Blackstone Intersects Further Broad Nickel Sulfides at Ban Chang

• Blackstone (ASX:BSX) has intersected a 15.4m wide zone of nickel sulfide mineralisation at the Ban Chang prospect at its Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE project in Vietnam (refer to Figure 7), including massive sulfide veins (MSV), net-textured sulfide (NTS) ¹ (refer to Figures 1 to 3 & 5) and disseminated sulfide (DSS) mineralisation with the broader intersection (refer to Figure 6) comprising of the following:

¹ In magamatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposits there is a broadly trimodal sulfide distribution between “disseminated” ores with typically <10% sulfide located as isolated grains in the interstices between silicate crystals, “net” or “matrix” textured mineralisation in which the sulfide (typically 30-70% of the rock) forms a continuous network or matrix around the silicate crystals, and “massive” with >80% sulfide as a continuous mass. Although the exact origin of the net texture is debated its is spatially associated with massive sulfide in many Ni deposits (eg Naldrett 1973, Barnes et al 2017). Magmatic sulfide textures within the Ta Khoa Ni-Cu-PGE deposits have also been metamorphically modified.

• Blackstone’s maiden four drill holes at Ban Chang have all intersected massive sulfide nickel over a 1.2km strike within a 1.2km long massive sulfide target zone defined by high priority electromagnetic (EM) plates (refer Figure 4);
• Blackstone’s drill hole BC20-04 intersected a zone of 15.4m wide veins of MSV, NTS and DSS mineralisation within an ultramafic body over 1.2km along strike of Blackstone’s maiden Ban Chang drill hole BC20-01;
• Blackstone’s maiden drill hole at Ban Chang (ASX 17/06/20) delivered the high-grade result of:
  • BC20-01 5.2m @ 0.66% Ni, 0.73% Cu, 0.04% Co & 0.79g/t PGE2 from 58.0m 1.5m @ 2.20% Ni, 2.12% Cu, 0.13% Co & 2.66g/t PGE from 58.5m incl. 1.05m @ 2.98% Ni, 1.22% Cu, 0.18% Co & 3.43g/t PGE from 58.5m 2 Platinum (Pt) + Palladium (Pd) + Gold (Au)
• Assays are still pending for drill holes BC 20-02 (ASX 03/06/20) intersecting 1.2m of MSV and BC 20- 03 (ASX 11/06/20) which intersected 4.6m of MSV and semi massive sulfide veins (SMSV).
• Blackstone is testing high priority EM targets generated from 25 MSV prospects in the Ta Khoa nickel sulfide district to supplement a potential bulk open pit mining scenario at Ban Phuc and the King Cobra discovery zone (KCZ), where drilling continues at depth;
• Blackstone is targeting MSV prospects analogous to the Ban Phuc MSV, where previous owners mined 975kt of high-grade ore at average grades of 2.4% Ni & 1.0% Cu from an average vein width of 1.3m, producing 20.7kt Ni, 10.1kt Cu and 0.67kt Co;
• Blackstone’s drilling continues to intersect massive sulfide within metres of the modelled EM plates, confirming EM’s potential to unlock the world-class magmatic nickel sulfide geology throughout the Ta Khoa nickel sulfide district;
• Blackstone’s Scoping Study on downstream processing to produce nickel sulfate for the lithiumion battery industry and a Ban Phuc maiden resource are on track for completion in Q3, CY20;
• Downstream processing potential supported by $6.8 million investment from EcoPro Co Limited, the world’s second largest nickel-rich cathode materials manufacturer, completed in April 2020.

Blackstone Minerals’ Managing Director Scott Williamson commented: “We’re pleased to announce a significant intersection of 15.4m of nickel sulfide mineralisation at Ban Chang, as this adds potential to a bulk underground mining scenario to supplement possible open pit mining at the Ban Phuc disseminated sulfide orebody, where Blackstone continues to aggressively drill out the King Cobra discovery zone.

“We look forward to further results from Ban Chang and the King Cobra discovery zone at Ban Phuc. The results will enable us to better understand the full potential of this nickel sulfide district which includes a further 24 massive sulfide vein targets analogous to Ban Chang and the successfully mined Ban Phuc massive sulfide underground mine.”

Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX code: BSX) is pleased to announce it has intersected MSV in its four maiden drill holes at Ban Chang, part of its Ta Khoa Nickel-Cu-PGE project, Vietnam. Blackstone’s four maiden drill holes cover a distance of over 1.2km along strike and within a 1.2km-long massive sulfide target zone defined by high priority EM plates. Drillhole BC20-04 intersected a zone of 15.4m wide vein of sulfide mineralisation which includes MSV, NTS and DSS sulfide mineralisation.

The drilling is part of an ongoing campaign to target regional MSV as Blackstone aims to build its resource inventory at Ta Khoa. Blackstone’s second drill rig will continue to follow the in-house geophysics team throughout the Ta Khoa nickel sulfide district, testing high priority EM targets generated from 25 MSV prospects including King Snake, Ban Khoa, Ban Chang, and Ban Khang.

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