Australian Mines expands Sconi potential with strong nickel-cobalt assays
The drilling is part of a 50,000-metre resource expansion program to test Sconi’s favourable geology and confirm the project’s true mineral endowment.
Company
ASX:AUZ
Australian Mines Limited is an ASX-listed exploration and development company focused on gold, critical metals and energy-storage technology across Australia and Brazil. The company is building a diversified portfolio that combines near-term gold exploration at Boa Vista with longer-term exposure to scandium, nickel, cobalt, tin, lithium and rare earth elements through its critical metals projects.
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The drilling is part of a 50,000-metre resource expansion program to test Sconi’s favourable geology and confirm the project’s true mineral endowment.
It is the second major R&D collaboration examining the use of scandium from the company’s Sconi project in Queensland.
A bankable feasibility study for the Sconi project is being prepared for release.
The company has developed a flowsheet that results in production of a scandium oxide of purity levels in excess of 99.9%.
The subsidiary holds the non-core gold and base metals exploration assets of Australian Mines in Western Australia.
The company has the opportunity to be a globally significant supplier of nickel and cobalt sulphates through its pipeline of projects: Argonaut Securities.
Results will now feed into an updated JORC resource estimate for the Greenvale deposit.
The agreement with Bergen Global Opportunity Fund II limits share value dilution and provides inbuilt flexibility with competitive terms.
Drilling is being planned to expand the current JORC resource at Flemington.
Norwest Minerals plans to raise $6.6 million in an IPO by the end of October 2018.
The drop-off in discoveries of more than 500,000 tonnes was experienced despite a 114.5% increase in exploration expenditure between the two periods.
The company believes the substantial scandium mineralisation will further enhance the project’s existing cobalt, nickel and platinum upside.
Presenters at this year’s Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie in the Western Australian Goldfields looked at the question of growth, and whether to focus on acquiring new projects or explore to increase production.
The targets indicate iron oxide copper-gold mineralisation similar to Ernest Henry and Olympic Dam.
The copper grades of all 87 rock chip samples averaged 6.3%.
$4 million of the planned $6.6 million of IPO funding has been committed.
Assays return results of up to 0.61% cobalt, 10.55 g/t platinum, 720ppm scandium and 1.38% nickel.
Mapping and sampling has confirmed the presence of almost identical material to that found at Cobalt Blue’s nearby project.
The company's shares are trading about 8.5% higher intra-day, at 8.9 cents.
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The new licences are near Cobalt Blue Holdings’ Thackaringa Cobalt Project.