Western Mines unearths high-grade, deep WA sulphides

Western Mines Group has intercepted high-grade sulphide segregations at depth at its flagship Mulga Tank nickel project on the Minigwal Greenstone Belt in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, signalling another step forward in defining what the company believes could become one of the world’s most significant komatiite-hosted nickel systems.

The latest reverse-circulation hole cut multiple zones of semi-massive sulphide textures, with logged nickel-rich mineralisation extending well below the main disseminated envelope. The result builds on successive campaigns that have progressively traced the Mulga Tank ultramafic complex down-plunge and along strike, revealing a fertile system with both disseminated and basal massive sulphide potential.

Geological interpretation shows the sulphide-rich segregations occur near the base of the central komatiite flow, consistent with the model the company has been testing for more than a year. Western Mines says petrological work will now determine the mineral assemblages and grade distribution across the intercepts before full assays are released.

MTRC011 is an exciting hole for us, showing clear high-grade sulphide segregations at depth that support our model of a large, fertile nickel sulphide system at Mulga Tank. We’re seeing increasing evidence of both disseminated and massive mineralisation styles, which gives us confidence as we prepare the next round of deeper drilling.

The hit follows a string of wins for the Subiaco-based explorer. Earlier this month the company secured a $180,000 WA Government EIS co-funding grant to test a 1.3 kilometre-long komatiite body north of the main complex and only weeks prior completed a $3.7 million placement led by Cygnet Capital to fuel further RC and diamond drilling.

Across its first four phases of drilling, Western Mines has tallied more than 60 holes at Mulga Tank, culminating in a massive April 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate of 1.97 billion tonnes at 0.27 per cent nickel, or over 5.3 million tonnes of contained metal making, it likely the largest nickel sulphide resource in Australia and among the top 10 globally.

The company’s technical team, led by WA nickel veteran Dr Ben Grguric, believes Mulga Tank sits in the same geological family as the Mt Keith and Perseverance mines, where basal sulphide channels form the backbone of globally significant deposits. Each campaign has been producing consistent results with EM conductors, petrology and geochemistry all pointing towards an extensive mineralised system beneath the Yilgarn’s sand cover.

Following today’s result, metallurgical test-work and further down-hole EM surveys are expected to refine new diamond targets for next year. The company is also weighing belt-wide gold potential, with a tenement application set to extend coverage across 425 square kilometres of the Minigwal belt.

For a junior capped near $25 million, Western Mines now sits with cash in the bank, a string of co-funded holes ahead and a discovery narrative moving steadily from geological promise to economic possibility. If the next round of assays confirm the grades hinted at in the recent hole, the Mulga Tank story may soon graduate from persistence play to genuine nickel contender.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au