White Cliff Minerals Ltd (ASX:WCN) has adopted a dual strategy focused on advancing its Western Australian cobalt-nickel projects at the same time as its Kyrgyz Republic gold project.
The cobalt strategy is focusing on resource definition drilling aimed at crystallising the cobalt-nickel value.
White Cliff’s gold strategy is focusing on increasing gold and copper resources at the advanced Aucu project.
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Managing director Todd Hibberd said: “While Aucu remains a priority, the potential of the cobalt-nickel project portfolio the company has accumulated is extremely exciting.
“The cobalt pricing environment and the forecast sustained cobalt demand and supply shortages due to the expansion of new technology batteries bodes well for continued interest in this suite of projects.”
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White Cliff has three cobalt-nickel projects in Western Australia’s Goldfields and believes that in the current environment, it makes strong commercial sense to advance exploration.
The company has a suite of prospects in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
A review of the cobalt and nickel potential within its project portfolio has resulted in the company moving along this path.
Encouraging cobalt-nickel intersections have been returned from previous drilling at its Coronation Dam and Coglia Well projects.
White Cliff also owns the Ghan Well project where near-surface cobalt-nickel mineralisation has been identified over an 11-kilometre strike length.
Drilling aimed at generating resources
Drilling programs at Coglia Well, Coronation Dam and Ghan Well are aimed at generating JORC compliant resources.
An initial 3000-metre drilling program is underway at Coglia Well.
The company believes each could potentially support a standalone development of a size and quality rivalling some similar projects being promoted by Australian cobalt-nickel sector leaders.
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“These are genuine projects that have a realistic chance of being developed,” Hibberd said.
“Not least because of their location” close to Glencore’s Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt plant and GME Resources Limited's (ASX:GME) proposed Mt Kilkenny nickel-cobalt plant.
Updated estimate for Aucu
The company is compiling an updated resource estimate for the Aucu Gold Project which is within the broader Chanach project in the Kyrgyz Republic.
White Cliff’s Aucu Gold Project is in the northwest of the Kyrgyz Republic.
This updated resource should be available early next month based on drilling undertaken during the 2017 field season.
Aucu contains an inferred resource of 1.8 million tonnes at 5.2 g/t gold for 302,000 ounces.
Recent sampling across the porphyry area has highlighted multiple gold-copper and base metals targets, which highlight the scale potential of this mineralised system.