Aston Minerals gains expert team to develop Boomerang nickel deposit

Aston Minerals (ASX: ASO) has appointed an expert nickel team to fast-track development of the Boomerang deposit within the Edleston project in Canada.

The new team was previously responsible for growing LionOre to a tier one miner prior to Norilsk Nickel taking it over for C$6.8 billion.

Earlier this year, Aston announced Boomerang had a maiden resource of 1.044 billion tonnes grading 0.27% nickel and 0.011% cobalt, which equates to 0.30% nickel equivalent.

The maiden resource makes Boomerang one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt sulphide deposits – with lots of growth potential.

To take build this potential, Aston’s new board and management team includes Peter Breese as executive chair.

Mr Breese was formerly the chief operating office at LionOre and then became chief executive officer of Norilsk after the takeover.

He was also the chief executive officer of ASX-listed Mantra Resource, which was acquired by ARMZ for A$1.16 billion in 2011.

Aston’s new managing director Russell Bradford has 35 years’ operational and management experience and working at executive levels with Anglo American, BCL and LionOre.

Executive Mining Group

In addition to the board appointments, Aston has secured Executive Mining Group’s (EMG) services to develop Boomerang.

EMG has transitioned 10 projects through to mines including feasibility studies, financing, project management, construction, commissioning and operations.

The company has previously designed, constructed and commissioned the Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa and the Tati nickel operation in Botswana.

It also undertook the feasibility study for Mantra in Tanzania.

Developing Boomerang

As part of the transition, current executive chair Tolga Kumova will become a non-executive director and Robert Jewson will also become a non-executive board member.

Meanwhile, managing director Dale Ginn will retire from the board on 1 May after the new team has taken over. He will remain in a consulting capacity going forward.

Mr Kumova said the outgoing team had achieved “an incredible outcome” with the maiden Boomerang resource.

“The scale of this asset deserves a team which has the capacity to perform the studies, complete financing, construct and operate the mine.”

“Being able to attract such a high calibre of directors and management to this project is a testimony towards the quality of the asset.”

“This team has taken large scale disseminated nickel sulphide assets from resource through to operation and operated at the lowest cost quartile amongst its peers,” Mr Kumova added.