Widgie Nickel sees its Widgie South project area (comprising Widgie 3, Widgie Townsite, Gillett and Gillett North) as a key mining centre within the Company’s nickel portfolio given its significant nickel endowment of 90,230 t Ni (Indicated and Inferred Resources).
The area is located on Mining Lease M15/94, 1km to the south of the Widgiemooltha township. Access is via the Coolgardie-Norseman Rd, 63km south of Coolgardie.
Widgie South covers a significant land holding within the Widgiemooltha Nickel Province between the historic Spargoville nickel mines to the north and the Cassini nickel mine (Wyloo Metals) to the south.
The project area lies at the north-eastern flank of the Widgiemooltha Dome, a double plunging anticlinal structure cored by a deformed granitoid. The pre-deformation stratigraphy at Widgie South consists of a basaltic footwall and ultramafic hangingwall with minor sediment units found within the footwall basalt unit. Felsic intrusives (porphyries) are only found locally at Widgie 3 and range from 1m-10m in thickness that run parallel to the basal contact.
Nickel mineralisation was discovered in the Widgie South Trend area of the Mt Edwards Project in about 1967, shortly after the first significant discovery of nickel mineralisation at Kambalda in the previous year.
The close proximity of the three known resources: Widgie 3, Gillett and Widgie Townsite provides the opportunity for shared infrastructure reducing capital costs.
Widgie 3
Exploration at Widgie 3 has confirmed thick intercepts of high-grade nickel sulphide and PGE mineralisation which remains open at depth with increasing grade interpreted down plunge. The drilling results received so far will go towards a resource update with increased resource confidence.
Notable significant nickel intercepts from drilling include:
23MERCD073 15.47m @ 3.17% Ni, 0.27% Cu, 0.04% Co, 1.51g/t 3PGE from 301.00m
Incl 6.81m @ 5.92% Ni, 0.50% Cu, 0.07% Co, 2.58g/t 3PGE from 309.66m
23MERCD079 27.70m @ 1.26% Ni, 0.11% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.50g/t 3PGE from 379.00m
Incl 2.39m @ 6.56% Ni, 0.68% Cu, 0.09% Co, 2.12g/t 3PGE from 404.29m
23MERCD080 7.74m @ 2.94% Ni, 0.28% Cu, 0.04% Co, 1.24g/t 3PGE from 369.26m
Incl 5.75m @ 3.76% Ni, 0.36% Cu, 0.05% Co, 1.52g/t 3PGE from 369.70m
Gillett
Gillett was only discovered in 2008, given it was a blind discovery without any surface expression.
In January 2024, the Gillett deposit’s Mineral Resource expanded by 75 per cent to a total Resource of 3.14Mt @ 1.30% Ni for 40,770 nickel tonnes.
Notably at the same time, 72% per cent of the Gillett mineral resource upgraded to the higher confidence Indicated category Resource and now quantifies a Palladium + Platinum + Gold (3PGE) endowment with Au (0.05g/t), Pt (0.09g/t) and Pd (0.18g/t) 0.32g/t 3PGE (equating to 5,240oz Au, 9,080oz Pt and 18,050oz Pd).
Significant opportunity for further Resource growth through extension and connection with the Gillett North discovery.
The Gillett Nickel deposit is located on Mining Lease M15/94, approximately 3km south-southeast of the Widgiemooltha Township. Widgie holds the nickel rights for Mining Lease M15/94 with the underlying tenure held by Mincor Resources NL. Gillett is one of three nickel deposits located on M15/94, collectively named the Widgie South Trend (Widgie Townsite, Gillett and Widgie 3).
The Gillett Mineral Resource is a nickel sulphide deposit hosted within an ultramafic package dipping steeply (75o to 85o) to the west. Mineralisation at Gillett occurs over a strike length of more than 1km in a talc-carbonate altered ultramafic on or near a basal contact with a basalt.
There is a strong foliation developed parallel to the basal contact and one interpretation is that the basal contact has been thrust from the main contact that hosts the Widgie 3 and Widgie Townsite nickel sulphide deposits.
The Gillett deposit has been structurally modified with the mineralisation sitting in the ultramafic of an overturned limb under a hanging wall of basalt. The nickel sulphide mineralisation has been being partly controlled by later stage quartz carbonate veining.
Widgie Townsite
The Widgie Townsite Nickel Deposit (WTS) is located on Mining Lease M15/94, 1km south of Widgiemooltha. Access is via the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, with the turn-off to the mine site 63 km from Coolgardie.
In January 2024, WTS released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate of 2.50Mt @ 1.53% Ni for 38,260 nickel tonnes.
The MRE update has increased confidence of the resource with 69% of the nickel metal classified as Indicated Resources for 26,460t of nickel. In addition, the 2024 MRE now includes Palladium + Platinum + Gold (3PGE). With Au (0.08g/t), Pt (0.10g/t) and Pd (0.21g/t) for 0.39g/t 3PGE (equating to 6,350oz Au, 7,965oz Pt and 16,650oz Pd).
The January 2024 MRE update is supported by 79 DD holes, 72 RC holes and 28 RC/DD holes, for a total of 50,791m of drilling. Recent drilling completed by Widgie during 2022 and 2023 at WTS includes 5 RC holes and 28 RC/DD holes, for a total of 13,235m of drilling.
WTS mineralisation (red) Long section looking southwest
Widgie Townsite long section looking Northeast - Significant intercepts shown
