Commodities, Exploration/Development, News, Nickel

Mincor delivers first nickel at Northern Operations

Mincor

Mincor Resources has achieved a major milestone at the Kambalda nickel complex in Western Australia with first development ore produced from its Northern Operations.

Nickel was intersected at two development headings at the Durkin North orebody – one approximately 36 metres ahead of the modelled target (485 access point) and another in a separate target zone at Durkin North’s 510 access point.

Face sampling confirmed high-grade massive sulphides of up to 11.5 per cent nickel in the first finding, while analysis was continuing on the second finding at the time of writing.

The unique location of the first intersection potentially represents a new high-grade ore surface positioned outside of the current mine plan.

Mincor aim to continue development through this newly identified zone and advance towards the targeted ore contact, the D1 ore surface, which is scheduled to be intersected later this month.

Mincor believes the potential new ore surface is related to a historical structure (1252 embayment) that has been sparsely drilled and has known extensions through to the Otter Juan orebody – Kambalda’s oldest mine, with operations dating back to 1970.

Previous drilling at 1252 was centred on the flatter sections of the embayment and was not drilled across its entire extent.

The company will continue to review its findings related to the potential new ore surface, with the possibility of a follow-up drilling campaign to explore the extent and continuity of the prospect.

Mincor managing director David Southam said first development ore marks an important achievement en route to Kambalda’s restart.

“Mining the first development ore at our Northern Operations is a fantastic milestone for Mincor and all of our stakeholders, and marks another key historic step in our journey towards the resumption of nickel production in the first half of next year,” he said.

“Even more encouraging is the fact that our Kambalda operations continue to present opportunities for potentially exciting new discoveries – as evidenced by an interpreted new high-grade ore surface in the 485 level access within the Durkin North orebody, which has never been mined previously.”

Southam said the second intersection at 510 occurred almost within 24 hours of the first finding, further consolidating the prospectivity of the Durkin North deposit.

“These are great early achievements for our team as we close-in on first nickel concentrate production in the June 2022 quarter,” he said.

“With the nickel price currently well above the assumed price in the DFS (definitive feasibility study) and the outlook for the entire nickel sector remaining extremely strong over the next few years, this is a fantastic time for us to be resuming production in one of the world’s greatest nickel provinces.”

The nickel ore will be stockpiled ahead of processing at the Kambalda nickel concentrator next year.

Mincor’s share price was $1.26 at the time of writing.

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