Auroch Minerals has drill spinning at new Firefly and Sinclair North prospects of Leinster Nickel Project

Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX:AOU) has begun reverse circulation drilling at the recently acquired Firefly and Sinclair North prospects within the Leinster Nickel Project in Western Australia. The 1,000-metre drill program will be Auroch’s first phase of exploration on these prospects after entering into a binding agreement with Jindalee Resources (ASX:JRL) to earn up to 70% of a four tenement package. These two prospects are on tenement E36/895, which is contiguous to the company’s 100%-owned E36/899 tenement that hosts the Horn nickel sulphide prospect. "Excellent" previous results Managing director Aidan Platel said: “We are excited to commence our first phase of exploration at the Firefly and Sinclair North prospects, where excellent nickel results in the weathered profile from historic RAB drilling have never been followed up with deeper drilling. “These targets are shaping up to have all of the necessary characteristics to potentially host significant nickel sulphide mineralisation, and sit directly along the magnetic trend from BHP Group Ltd’s (ASX:BHP) group of high-grade massive nickel sulphide mines to the north and Saracen Mineral Holding Ltd’s (ASX:SAR) Sinclair nickel sulphide mine to the south.” Auroch has utilised this wide-spaced drill-hole data to map out a footwall ultramafic-basalt footwall contact over 1.3-kilometres-long which will now be tested for nickel sulphide mineralisation. The drilling will aim to test the modelled contact within fresh rock at a down-hole depth of approximately 100 metres. Three holes have been planned at Firefly and two at Sinclair North. “Encouraged by potential at Valdez” Platel continued: “We are also very encouraged by the potential at the Valdez prospect following completion of our maiden RC program. “Each drill hole has intersected thick packages of fertile ultramafic rocks within the modelled channel/embayment. “This is a great initial result and we eagerly await the geochemical assays and DHEM results from this program which will help us vector in on possible massive nickel sulphide mineralisation. “Our aggressive yet systematic exploration program continues to gain momentum, with an RC program to test channel targets at the Saints Nickel Project to commence later next week, followed by a significant drilling program at the Horn prospect of the Leinster Nickel Project to begin in early October, aimed at converting the historic nickel sulphide resource estimate to be JORC 2012-compliant.” Second phase drilling at Valdez completed The second phase of exploration at the Valdez Nickel Prospect has been completed. Four RC holes for 1,478 metres were completed and all four intersected thick fertile ultramafic units up to 180 metres thick. The drill holes are currently being logged and sampled, and will be surveyed with DHEM next week, with all results to be used for targeting for the next phase of exploration. Change of interests Substantial holder MIMO Strategies Pty Ltd has increased their share in Auroch from 8.7% to 9.85%.  MIMO now holds more than 18.578 million shares in the company.