Conico Limited has revealed a 146 per cent mineral resource jump at its Mt Thirsty nickel-cobalt project near Norseman, surging to 66.2 million tonnes – inferred and indicated – at 0.06 per cent cobalt, 0.43 per cent and 0.45 per cent manganese.
The company says the deposit hosts the second-highest cobalt-nickel ratio for similar predevelopment projects in Australia and is uniquely positioned to potentially produce precursor cathode active material (pCAM).
Management is already knee-deep in a scoping study, where it is assessing the impacts of adding high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) to its production of pCAM. It expects to release its finalised study in early June.
Conico executive director Guy Le Page said: “Previously the Mt Thirsty project had principally been viewed as a cobalt only project, with little attention given to zones of overlying and outcropping nickel-manganese mineralisation. However, following the recent adoption of high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL), and the expected improvements in metal recoveries, the inclusion of this mineralisation in the Mineral Resource Estimate has the potential to transform the Mt Thirsty project into a long-life and low cost operation.”
The company is now keen to tap into the demand for higher-value refined products such as pCAM, which has been driven by the demand for electric vehicles. It believes the potential additions to its proposed plant will substantially improve project processing costs per tonne, metal recoveries, revenue and product value by at least 50 per cent.
Conico is also keen to highlight that its nickel comes without the geo-political and ethical baggage which is currently causing headaches for global supply chains currently dominated by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia.
Securing supply remains the main game for the critical minerals used in electric batteries. Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports initially ruffled feathers, but now seems to be paying dividends for that country. More car-makers appearing to be dancing to the tune of South-East Asia’s biggest economy and are locking in deals which are rapidly turning Indonesia into a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles.
Hyundai, Ford and Volkswagon have all recently announced plans to ramp up production in Indonesia in order to dodge increasingly protectionist policies and also to take advantage of a host of tax breaks.
Conico’s drilling results earlier this month unveiled a clutch of significant hits including 10m running at 0.09 per cent cobalt, 0.71 per cent nickel, 0.38 per cent manganese and 23 grams per tonne scandium. The headline intercept is housed in a broader 44m find averaging 0.03 per cent cobalt, 0.47 per cent nickel, 0.16 per cent manganese and 39.2g/t scandium from only 2m downhole.
A further 59m returned 0.05 per cent cobalt, 0.37 per cent nickel, 0.35 per cent manganese and 45.3g/t scandium from 10m and housed a higher-grade 11m intercept of 0.18 per cent cobalt, 0.45 per cent nickel, 1.15 per cent manganese and 49.7g/t scandium.
Mt Thirsty is a 50-50 joint venture between Conico and Greenstone Resources. The JV duo has peppered nearly 6000m of RC and diamond drilling into the shallow oxide resource.
Following the release of its beefed-up numbers, Conico will be hoping to get more of the attention of the nickel-hungry market as it pushes on with its plans.
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By Steve Kaless
