Acra Joint Venture Project
Introduction
Acra JV tenements
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The Acra Joint Venture (AJV) with Xstrata Nickel Australasia Pty Ltd ("XNA") is located approximately 80km E of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
XNA currently hold a 60% interest in the joint venture and is earning up to an 80% interest in the joint venture through sole funding a further $1.2M over the next two (2) years. Pioneer currently has a 40%, reducing to a 20% interest free carried until a decision to mine is made. Pioneer has recently resumed management of the joint venture for the remainder of the earn in period. This move recognizes the in house expertise Pioneer has built up for nickel sulphide exploration.
(for more about nickel sulphide model click here)
The project provides the joint venture partners with a dominant tenement position along the Emu Fault. The project covers approximately 140 strike kilometres of a sequence of west facing, east dipping mafic and ultramafic lavas with interbedded felsic and sedimentary rocks. At least four komatiite packages are present within the overall project area, with the western-most hosting the known historical nickel sulphide mineralisation, including the Acra deposit. The geology of the area is complicated by several phases of faulting and folding. Areas of the project are also prospective for gold and base metals.
Work completed to date has generated four nickel sulphide occurrences within the project area, all centred in the southern section of the project.
Geology plan of the Acra-Jubilee West area
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Acra cross section
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The ACRA/Jubilee Prospect is located within channel facies; olivine cumulate rocks which have undergone serpentisation with varying degrees of talc carbonate alteration. The geology at Acra is complex, with the basal contact overturned. The mineralisation was discovered during the "Nickel Boom" period of 1967 to 1975, and was again explored to a lesser extent for nickel and gold from the mid 1980s to early 1990s, which included a best result of 0.27m at 4.36% Ni in hole AD-004.
At Jubilee South drilling by the AJV to test a zone of outcropping nickel gossans during 2006 returned a best result of 2m at 1.04% Ni and 0.08% Cu from hole ACRC018.
During 2008, work by the joint venture made a significant discovery at the Jubilee West Prospect. The Jubilee West prospect is approximately 1km from the Acra-Jubilee Prospect. Previous ground SQUID MTLEM surveying had generated a strong anomaly. Initial drill testing of the anomaly confirmed it to be a sulphidic sediment, however the hole was in prospective geological units so was extended. This led to the discovery of a mineralised basal ultramafic contact.
- JBRC029 8m at 0.58% Ni and 174ppm Cu from 12 metres (precollar);
- JBDD014 7.55m at 0.42% Ni and 473ppm Cu from 561m
- Including 0.1m grading 2.58% Ni and 5310ppm Cu from 553.72 (massive sulphide)
- JBDD015 4m at 0.75% Ni and 162ppm Cu from 24 metres
Jubilee West cross section
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The significance of the drilling and particularly hole JBDD014 is that it is the first time an intact basal contact has been recognized within the Acra-Jubilee area. Of further significance is the presence of massive nickel sulphide on this contact. The intact basal contact is overturned and is thought to be hosted on the limb of a fault bound blind fold.
