Nico Resources Limited (ASX: NC1) has received all the assay results from the infill reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme at its wholly owned Wingellina Nickel-Cobalt Project in Western Australia.
The programme comprised 152 Reverse Circulation (RC) holes for 7,856m of drilling and was a continuation of work initiated in 2017 to infill 15 high-grade nickel-cobalt domains delineated from the resource model as potential high-grade starter pits.
Managing Director, Rod Corps, said the results confirm the continuity within the identified high-grade nickel and cobalt domains and provides key inputs into future production scheduling. In particular, it is anticipated that sufficient higher-grade tonnage will be available for the initial 10 years further improving the project economics.
“These outstanding drill results continues to demonstrate the Tier 1 nature of the Wingellina Nickel-Cobalt Project. With intercepts like 90m at 1.77% Nieq and 8.0m at 3.73% Nieq demonstrating the significant potential within the broader orebody,” Mr Corps said.
“One could be forgiven for thinking these sorts of grades and widths would be associated with a sulphide orebody!
“The inclusion of these high-grade nickel and cobalt results will further enhance the already very robust Project economics estimated from the recent PFS to be a post-tax NPV8 of A$3.34B – A$6.54B under the Base Case and Spot Case respectively (refer ASX announcement 22 December 2022). The results and other potential upside benefits will be incorporated in the updated mine schedule and the Wingellina Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).
“The results continue to illustrate that Wingellina is a world-class orebody and geological system that exists in its own class, boasting an initial reserve capable of producing approximately 40,000t of nickel and 3,000t of cobalt for 42 years.
“Overall, the drilling results will define the high grade production scheduling for the first 10 years of operation, finalising a further key input into DFS as we progress towards the development of the Wingellina project.”
Next Steps
The results will now be incorporated in the updating of the resource and reserves estimates to be completed in the first half of 2023. This work will underpin the optimisation of the mining schedule to be incorporated in the upcoming DFS.
For further information please visit: https://nicoresources.com.au/
