Venus maps out multi-million-tonne zinc-indium prize in WA

Venus Metals has turned the spotlight back onto the Youanmi district, outlining a sizeable zinc–indium exploration target at its Pincher Well prospect, just 15 kilometres from Rox Resources’ Youanmi gold mine redevelopment and close to its own titanium–vanadium–iron ground.

The newly defined target sits within the Pincher Dome volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) trend - a more than 5-kilometre-long corridor peppered with known zinc and copper occurrences, gossans and past drill hits.

Management says its consultants have blended historic and recent drilling into a JORC-compliant exploration target that points to serious scale in a system that has barely been scratched in modern times.

Using a 1 per cent zinc cut-off, the company has outlined an exploration target ranging from 8 to 12 million tonnes grading between 1.8 and 2.2 per cent zinc, with a juicy indium credit of 7 to 9 grams per tonne (g/t). At its current price of around US$155 (A$221) per ounce, Indium is a real bonus for the project. It is a critical metal used in electronics and specialty alloys, and can add meaningful value to polymetallic concentrates.

Notably, the mineralisation appears to sit in a relatively shallow, gently plunging body about 800 metres long across a thickness of roughly 20 metres. Venus says the favourable geometry of the prospect, although still conceptual at this stage, suggests that parts of the system could one day be amenable to shallow open-pit mining if continuity stacks up under tighter drilling.

The exploration target has been pulled together using a mix of 52 drill holes for more than 7200 metres, including both historic and Venus drilling. A swag of those intersections have yielded solid zinc grades over mineable widths, giving the modelling team enough confidence to outline tonnage and grade ranges. However, the company is quick to stress that more drilling is needed before any mineral resource can be declared.

Geologically, Pincher Well fits the bill for a classic volcanic massive sulphide system, with zinc-rich sulphides sitting within a felsic to intermediate volcanic package and associated sediments. These VMS systems are known for clustering in camps, which helps explain why the broader trend already hosts multiple prospects and surface expressions along strike.

With a sizeable target in its sight, Venus says it isn’t wasting any time. The company has already mapped out a follow-up reverse circulation drilling program aimed at both infilling the current footprint and stepping out along strike and down dip. The goal is to tighten up spacing sufficiently to convert parts of the exploration target into a maiden mineral resource and test how far the system runs beyond the current model.

Alongside its exploration momentum, Venus is also dealing with what it has described as an unsolicited corporate approach. An on-market takeover offer from QGold remains open, with the bidder lifting its proposal to 21 cents per share last week and stating the bid is final and due to close at the end of the month.

Venus’ board has been having none of it, unanimously urging shareholders to take no action and reject what it sees as an opportunistic, nil-premium proposition that doesn’t reflect the underlying value of the company’s assets - particularly its prized royalty and strategic shareholdings in Rox Resources’ two-million-ounce Youanmi gold mine.

With infrastructure in the Youanmi–Sandstone region and renewed investor appetite for base metals with critical metal credits, Venus may have timed this update well.

If the next round of drilling can firm up continuity and keep those grades humming, Pincher Well could evolve from a historical curiosity into a modern polymetallic growth story sitting right alongside one of WA’s revived gold camps.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au