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Blackstone Minerals ends December quarter with key several initiatives that could boost growth in the year ahead

Published: 16:44 04 Feb 2021 EST

Blackstone Minerals is developing the district scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam.
Blackstone Minerals is developing the district scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam.

Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX) (OTCMKTS:BLSTF) (FRA:B9S) has ended the December quarter with key initiatives to restart production at Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Vietnam along with strong cash position, which could boost growth in the year ahead.

During the quarter, the company completed a scoping study for the development and restart of the Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Vietnam.

The scoping study is underpinned by the Ban Phuc disseminated sulphide (DSS) open pit mine and integrates both upstream and downstream processing to produce a precursor product for Asia’s growing Lithium-ion battery.

Vietnam Ta Khoa Project (90% interest)

Blackstone owns a 90% interest in the Ta Khoa Project, which is around 160 kilometres west of Hanoi and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance.

The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016.

During the quarter Blackstone released a scoping study that features an 8.5-year project life underpinned by the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and integrates upstream and downstream processing to produce precursor Nickel:Cobalt: Manganese (NCM) product for the Lithium-ion battery industry.

The company is now advancing the Ta Khoa Project through to a pre-feasibility study, which will contemplate the option to mine higher grade MSV deposits within the Ta Khoa district.

The discovery of higher grade MSV deposits have the potential to reduce upfront capital requirements by enabling the company to restart the existing Ban Phuc concentrator.

Geology – Exploration & Resource Definition

Blackstone is continuing its aggressive geology program with ten active drill rigs.

Drilling during the quarter was primarily focussed on increasing the confidence of the Ban Phuc DSS deposit as well as targeting higher grade MSV deposits, to delineate additional resources and mining inventory for ongoing studies.

Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE (copper-cobalt) district

Ban Phuc (DSS)

Blackstone has been successful with additional infill drilling at Ban Phuc and extensional drilling within the KCZ.

The results delivered during the December quarter were some of the best intercepts to date.

Ban Chang (MSV)

Blackstone continues to target MSV prospects analogous to the previously mined Ban Phuc MSV, where previous owners successfully mined 975,000 tonnes of high-grade ore at average grades of 2.4% nickel & 1.0% copper from an average vein width of 1.3 metres.

The first higher grade MSV deposit targeted for a JORC compliant resource in 2021 is the Ban Chang prospect.

Ban Chang is located 2.5 kilometres south-east of the processing facility and the Ban Phuc deposit adjacent to the Chim Van – Co Muong fault system.

Following initial drill holes at Ban Chang which intersected high‐grade massive sulphide nickel over a 1.2 kilometres strike length, drilling success in the December quarter continued to support the company’s strategy to delineate a Maiden Resource at Ban Chang to supplement ongoing studies.

Ban Khoa (DSS)

The Ban Khoa prospect is centred on an ultramafic body adjacent to the Chim Van – Co Muong Fault, approximately 1.5 kilometres north of the Ban Phuc deposit.

The body is interpreted to be a 300 metres wide sill which has intruded into fine-grained Ban Phuc sediments.

Blackstone started drilling during the quarter after its in-house geophysics crew generated new targets associated with the highly prospective Ban Khoa ultramafic intrusion.

The prospect is analogous to the Ban Phuc DSS orebody where the company delivered the King Cobra discovery and announced the maiden indicated mineral resource of 44.3 million tonnes at 0.52% nickel for 229,000 tonnes.

Ban Khoa has a combination of high priority MSV prospects within a broader DSS target associated with the Ban Khoa ultramafic intrusion.

Other major developments

During the quarter, the company strengthened its management team to drive the development of Ta Khoa as a mine-to-market nickel business.

The company appointed Peter Plakidis as a non-executive director and thanked Steve Parsons, who resigned as a non-executive director, for his contributions.

Blackstone joined the US-based OTCQB market to enhance visibility and accessibility to North American investors and its shares are now also traded under the code of (OTCQB:BLSTF).

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