Aston Minerals obtains critical Canadian First Nations support at Edleston

Aston Minerals (ASX: ASO) has achieved another critical milestone along its path to becoming a nickel producer with the signing of agreements with local First Nation communities located near its Edleston project in Ontario, Canada.

The agreements provide the company with the opportunity to advance Edleston to the next stages of development after it obtained full support from both the Matachewan First Nation and Mattagami First Nation groups.

Managing director, Russell Bradford, said the reaching of the agreements are another important step and further marks the company’s commitment to responsible and sustainable resource exploration and development.

Strong relationship

Aston has already built a strong relationship with the Matachewan and Mattagami First Nations groups, with both communities working with it in the project development process.

“Aston Minerals is immensely grateful to both the Matachewan and Mattagami First Nations communities for their support, which is nothing short of paramount for the long-term success of the project,” Mr Bradford said.

“Our team has long enjoyed the opportunity to work truly collaboratively with our local First Nations communities. The constructive dialogue continues to enable progress that is sympathetic to the environment as well as enabling mutually beneficial outcomes.”

Aston Minerals has also revealed it has engaged with Talon Resources and Community Development Inc, which will partner with the company as its First Nation community engagement consultant.

The Edleston project is located approximately 60km via road to the south of the town of Timmins in Ontario. The region is globally recognised in terms of large-scale open pit and underground mining operations.

Key appointments made

The reaching of the collaboration agreements follows a string of positive news as Aston accelerates its transition from explorer to mine developer.

In early May the company reported the appointment of a number of mine development experts to its team.

Newly named executive chairman Peter Breese and managing director Russell Bradford have more than 65 years of experience in the global mining industry.

The company has also engaged the Executive Mining Group, which is bringing with it the support of a multidisciplinary team of highly experienced mining executives.

Significant maiden resource unveiled

Meanwhile, the company continues to build on an impressive maiden nickel-cobalt sulphide mineral resource estimate for the Boomerang Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide system at the Edleston Project delivered earlier this year.

That study identified a resource of 1,044 million tonnes of nickel and cobalt grading 0.27% nickel and 0.011% cobalt at a cut-off grade of 0.265% nickel equivalent (indicated: 155 Mt at 0.28% nickel, 0.011% cobalt (0.31% nickel eq); inferred: 889 Mt at 0.27% nickel, 0.011% cobalt (0.30% nickel eq).

Aston has also obtained impressive results from early-stage gravity based metallurgical beneficiation testwork.

Ontario-based SGS Lakefield conducted tests on two samples from Edleston Main to determine the potential gravity recovery of gold mineralisation.

Using QUEMSCAN heavy liquid separation and superpanning techniques on drill core samples, SGS was able to recover 78.1% of gold from 0.94g/t gold composite sample resulting in a 11.38g/t gold gravity concentrate.

Work commenced immediately on the creation of a much more significant metallurgical testwork program.

The company has backed these impressive results up with significant drilling campaigns.