Strategic Minerals Plc (LON:SML) shares rose in early trading Monday after it identified three additional nickel sulphide prospects at its Hanns Camp prospect in Western Australia.
The battery metals miner said following the evaluation of the results of an air core drilling programme conducted in June, it had identified potential at Hanns Camp South, Royal North and Royal Central.
WATCH: Strategic Minerals identifies new nickel sulphide prospects at Hanns Camp
SML added that a review of the data by nickel specialist Dr Martin Gole along with the company’s consultant geologist Graeme Purcell had confirmed the potential for lava channel embayment’s in the ultramafic rocks for nickel sulphide mineralisation.
Following the results, the company will conduct ground-based electromagnetic surveys across all three targets, which is expected to be undertaken and reported on within the December 2018 quarter.
SML said funding for the surveys would come from the sale proceeds of the divestment of gold tenements owned by its subsidiary, Central Australian Rare Earths (CARE).
The firm had agreed to sell several tenements earlier this month to ASX-listed Great Southern Mining Ltd (GSN) for an A$50,000 initial deposit and 1mln GSN shares that would be paid on completion.
Alan Broome AM, chairman of Strategic Minerals, said the recent sale of gold tenements at CARE’s Laverton project (where Hanns Camp is located) had allowed the firm to “principally focus” exploration on nickel sulphides, adding that the group’s tenement portfolio left it “excellently positioned” given the province already hosted several world-class deposits.
Shares were up 1.6% at 1.5p.