White Cliff Minerals Ltd (ASX:WCN) has identified cobalt and nickel mineralisation at its Coglia Well project in the Laverton region of Western Australia.
One of the broader intersections was 28 metres at 0.12% cobalt and 0.55% nickel from 60 metres.
White Cliff was initially attracted to the Coglia Well project because of its nickel sulphide potential, but with a strong run in the cobalt price, management's strategy has changed.
Shallow oxide mineralisation maybe economic
Todd Hibberd, managing director, said: “The Coglia project was initially acquired for its nickel sulphide potential but the higher cobalt and nickel grades encountered in the 2016 drilling suggest that there is substantial shallow oxide mineralisation that may be economic.
“The company has lodged a drilling program with the WA government and is conducting 3D modelling of the mineralisation in preparation for drilling.”
White Cliff now has three shallow cobalt-nickel deposits in Coglia Well, Coronation Dam and Ghan Well.
These are all located in a region with extensive mining and processing infrastructure and within trucking distance to Glencore’s Murrin-Murrin nickel-cobalt processing facilities.
Cobalt grades increase the south of main mineralisation
At Coglia Well, circa 2.5 kilometres of the 11.5 kilometres of strike has been partially drill tested, resulting in the identification of extensive cobalt and nickel mineralisation.
The cobalt grade appears to increase substantially to the south of the main mineralisation.
This is consistent with the grade of Glencore PLC’s adjacent Irwin Hills cobalt and nickel deposits which contain 29Mt at 0.11% cobalt and 1% nickel.
There is a further 7 kilometres of untested prospective ultramafic rock to the tenement boundary adjacent to Glencore’s deposit.
Prospect of establishing a mineral resource
While White Cliff has not yet calculated a mineral resource, as drilling has only tested a small fraction of the mapped ultramafic unit indicating its potential.
The company recently raised capital to assist in exploring this region.