nova nickel copper discovery / sirius clone?

With a change at the helm at Heron, today we see a great announcement which is worth much more than just a fleeting glance.

With promising results from its fully funded and ongoing exploration programs at the Bedonia and Rocky Gully nickel-copper sulphide projects in Western Australia.

Two nickel-copper sulphide projects within the Albany Fraser Mobile Zone, 100% Heron-owned

Bedonia, coincident magnetic-electromagnetic targets identified 60km west southwest of the Nova nickel-copper sulphide discovery

Rocky Gully, nickel and copper mineralization in laterite and bedrock nickel sulphide mineralization identified in previous Heron drilling

Follow-up programs have commenced to generate drilling targets.

BEDONIA NICKEL PROJECT
Exploration targets have been identified at the wholly owned Bedonia Nickel Project, located 65km east northeast of Norseman, Western Australia and some 60km west southwest of the recent Sirius Resources NL Nova nickel-copper sulphide discovery.


ROCKY GULLY NICKEL PROJECT
The Rocky Gully Nickel Project (100% Heron) is located 85 kilometres north-west of Albany within the western part of the Albany Fraser Mobile Zone and underlain by the Proterozoic rocks of the Birunup Gneiss. Late stage mafic to ultramafic intrusions have been identified in the area and are favourable hosts for nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation. Soil sampling has defined a number of coincident nickel and copper anomalies and previous reconnaissance drilling has identified primary nickel sulphide mineralisation.


Heron commenced exploring the area in 2009 for nickel-copper sulphide, but on recognizing carbonatite material in drilling, changed the exploration focus to Rare Earth Elements. With the Nova discovery, and the resultant new insights into the Albany Fraser Mobile Zone metallogeny, the Heron exploration data has been re-interpreted, and exploration focus returned to nickel-copper sulphide.
The Nova nickel-copper discovery regolith expression (as described in Sirius Resources NL ASX release 10 May 2012) is characterized by laterite with 4-32m of consistently anomalous nickel (typically 0.2-0.3%), copper (typically 0.02 to 0.15%) and cobalt (typically 0.02 to 0.09%). Peak laterite intercept was 52m at 0.61% nickel, 0.06% copper and 0.07% cobalt. Significantly, deeper intersections in weathered ultramafic bedrock included 8m at 1.06% nickel and 0.12% copper.
Reconnaissance drilling by Heron at Rocky Gully in 2009 intersected several strongly anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt zones in the lateritic horizons.


With the benefit of the Nova discovery, these 2009 results are now considered particularly significant.
Heron is now planning a detailed ground electromagnetic survey over the soil and regolith anomalies to provide targets for further drilling. The area is very accessible with the Muir Highway traversing the tenement and the ground consists mostly of blue gum plantations.

The Bedonia and Rocky Gully exploration projects provide Heron with immediate entry into high quality nickel and possibly nickel-copper targets within the Albany Fraser Mobile Zone, the host sequence to the Nova nickel-copper discovery by Sirius Resources NL.