Ann: Blackstone Intersects 60m @ 1.3% Nickel at King Cobra, page-16

Blackstone Minerals intersects high-grade nickel at newest target within Ta Khoa project
By Imelda Cotton - January 20, 2020
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Blackstone Minerals has uncovered 60m at 1.3% nickel, including 13.9m at 2.25% nickel at the King Cobra discovery.
King Cobra was discovered in December as a new, near-surface zone of nickel sulfide bearing semi-massive sulfide veins.

Multi-commodity producer Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) has confirmed that a drilling campaign at the newly-discovered King Cobra target within its Ta Khoa nickel project in Northern Vietnam has intersected 60 metres grading 1.3% nickel from 32 metres.

Six new holes returned significant intersections of nickel mineralisation including some of the best results seen to date at Ta Khoa including 13.9m at 2.25% nickel from the King Cobra Zone and 142m at 0.41% including 11.9m at 1.09% from the underlying Ban Duoi Zone.

It includes the first-ever intersection of massive sulfide vein and breccia styles of sulfide mineralisation within the regional Ban Phuc intrusion.

It is speculated that the intersection may provide vectors towards the high grade ‘feeder zone’ mineralisation within the discovery.

Blackstone said it would continue an aggressive drilling program at Ban Phuc with four drill rigs testing the disseminated mineralisation including two rigs on priority step-out drilling testing for potentially significant expansions to the known Ban Phuc DSS orebody and the down dip feeder zone target at the King Cobra target zone.

“King Cobra continues to grow, as does our understanding of the geology of the Ban Phuc deposit,” said managing director Scott Williamson.

“The discovery is shaping up to be a high-grade, near-surface, large-scale disseminated nickel-platinum group elements zone which has potential to deliver a highly economic starter pit at Ta Khoa.”

Existing mine

Blackstone controls the highly-prospective Ta Khoa district in Vietnam’s Son La Province, considered the premier nickel-PGE sulfide district in South East Asia with significant infrastructure advantages via the existing Ban Phuc mine which has been built to Australian standards and has been under care and maintenance since 2016 due to weak nickel prices.

The infrastructure includes an internationally-designed 450 kiltonnes per annum processing plant and nearby low-cost and under-utilised hydroelectric power.

Feeding an industry

Blackstone is advancing an initial scoping study evaluating mining and processing options for the Ta Khoa project, including potential in-country downstream processing to feed high-value nickel sulfate to Asia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle industry.

Last month, the company signed an agreement with Korean electric vehicle battery cathode manufacturer Ecopro BM Co Limited for the development of a downstream processing facility using raw material from Ta Khoa.

Ecopro BM is a world leader in the high-volume cathode material market and currently Korea’s largest cathode manufacturer.

“Ta Khoa represents a true, district-scale nickel-PGE sulfide opportunity of a calibre rarely controlled by a junior company and has significant potential to deliver critical raw materials required for Ecopro’s cathode manufacturing process,” Mr Williamson said.

“We are confident this project can help meet the ever-increasing demand for high-nickel content cathodes driven by the imminent electric vehicle revolution.”