Sabre Resources discovers huge nickel sulphide target at Sherlock Bay

Sabre Resources (ASX:SBR) on Monday revealed it has identified a promising large magnetic underground anomaly at its Sherlock Bay nickel sulphide project.

The anomaly extends westward for 1km beyond the boundary of known mineralisation forming the Sherlock Bay project’s current JORC-compliant resource.

Paired with recent high-grade nickel sulphide intersections (a handheld X-ray fluorescence [XRF] reading returned in-core concentrations up to 4.7% in December), Sabre is confident it can upgrade the project’s existing resource beyond 110,000t of nickel. 

The company’s exploration team will see a drill rig fired up at the end of the wet season currently impacting the Pilbara region of WA, which ends in March. 

Project economics 

Nickel prices have increased 30% since Sabre published its January 2022 Scoping Study. If Sabre confirms high grade nickel mineralisation is present at the site of the anomaly, it could potentially lead the way to an upgraded document in the future. Whether or not this will occur remains to be seen and remains speculative.

“Sherlock Bay has already been shown to be cash-flow positive at a nickel price of US$10/lb,” Sabre Resources chief Jon Dugdale said.

“The detection of a major new, untested, EM conductor extending west of the current nickel sulphide resource at Sherlock Bay highlights...potential."

Sabre’s Dugdale told Market Index in October last year of his plans to capitalise on a forecast nickel deficit in 2025. You can read more about that in our investor’s guide to nickel. 

Sherlock Bay focus 

Sabre Resources has been focused on its Sherlock Bay landholding since October last year, when the first diamond drill rig to hit the project in months was hauled on-site. 

That October 2022 campaign confirmed the presence of massive sulphides in core samples retrieved from downhole. 

From a nearology perspective, the sulphide zone occurs in a location on-site with similar geology to that of the Nova deposit owned by IGO (ASX:IGO) and Azure Minerals’ (ASX:AZS) Andover play.

The WA project is also prospective for copper and cobalt, Sherlock boasts a nickel resource of around 100,000t. 

A glimpse at Sabre's three month charts

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Sabre was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.