Greentech kicks off Osborne nickel drilling after land access win

Greentech has kicked off maiden reverse circulation drilling at the “compelling” Osborne nickel target just 20km west of Azure’s 4.6Mt Andover nickel-copper-cobalt project.

Commencing the operation comes after the company secured heritage clearance and land access – issues that had prevented Legend Mining, which first identified Osborne as a key nickel-copper target in 2007, from following-up.

Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE), which is earning up to 51% in the target, is drilling up to three holes totalling 750m in the first stage of the drilling program to test the shallowest portion of Osborne – a discrete VTEM anomaly that coincides with the contact between mafic and ultramafic intrusions of the Andover Intrusive Complex.

The Andover complex also hosts the Andover project that is held by Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS) and renowned prospector Mark Creasy, and widely seen as a play-opening discovery.

“We are very excited that this drill program is underway. Osborne is a compelling conductor target in the right rocks in a proven nickel terrane. We have a pXRF analyser on site so we won’t have to wait very long for the answer,” executive director Thomas Reddicliffe says.

Ready to drill

The first stage program is being undertaken by Egan Drilling and supervised by independent geological consulting group Newexco.

Osborne is modelled as dipping 30 degrees to 45 degrees to the north with the top of the target at a depth of around 155-175m.

Besides its proximity to Andover and the strong interest shown by previous explorers, it is located just 5km northeast of the Sholl B1 nickel-copper deposit.

Both Greentech and its partner Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) have already planned the next stage of drilling, which may include the nearby Hickmott target.

This article was developed in collaboration with Greentech Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.