Blackstone Minerals hits more massive nickel sulphide at Ban Chang prospect
Blackstone intercepted 5.35m of massive sulphide nickel mineralisation at Ban Chang, which is only 2.5km from the Ta Khoa project’s existing processing plant.
Advanced explorer Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) has encountered more massive nickel sulphides during the tail end of an infill drilling program at the Ban Chang target within its Ta Khoa nickel-copper-PGE (platinum group elements) project in northern Vietnam.
The company hit an intercept of 5.35 metres massive nickel sulphide within a broader 11.4m intersection as infill drilling was approaching its completion.
A string of assays also confirmed mineralisation in the area, with highlights of 3.8m at 1.13% nickel, 0.59% copper, 0.06% cobalt and 0.52g/t PGE from 92.5m, including 1.6m at 2.49% nickel, 0.65% copper, 0.14% cobalt and 1.01g/t PGE from 93m.
Maiden resource estimate
Blackstone managing director Scott Williamson said the assays would contribute to the release of a maiden resource estimate at Ban Chang later this year and be incorporated into a pre-feasibility study for the company’s upstream business unit.
“Drilling at Ban Chang is tightly spaced and has consistently intersected massive sulphide mineralisation, providing a high level of confidence as we progress through the next phases of mine development,” he said.
Ban Chang location
Ban Chang is located 2.5km southeast of the Ban Phuc disseminated sulphide deposit and existing 450,000t per annum concentrator, and adjacent to the major regional Chim Van-Co Muong fault system.
The prospect’s geology consists of massive and disseminated sulphides hosted within a tremolitic dyke swarm which intrude into phyllites, sericite schists and quartzites of the Devonian Ban Cai formation.
The dyke swarm is approximately 900m long and up to 60m wide, with dykes and massive sulphide interpreted to be hosted within a splay (and subsidiary structures) off the fault.
Ore source
Ban Chang is being assessed as an ore source for the Ban Phuc concentrator and as a feedstock that complements the processing of disseminated sulphide ore for the larger proposed plant.
Drilling at Ban Chang has identified multiple massive sulphide lenses, which are often associated with broader disseminated sulphide zones.
Preliminary studies suggest Ban Chang would be amenable to modern mechanised underground mining.