Hawk Resources Limited (ASX: HWK) has announced that it has received all necessary government approvals to commence exploration at its Olympus scandium project, following consent from the Western Australian government’s Minister for Mines.
The approval represents the last regulatory step required before fieldwork can begin.
A Mining Entry Permit from the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, along with an Agreement for Mineral Exploration and a Cultural Heritage Survey with the Ngaanyatjarra Traditional Owners, were already in place ahead of this latest consent.
With every approval now secured, Hawk is preparing to launch exploration at Olympus this month, aiming to move quickly toward a drilling program on the project’s most promising targets.
Olympus is located in the West Musgrave region of Western Australia.
The upcoming program will involve soil and rock sampling across an 80 square kilometre priority area, with the goal of fast-tracking a RAB drilling campaign designed to test high-potential zones identified through earlier work.
The project has drawn attention for its potential to host a significant new scandium discovery.
Historical data shows a soil anomaly grading above 500 parts per million scandium across an area measuring seven kilometres by four kilometres.
Reconnaissance RAB drilling from previous exploration also returned encouraging results, including an intercept of 11 metres at 934 parts per million scandium from surface, with individual one-metre samples reaching as high as 2,164 parts per million scandium.
These figures are based on pre-JORC 2012 portable XRF analyses.
Olympus was last explored close to two decades ago, when the focus was on copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum rather than scandium.
It was only through a subsequent review of the historical soil sample assay data that the scale of the scandium anomaly became apparent.
Managing Director of Hawk Resources, Scott Caithness, said the government approval clears the way for the company’s next phase of work at the project.
“Obtaining the West Australian government Minister for Mines’ approval marks the final milestone in the approval process ahead of the commencement of exploration at Olympus,” said Caithness.
“Hawk is now gearing up to commence exploration in September.”
According to the company, the historical soil data reveals a maximum grade of 1,284 parts per million scandium, with multiple samples exceeding 1,000 parts per million.
This is supported by earlier reconnaissance RAB drilling results, which returned assayed intersections including five metres at 948 parts per million scandium and six metres at 821 parts per million scandium, in addition to the previously mentioned 11 metre intercept.
Notably, all of these intersections begin at or near surface, a factor that could simplify future extraction if the project advances.
Caithness pointed to the historical context and the scale of the anomaly as reasons for optimism about what the upcoming program could reveal.
“Hawk’s exploration at Olympus will be the first in the area since 2008 and based on the historical exploration it has the potential to result in the discovery of a major new scandium province,” said Caithness.
With approvals finalised, Hawk Resources will now turn its attention to mobilising field teams and equipment, with soil and rock sampling expected to begin this month ahead of a planned transition into RAB drilling on the project’s priority targets.
