Could the Haneti project host large-scale nickel and platinum group metal mineralisation?

That’s the question on the lips of Power Metal Resources’ (LSE:POW) investors everywhere as the long anticipated inaugural diamond drilling kicks off at the Tanzania-based project.

Haneti’s potential was first discovered all the way back in the 1930s by private prospectors. However, technical limitations of the time meant the project largely fell by the wayside for many decades, save for some sampling in the early 1960s by the Tanzanian government.

Fast forward to today, and Power Metal, along with partner Katoro Gold (LSE:KAT)­, are using modern technology to reassess Haneti’s potential for the first time.

What’s intriguing them in particular is a geological feature known as the Haneti-Itiso Ultramafic Complex, or the HIUC, which crops out over an impressive strike length of 80km.

Samples from the HIUC have already graded up to 13.6% nickel and 2.33 g/t platinum/palladium. And, as a result, the project partners believe it could be highly prospective for “chonolith-type” mineralisation that is associated with many leading nickel sulphide discoveries worldwide.

Given the HIUC’s scale, Power Metal and Katoro Gold (who own 35% and 65% of the Haneti project respectively) are currently focusing on two highly prospective targets in particular. These are known as Mihanza Hill and Mwaka Hill, which were first identified as being drill ready by airborne surveying and subsequent analysis between 2012 and 2015.

The pair began by further establishing the potential of both targets for nickel-rich sulphides and PGM mineralisation with a large round Rotary Air Blast drilling in early 2021. And now, they are launching into a three-hole, 1,000m drill programme to target this mineralisation at depth for the very first time.

Mihanza Hill

Beginning with Mihanza Hill: As the image below shows, the target includes a sizeable, bullseye shaped magnetic high delineated from an airborne geophysical survey. Such highs generally correspond with mafic and ultramafic rocks, which are often the source of nickel-rich sulphides.

Interestingly, in this case, the magnetic high at Mihanza Hill is already established as being coincident with a strong nickel in soil anomaly as well as rock results that returned up to 13.6% nickel. And it is this anomaly, which can be seen in 3D in the model below, that Power Metal and Katoro plan to test with a single 495m deep drillhole during their ongoing programme.

As Power Metal’s exploration manager Oliver Friesen explains, the lessons learned here stand to be highly significant in the progression of Haneti as a whole:

“We are really excited about drilling this target. It’s never been drilled before, and based on what we are seeing at surface with the magnetics, the coincident nickel in soil anomaly, and rocks, we think that this is a very compelling drill target.”

Mwaka Hill

Moving on to Mwaka Hill, and Power Metal and Katoro plan to drill two diamond core holes at planned depths of 264m and 241m. These holes are designed to test two discrete, high-priority conductors, which were identified during ground-based electromagnetic surveying and are represented by the red dots in the image below.

Mwaka Hill is already presenting nickel sulphides at surface without the aid of any deep drilling. So, Friesen believes the opportunity to test these anomalies represents another “very exciting proposition” for Power Metal and Katoro as they work to establish Haneti’s true potential.

 

Pushing forward

As Power Metal’s chief executive Paul Johnson highlighted in a release this week, the commencement of drilling at Haneti has been “years in the making”.

Much more work will need to take place beyond these three holes in order to really establish a true understanding as to what this project might hold. However, the bottom line is that Haneti represents a district-scale opportunity with two extremely prospective drill targets which will finally be tested within the coming weeks.

With so many work programmes on the go at any one time, Power Metal can never be accused of putting all of its eggs in one basket.

That being said, given Haneti’s vast scale and highly promising exploration potential, positive results from the ongoing drilling campaign stand to have a significant positive impact on the company’s valuation from here.