Mt Venn returns outstanding drill results for Great Boulder Resources

Great Boulder Resources (ASX: GBR) has hit “extensive” copper-nickel-cobalt mineralisation at shallow depths within the company’s Mt Venn prospect in Western Australia.

Part of Great Boulder’s Yamarna project near Laverton, initial reconnaissance drilling at the Mt Venn prospect returned up to 4.3% copper and 0.10% cobalt.

“To achieve such intersections of cobalt, copper and nickel from the first nine holes is simply outstanding,” Great Boulder managing director Stefan Murphy said.

“Given that we are conducting scout drilling over a strike length of 7.5km, it is remarkable to have intersected such widths and grades from these initial holes,” Mr Murphy added.

He said it was a “needle-in-a-haystack exercise” which has revealed Mt Venn’s potential and has given the company a better understanding of the ore systems.

According to the company, the mineralisation is copper-dominant with distinct nickel-cobalt rich zones.

The maiden reconnaissance drilling program involved 20 holes with results from the remaining 11 holes due within the next two weeks.

Great Boulder has several exploration projects within WA’s goldfields region and in proximity to mines including the Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Jundee gold mine near Wiluna, King of the Hills and Gwalia gold mines near Leonora and the Thunderbox gold mine close to Leinster.

Nickel in vogue

Nickel and cobalt stocks are drawing a lot of investor attention due to the burgeoning electric vehicle, consumer electronics and sustainable energy markets.

These technologies require lithium-ion batteries for power, of which, nickel makes up a large portion of the cathode.

With the cobalt market sky-rocketing in the past 12 months, several analysts are predicting the nickel market will now take off as electric vehicles become more affordable and mass consumed.

Great Boulder has placed itself in a great position hitting two of these minerals in a maiden drilling program.

Shares in Great Boulder surged more than 197% on the news with the company sitting at A$0.69 just before close of trade.