Native Mineral Resources Holdings Limited announced that it has secured a drill rig to complete its first drill hole at its Helios nickel target located approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Rawlinna in the Nullarbor region of Western Australia. The confidence to drill the greenfields site has come from extremely positive results obtained during forward modelling of the high-resolution drone-based magnetics recently completed over the Helios target area. The final high-resolution magnetics data and forward modelling is continuing to build on the positive results being obtained from the target area.

The magnetic high at the centre of its 100% owned Helios target area is interpreted to be magnetite-bearing magmatic rocks that can be associated with the formation of Ni, Cu, Co, PGE (platinum group elements) deposits such as the Nova-Bollinger deposit in the nearby Frazer Range. The initial identification of the Helios target was aided by emulating selected exploration criteria used to discover Nickel deposits by companies Sirius Resources (now IGO) and Legend Mining. Specifically, targeting eye-shaped features in the Fraser Range to the west.

Drilling is planned to commence in March 2022. NMR completed a 50m line spacing drone-based magnetic survey over its Helios Ni target located in SE western Australia. The drone was flown at an elevation of approximately 30m above the ground surface to help refine the magnetic target which, following acquisition and interpretation of the results, has an updated depth of around 125m below the surface.

The survey completed a total of 831-line kilometres with the primary flight path oriented 090 (east- west), at high angles to the strike trend of the eye-shaped anomaly. The survey and post-processing of the resulting dataset has assisted NMR in pinpointing a priority drill hole collar location. Specifically, the location of the drill collar has been chosen to consider both the shallowest depth to the basement and the highest magnetic feature modelled below the magnetic high at the surface.

NMR is excited about completing the upcoming drill hole as it will represent the very first basement drilling to be completed in this part of the Nullarbor. The drilling will target the well-defined high magnetic zone in the central part of the eye-shaped structure. The peak in magnetic intensity is located toward the north-eastern end of the anomaly.

The TMI RTP data exhibit a minimum and maximum value of -246 and 1228 nT. The previously identified magnetic ridges that appear to wrap around the central anomaly have been better defined in the recently acquired data. It is apparent that on the western margin of the survey area that the high magnetic ridge is comprised of two parallel features.

The magnetic ridge on the western margin exhibits a higher magnetic intensity than on the eastern side and has a significant magnetic low along its western edge. This magnetic high presents another significant target for NMR. Forward modelling of magnetics results helping to define drill targets: The results obtained form the high-resolution drone magnetics have been forward modelled to assist in pinpointing the best possible drill hole location. Specifically, the forward modelling was used to develop more precise interpretations on the depth to the basement rocks, the depth to the magnetic target and the magnetic susceptibility properties of the target rocks.

The forward modelling was undertaken by Brisbane-based Geo Discovery Group Pty Ltd.