Home > Exploration
Projects
Advanced Projects
Ravensthorpe Cu-Au Joint Venture (Galaxy Resources Limited)
Pioneer has entered into a joint venture with Galaxy Resources Limited ("Galaxy") to explore for high grade copper and gold mineralisation on tenements and tenement applications near Ravensthorpe, Western Australia. Pioneer will be the manager of the Ravensthorpe Joint Venture.
Golden Ridge
Pioneer has entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement for the Golden Ridge Project to explore 118 square kilometres of highly prospective geological units for nickel sulphide ore. The project is located approximately 25 kilometres from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia; and is linked by a 40 kilometre haul road with the Kambalda nickel processing facility.
Within the project area, five discoveries of nickel sulphides have been made to date. (This includes the Blair nickel mine which is owned and operated by Pioneer's joint venture partner, Australian Mines Limited (ASX:AUZ) and is excluded from the Joint Venture).
All five deposits of nickel sulphide mineralization occur in areas of outcropping rocks or shallow sand cover; terrain where mapping and surface geochemistry will be most effective. However, much of the project is covered by thicker cover and this where hidden mineralisation could be found, which will be the focus of Pioneer's exploration programmes.
Current exploration is focussing on developing the geological model for the project, using RAB drilling, gravity, aeromagnetic and geochemical data. This is resolving the location of the prospective basal ultramafic contact, which is then surveyed using a SQUID fixed loop EM system ahead of drilling.
Balagundi
The Balagundi Project is located 20km E of Kalgoorlie. Pioneer (through Western Copper Pty Limited) has a 100% interest in the project. The Project comprises three exploration licences and seven prospecting licences, totalling 123kmē.
Pioneer's geologists have identified a geological setting that is considered to be consistent with that hosting volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. This target style includes Golden Grove and Teutonic Bore Mines as Western Australian examples.
New geochemistry by Pioneer in conjunction with drilling records from the late 1990s has been used to generate drilling targets, initially for the Trapdoor Prospect.
Previous drilling returned:
- 4m at 3.2% Cu (as malachite) at 20-24m depth. This hole ended at 31m and is the only hole to test the mineralised horizon at the Redback Prospect; and
- 4m at 1.04g/t Au.
The currently exploration program will see 10 hole (1,200m) RC drilling program completed at the Redback Prospect. Geological logs record for two holes indicate malachite (copper carbonate) mineralisation over 8m and 5m respectively on sections 40m apart. Mineralised samples have been submitted for analysis.
Silver Swan Northwest Project
The Silver Swan Northwest Project is located 45 km NNE of Kalgoorlie. The project covers komatiite and felsic sequences on the east limb of the Scotia Kanowna Dome. The Project, considered grass-root, comprises 442kmē of tenements in addition to those the subject of the Silver Swan Northwest Joint Venture with BHP-Billiton.
The project covers ultramafic units that are considered geologically related to units that host nearby nickel deposits at the Silver Swan Mine, Mt Jewel and Rainbow Dam. In addition, a large gold-in-soil anomaly has been recently identified in a structural location along strike from the Mulgarrie Gold Mining Centre.
Gold-in-soil anomalies are coincident with a 12 kilometre-long structural corridor. Within the structural corridor, previous explorer's results include:
- The "Top Prospect" where RC drilling records indicate narrow high grade zones including 1m at 36.46g/t, 1m at 11.19g/t and 2m at 4.25g/t; and
- The "Airstrip Prospect" where records indicate a single traverse of RC drilling returned gold anomalies including 2m at 3.3g/t and 1m at 1.25g/t.
Coincident nickel-copper anomalism is recorded in assays from RAB drilling from the 1990s. In several instances anomalism occur near the interpreted basal contact of highly magnesian ultramafic rocks. This environment is considered prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation.
Pioneer has commenced a 5,000m drilling program to test gold and nickel targets; and MLTEM surveys to test basal contact nickel targets.
Joint Ventures
Acra Joint Venture Project (Jubilee Mines NL)
Pioneer entered into a farm-out and joint venture with Australia's most successful nickel sulphide explorer - Jubilee Mines NL. To date Jubilee has expended $3.0 million and has another $3.5 million to fund before earning a 75% interest.
The Acra Project (and adjacent Emu Lake Project of Image Resources Limited) is the only project that Jubilee manages outside of its wholly owned Cosmos and Bannockburn Projects.
Disseminated nickel sulphides drilled by Pioneer highlighted the Acra ultramafic to be an important sulphidated ultramafic system. Mineralisation is identified over a strike extent of 700m, and occurs within the ultramafic pile.
Important results from drilling by Jubilee since the formation of the joint venture have highlighted ultramafic rocks thought to represent the base of the ultramafic succession (the "basal contact"), a fundamental piece of information when exploring for massive nickel sulphide mineralisation.
RC drilling in 2005 intersected nickel sulphide horizons and include:
- JBRC010 27 metres at 0.42% Ni from 81m (including 2 metres at 0.94% Ni);
- ACRC017 43 metres at 0.45% Ni from 58m (including 10 metres at 0.61% Ni); and
- ACRC018 7 metres at 0.83% Ni from 202m (including 2 metres at 1.04% Ni).
Modelling and interpretation of existing data is complete. Recent mapping and sampling has located a third nickel sulphide gossan. Ground geophysics is planned ahead of drilling, scheduled for later 2006.
Ramelius Alliance Area
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.
The Project is located at the northern end of the Widgiemooltha Greenstone Belt with ultramafic units interpreted to correlate with the host units of the Mt Edwards, Widgiemooltha, Miitel and Redross Nickel Sulphide Mines. The area is also prospective for gold and tantalite mineralisation is recorded.
Ramelius is very active in the Wattle Dam District where it has a gold mining operation and an aggressive exploration program for both nickel and gold.
In an announcement by Ramelius in early June 2007, a drill hole was reported as having intercepted 32 metres at 2.0/t Gold from 12 metres depth at the centre of a 700 metre long anomalous zone within the West Larkinville JV Project.
Maggie Hays Lake Joint Venture Project (LionOre)
Pioneer has entered into a farm-out joint venture with LionOre Australia (Nickel) Pty Ltd to explore the Maggie Hays Lake prospect, and LionOre has earned an 80% interest in the project through expending $200,000. Pioneer continues to be free-carried until the commencement of mining.
Shallow Rotary Air Blast ("RAB") drilling confirmed the prospectivity of the targeted area with analyses up to 10m at 0.4% Ni, and with anomalous in Cu and PGM.
Conductors identified by LionOre since the commencement of the joint venture are thought to relate to sedimentary horizons adjacent to the target ultramafic. The next phase of work will include stratigraphic drilling to locate geological targets.
Tasmania Joint Venture Project
Pioneer has applied tenements located in Northwest Tasmania. These are the Heazlewood, considered prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation, and a second at Whyte River, which is prospective for gold. Both tenements are located near Savage River.
Reconnaissance Projects
Mt Thirsty South Project
Mt Thirsty South cobalt-nickel-manganese project, located approximately 20km NNW of Norseman, Western Australia. Pioneer holds a 100% interest in the project.
The Mt Thirsty South Project comprises a single exploration licence application with an area of 114km².
Pioneer's project is the immediate southern extension of the Mt Thirsty Joint Venture Project ("MTJV") (Barra Resources Limited (ASX: BAR) and Fission Energy Limited (ASX: FIS)) where a resource of 21 million tonne of 0.62% Ni, 0.14% Co and 1.01% Mn is reported (FIS announcement 21 April 2008). In its announcement, Fission Energy states that it has agreed to pay vendors $8.0 million for an effective 50% interest in the MTJV and anticipates completion of a feasibility study by 4Q 2008. Joint Venture drilling occurs to approximately 280m N of Pioneer's northern tenement boundary.
Pioneer has flown a low-level, detailed aeromagnetic survey of the area which shows the various facies of the Mt Thirsty ultramafic sequence; and field checking by Pioneer's geologists has been completed. A 3km long demagnetised zone is interpreted as the pervasively weathered extension of the olivine cumulate-textured peridotite which hosts the MTJV's deposit.
First pass appraisal drilling and sampling results will be reported during the June 2008 quarter. These drill holes will be the first to test the prospective horizon within Pioneer's tenement.
Pioneer has been monitoring the development of treatment options for "lateritic" ore styles and is attracted by this project. Test work reported by Fission Energy provides encouragement for the application of moderate temperature, ambient pressure leaching using a weak acid solution to recover acceptable proportions of key payable metals. This could mean that an eventual treatment plant would have a much lower construction cost when compared with PAL alternatives.
Pioneer Project
The Pioneer project contains ultramafic stratigraphy that correlates with the mine sequences at Miitel, Redross and Mt Edwards Nickel Sulphide mines.
Better drill results from Pioneer include:
- 0.6m at 3.9% Ni in JH4;
- 3.2m at 3.2% Ni in JH8;
The JH Deposit is reported to contain 32,500 tonne at 1.1% Ni (not JORC standard). In addition to testing for down plunge extensions to the JH and BB Deposits, aeromagnetic interpretation by Pioneer has located additional discrete zones of thickening within the ultramafic stratigraphy, consistent with the presence of further komatiite channels.
Wattle Dam Project
The Spargoville mine sequence komatiite unit at Wattle Dam includes the immediate strike extensions of the Spargoville 1A, 5A, 5B, Andrews and Mt Edwards Nickel Sulphide mines.
Soil geochemistry shows Wattle Dam to be highly anomalous, with coincident nickel and copper values over the Spargoville Mine sequence, providing immediate targets for surface TEM and drilling.
Higginsville Project
The Higginsville project targets the Pioneer ultramafic unit along the western and southern margin of the Pioneer Dome. The project includes the Spinifex Nickel Sulphide prospect, with excellent coincident Ni-Cu-PGM soil anomalism, and the 399 Prospect, with high order Ni-Cu anomalism adjacent to the Jimberlana Dyke. Neither anomaly has previously been drill tested.
Aeromagnetic interpretation by Pioneer indicates the presence of discrete komatiite channels associated with the soil anomalies, which will form the focus of Pioneer's exploration.
Ravensthorpe Joint Venture Aerodrome Project (Galaxy Resources Limited)
The Ravensthorpe project is located at Ravensthorpe, covering the under-explored Cocanarup ultramafic unit. Other ultramafic belts in the Ravensthorpe area are nickel sulphide endowed, hosting the RAV8 mine and other RAV deposits.
Royalty Agreements
New South Wales Royalty Project
Pioneer has applied for a portfolio of tenements for gold and base metals exploration, in the Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales (the Mongarlowe, Gundaroo, Dalton and Muttama Projects) and in broadly geologically similar areas of Tasmania (Whyte River Project).
