Drilling has started on a high conductance target at ASX- and JSE-listed Orion Minerals’ Rok Optel nickel/copper target on the Namaqua and Disawell mineral rights in the Areachap Belt, in South Africa.

“Our first intersection at Rok Optel demonstrated that geological conditions exist for the accumulation of large intrusive massive sulphide, nickel/copper bodies. The new Rok 4 conductor, which is three times higher in conductance than the Rok 2 conductor at drill hole OROD001 is very encouraging for the potential to discover a large massive sulphide body,” Orion MD and CEO Errol Smart commented on Monday.

Drill hole OROD001 intersected a succession of sulphide-bearing mafic to ultramafic intrusive rocks, over a down-hole width of 186.86 m.

Additionally, Orion pointed out that the sulphide mineralisation includes synmagmatic injection veins and stringers of massive sulphide comprising pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and pentlandite.

The hole was completed at 412.06 m.

An additional fixed loop time-domain electromagnetic survey has now been completed to the north of grid Rok 1 to test the extension of the conductive zone and better define the anomaly for drilling.

Plate models have orientation consistent with the intrusion morphology as currently understood from the available drill hole and surface mapping data, the company added, noting that the plate models at Rok 4 have conductance of up to 9400S and are consistently about 100 m by 300 m in size.

“The intimate associations and consistent plunge of the target indicate that this anomaly is likely to be an extension of the mineralisation drilled in OROD001, with interpreted increasing sulphide content toward the north,” the company added.

A second diamond drill hole, OROD002, was started on August 4 to test the high-conductance target.

In parallel with drilling at OROD002, drill core processing, sampling and analysis of OROD001 is continuing and fieldwork is under way to augment the historic surface mapping.

All information is being integrated to enable construction of a three-dimensional intrusion model to enable optimal drill targeting, and the Rok Optel intrusion remains open at its northern, southern and western margins.