nova exploration update, page-20

from proactive investors

NL (ASX: SIR) has an ongoing drilling campaign at the recently discovered Nova nickel-copper deposit in Western Australia.

The company is well funded with $17 million in cash and also has a further 9.1 million $0.60 December 2012 options yet to be exercised, which would provide another $6 million - and are expected to be exercised considering the shares are currently trading above $3.

Sirius is therefore fully funded to drill Nova to JORC Resource status; to drill the adjacent EM anomalies; and to explore its other targets at Fraser Range.

At Nova drilling is ongoing around the periphery of the Nova deposit to define its limits, with infill drilling on 50 metre spaced lines also continuing.

Infill drilling on the 750N line intersected: 24.68 metres of mixed (massive, breccia and disseminated) sulphides from 327.9 metres in hole SFRD0113.

Assays have been received for more holes, with key results including: 47.2 metres at 1.86% nickel and 0.57% copper from 298 metres, including 36 metres at 2.23% nickel and 0.65% copper
from 309.2 metres, including 3.05 metres at 6.1% nickel; and 1.31% copper from 309.2 metres in hole SFRD0058, drilled on the 700N line.

- 16.6 metres at 1.31% nickel and 0.54% copper from 307 metres, including 2.2 metres at 4.02% nickel and 1.18% copper from 321.4 metres in hole SFRD0093, drilled on the 800N line.


Nova north (north of the fault) & conductor 5

Electromagnetic surveying north of the fault at Nova has not defined a continuation of the EM conductor associated with the Nova deposit where expected.

A potentially deeper EM response has been detected but it is not possible to model this due to the masking effect of the Nova deposit itself. Alternatively, conductor 5 and the associated induced polarisation (IP) anomaly may represent the continuation of the mineralisation north of the fault.

Drilling will now test conductor 5, which appears to be related to zones of disseminated sulphides previously intersected in hole SFRD0013 (the easternmost hole drilled on the 800N line) and in hole SFRD0095 (the easternmost hole on the 900N line).

SFRD0095 intersected 18.21 metres of disseminated sulphides including 5.8 metres of stringer and vein sulphide.


Conductor 4, results in two weeks

Downhole EM (DHEM) on conductor 4 using hole SFRD0099 (the first hole drilled into sulphides at conductor 4) has defined a broad low intensity conductor and a small offhole conductor.

The broader conductor may reflect a zone of disseminated or stringer mineralisation and the small offhole conductor may reflect the presence of a lens of massive sulphide mineralisation.

Drilling has recommenced at conductor 4 to test these anomalies and will continue for the next two weeks.