Deccan Gold Mines Ltd has reported a significant expansion of mineralisation at its Bhalukona Nickel-Copper-PGE Project in Chhattisgarh, with fresh drilling results identifying a mineralised corridor more than 100 metres wide and extending 430 metres along strike.
The latest assay results strengthen the company’s confidence in the scale and continuity of the discovery, which contains multiple zones of potentially economic nickel, copper and palladium mineralisation, along with localised platinum occurrences.
New drilling results expand mineralised footprint
The company said assay results from three additional drillholes have confirmed a broad mineralised corridor extending to depths of more than 200 metres.
The findings build on results announced earlier this month, when Deccan Gold confirmed the presence of a layered mafic complex containing wide zones of disseminated sulphides and occasional heavy-to-massive sulphide lenses carrying economic grades of nickel, copper and palladium.
According to the company, the newly identified corridor remains open and could extend significantly beyond the currently defined area.
Mineralisation may continue across larger area
Deccan Gold said its drilling programme extends around 800 metres south-west of the drillholes for which assay results have been received so far.
Importantly, all drillholes completed to date have intersected varying widths of disseminated and heavy-massive sulphide mineralisation, indicating that the mineralised corridor could continue across the full extent of the area currently under exploration.
The company has completed approximately 1,500 metres of core drilling across nine holes, testing a strike length of about 1.3 kilometres. Assay results have been received for the first four drillholes, while results from the remaining holes are awaited.
One of India’s first nickel exploration licences
Deccan Gold became one of the first companies in India to secure a licence for nickel-copper-platinum group element (Ni-Cu-PGE) exploration after the Government of Chhattisgarh granted the Bhalukona-Jamnidih Composite Licence on April 1, 2025.
The 30-square-kilometre Bhalukona Nickel Block is located in Basana Tehsil of Mahasamund district and is accessible through local roads and forestry tracks.
The company has also secured the required forestry approvals for non-destructive exploration activities, including drilling in designated areas.
Critical minerals opportunity
Commenting on the latest results, Managing Director Hanuma Prasad Modali said the new drilling data significantly strengthens confidence in the scale and continuity of the Bhalukona mineralised system.
“The latest drilling results significantly strengthen our confidence in the scale and continuity of the Bhalukona mineralised system. With mineralisation now confirmed across a growing strike length and the corridor remaining open, we are increasingly encouraged by the project’s potential to emerge as a significant critical minerals asset,” he said.
Modali noted that the discovery comes at a time when critical minerals are becoming increasingly important for economic competitiveness, energy transition and supply-chain security worldwide.
He added that growing initiatives such as the Quad nations’ critical minerals agenda and the India-US critical minerals partnership underscore the strategic importance of developing reliable and diversified mineral supply chains, creating a significant opportunity for India to strengthen its position in the global critical minerals ecosystem.