Mt Finnerty Nickel HoA with Western Areas NL terminates
March 8, 2010
Highlights
The earn in requirement at the Mt Finnerty Nickel project by Western Areas has not been satisfied therefore the Heads of Agreement has lapsed.
Reed resumes 100% nickel rights to project.
Reed to progress nickel exploration in own right.
Australian diversified resources company Reed Resources Ltd (ASX: RDR) notes that under a Heads of Agreement with Western Areas NL (ASX: WSA) made 26 February 2007 WSA has been exploring for nickel at Mt Finnerty and was entitled to earn a 51% interest by expending $1.5m before 26 February 2010: see ASX announcement dated 28 February 2007.
RDR announces WSA had expended approximately $1.32m by that date. Accordingly WSA’s right to earn an interest has now expired and the Heads agreement lapsed.
Since commencement of the agreement WSA has completed, at a cost in excess of A$1.3M, geological mapping, ground geophysical surveys, soil geochemical surveys, RAB and RC drilling. Exploration by WSA has successfully confirmed the presence of extensive highmagnesium cumulate-textured komatiitic sequences along the western flank of the Watt Hills greenstone belt (refer Figure 1).
Recent exploration by WSA focussed on the Richies Reward-Johnnies Dam prospects, targeting an embayment in the Western Ultramafic sequence (Figure 1), including a deep (220m) RC drill hole (WMFRC010) drilled in September. The drill hole intersected unmineralised basalt and thin low-Mg ultramafic units but was stopped at 124m, due to an inflow of salty water, and did not intersect its target.
FORWARD WORK
Reed will continue nickel exploration at Mt Finnerty and the first task will be to mobilise a diamond drill rig to drill a tail on the end of MFRC010 to complete testing of the geological/geophysical target.
