. Recorded resources (including those mined) for the Spargoville nickel sulphide deposits total 1,200,000 tonne at 2.5% Ni. Much of the early geochemistry from drilling and costean sampling was not recorded or has been lost, however Selcast hole H309 returned 14.6m at 0.95% Ni and 0.014% Cu at 1Z and Spinifex RAB hole PNR031 returned 20m at 0.50% Ni and 0.024% Cu at 5N.
Based on current and historical production in the immediate vicinity of Wattle Dam, Pioneer rates this project very highly.
