NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR TO US WIRE SERVICES
EV Nickel Inc. (TSXV:EVNI) ("EVNi" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now closed its previously announced acquisition of properties (the "Acquisition") within and to the south of the Shaw Dome, spread across 12 townships (the "Acquisition Package" or the "Shaw Dome Acquisition Properties") incorporating 1,088 staked mining claims over almost 21,000 hectares of prospective land
The Acquisition Package was acquired from 2812794 Ontario Inc. (the "Vendor"), a privately held mineral exploration company that is arms length from EVNi. The purchase price for 100% ownership of the Acquisition Package was $350K cash (the "Cash Consideration"), $100k of which was paid to the Vendor pursuant to a letter of intent signed in 2021, plus 2.5 million EVNi shares (the "Consideration Shares") issued at closing of the Acquisition.
In addition to the Cash Consideration and Share Consideration, EVNi and the Vendor and entered into a 2.75% net-smelter royalty agreement (the "Shaw Dome Royalty Agreement") with respect to certain Shaw Dome properties and a 2.75% net-smelter royalty agreement (the "Groves Royalty Agreement", together with the Shaw Dome Royalty, the "Royalty Agreements") with respect to the Groves properties. Pursuant to the Royalty Agreements, EVNi may re-purchase 50% of the royalties granted thereunder for $1,850,000 in the case of the Shaw Dome Royalty Agreement and $1,500,000 in the case of the Groves Royalty Agreement.
The Consideration Shares have been placed in escrow pursuant to an escrow agreement entered into between the Company, the Vendor and an escrow agent, pursuant to which one-third of the Consideration Shares will be released on the date that is six months following the closing date, one-third of the Consideration Shares will be released on the date that is twelve months following the closing date, one-third of the Consideration Shares will be released on the date that is eighteen months following the closing date.
The Company is now focussed on continuing to review the available historical data, including re-processing airborne and ground geophysical surveys to help prioritize targets and applyiying for exploration permits. EV Nickel plans to be drilling the most promising targets, across the Shaw Dome Acquisition Properties, later this year.
About EV Nickel Inc.
EV Nickel's mission is to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It is a Canadian nickel exploration company, focussed on the Shaw Dome area, south of Timmins, Ontario. The Shaw Dome area is home to its Langmuir Project which includes W4, the basis of a 2010 historical estimate of 677K tonnes @ 1.00% Ni, ~15M lbs of Class 1 Nickel. EV Nickel plans to grow and advance a nickel business, targeting the growing demand for Class 1 Nickel, from the electric vehicle battery sector. EV Nickel has over 30,000 hectares to explore and has identified >100km of additional favourable strike length.
Qualified Person
The Company's Projects are under the direct technical supervision of Paul Davis, P.Geo., and Vice-President of the Company. Mr. Davis is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. There are no known factors that could materially affect the reliability of the information verified by Mr. Davis.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "proposed", "plans", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although EV Nickel believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in business plans and strategies, market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under various contractual arrangements, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, and to explore and develop its projects and for general working capital purposes, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration, future prices of metals and other commodities, environmental challenges and risks, the Company's ability to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore and complete the Acquisition Project, drill and develop its projects including those required to complete the Transaction, changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with such laws and regulations, the Company's ability to obtain required shareholder or regulatory approvals, dependence on key management personnel, natural disasters and global pandemics, including COVID-19 and general competition in the mining industry. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. The forward-looking information in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of EV Nickel based on information currently available to the Company. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Contact Information
For further information, visit www.evnickel.com
Or contact: Sean Samson, Chief Executive Officer at samson@evnickel.com.
EV Nickel Inc.
200 - 150 King St. W,
Toronto, ON M5H 1J9
www.evnickel.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
SOURCE: EV Nickel Inc.
News Provided by ACCESSWIRE via QuoteMedia
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR TO US WIRE SERVICES
EV Nickel Inc. (TSXV:EVNI) ("EVNi" or the "Company") is pleased to report the assay results for the full Phase 1 drill program on the Langmuir Nickel Project ("Langmuir" or the "Property"). Building off of the first half results shared in December (see December 8, 2021 News Release), Rogue continues to identify high-grade mineralization along trend of the W4 Zone
Phase 1 focussed within and proximal to the W4 Zone and was designed to test gaps within the historic drilling, provide representative intersections of the mineralization and test the favourable ultramafic horizon to the east and west of the W4 mineralization. Phase 1 totalled 20 holes, comprising 4,192 metres of diamond drilling.
Hole EV21-09 intersected 15.7 metres grading 1.14% Ni starting at a drill depth of 123.30 metres, testing an area along the eastern boundary of the W4 Zone, outside of the previously identified nickel mineralization from the historic exploration. Hole EV21-09 represents a significant, near surface intercept demonstrating potential to expand the known mineralization along the edges and at depth in the W4 Zone.
A short drill interval of nickel sulphide mineralization identified in EV21-14, approximately 85 metres west of the interpreted western boundary of the W4 Zone, indicates that the stratigraphic horizon hosting the W4 Zone continues to be a fertile geological sequence with the potential to host additional nickel sulphide mineralization. This favourable stratigraphic horizon will form a portion of the planned diamond drilling in the Phase 2 program.
"The strong results of the Phase 1 drill program confirmed the potential of the Langmuir Project to host high grade, high nickel tenor, near surface nickel sulphide mineralization." states Paul Davis, EVNi's Vice President of Exploration. "The intersection of nickel sulphide mineralization to the west of the W4 Zone indicates that the komatiitic ultramafic sequence associated with the W4 Zone, both to the east and west of the observed mineralized zone, remains sulphide saturated with the potential to host additional nickel sulphide zones that will be explored during the Phase 2 drill program."
"Our first priority at EV Nickel is finding more nickel at Langmuir and this confirmation of the mineralization to the east and west of W4 starts us down that path," said Sean Samson, President & CEO of EVNi.
The complete results of the Phase 1 drill program are included in Table 1 (second half results in bold):
Detailed location and depth details of the Phase 1 drill program are in Table 2 and are plotted on Figure 1.
Upcoming Release of Drilling Information
EVNI plans to provide the full details of the Phase 2 drilling plan next week.
Assay QA/QC
Drill core samples from the 2021 drill program at the Langmuir Project are cut and bagged at the core logging facility located near the property and transported to ALS Canada Ltd for analysis. Samples, along with certified standards and blanks that are included by the Company for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratory. Samples are crushed to 70% less than 2mm. A riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. Nickel, copper, cobalt and sulphur are analyzed by sodium peroxide fusion with an ICP finish and platinum, palladium and gold by fire assay and ICP-AES finish. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to re‒analysis for quality assurance and quality control.
About EV Nickel Inc.
EV Nickel's mission is to accelerate the transition to clean energy. It is a Canadian nickel exploration company, focussed on the Shaw Dome area, south of Timmins, Ontario. The Shaw Dome area is home to its Langmuir project which includes W4, the basis of a 2010 historical estimate of 677K tonnes @ 1.00% Ni, ~15M lbs of Class 1 Nickel. EV Nickel plans to grow and advance a nickel business, targeting the growing demand for Class 1 Nickel, from the electric vehicle battery sector. EV Nickel has almost 9,100 hectares to explore across the Shaw Dome and has identified 30km of additional favourable strike length.
Qualified Person
The Company's Projects are under the direct technical supervision of Paul Davis, P.Geo., and Vice-President of the Company. Mr. Davis is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. There are no known factors that could materially affect the reliability of the information verified by Mr. Davis.
Cautionary Note Regarding the Langmuir project's 2010 historical estimate:
Historical mineral resources for Langmuir were estimated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., as documented in a report entitled, "Golden Chalice Resources Inc., Mineral Resource Evaluation, Langmuir W4 Project, Ontario, Canada", dated June 28, 2010 (the "Historical Report"). A qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, has not done sufficient work to verify the historical assay results and technical information reported herein. The Company is not treating the Historical Report as current. The reader is cautioned not to rely upon any of the Historical Report, or the estimates therein. The historical estimates are presented herein as geological information only, as a guide to follow-up technical work, and for targeting of confirmation and exploration drilling.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "proposed", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although EV Nickel believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in business plans and strategies, market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under various contractual arrangements, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, and to explore and develop its projects and for general working capital purposes, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration, future prices of metals and other commodities, environmental challenges and risks, the Company's ability to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop its projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives, changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with such laws and regulations, the Company's ability to obtain required shareholder or regulatory approvals, dependence on key management personnel, natural disasters and global pandemics, including COVID-19 and general competition in the mining industry. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. The forward-looking information in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of EV Nickel based on information currently available to the Company. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Contact Information
For further information, visit www.evnickel.com
Or contact: Sean Samson, Chief Executive Officer at info@evnickel.com.
EV Nickel Inc.
200 - 150 King St. W,
Toronto, ON M5H 1J9www.evnickel.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
SOURCE:EV Nickel Inc.
News Provided by ACCESSWIRE via QuoteMedia
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR TO US WIRE SERVICES
EV Nickel Inc. (TSXV:EVNI) ("EVNi" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that exploration drilling on the Langmuir Nickel Project ("Langmuir" of the "Property") from the inaugural drill program with significant intersections from within and along the eastern and western boundaries of the W4 Nickel Zone
Since June 2021, a total of 20 holes representing 4,192 metres of diamond drilling on the Langmuir Nickel Project. Assay results for 10 holes of the 2021 exploration drill program are reported in the Table 1 below. Drill hole information including the location of the collars, dip and azimuth of the holes and the final depth are provided in Table 2.
"We are very excited to start getting assay results and these begin to confirm our excitement for the potential of the Langmuir Project and the Shaw Dome more broadly," said Sean Samson, President & CEO of EVNi "This is a district which has produced nickel with the sorts of grades that get turned into mines."
"I am extremely encouraged by the mineralization observed within the W4 Zone," states Paul Davis, EVNi's Vice President of Exploration. "The unique characteristics of this deposit with a lower magnetic susceptibility and disseminated sulphides with a high nickel tenor opens up additional priority targets for exploration on the Langmuir Property. We are gearing up to start our Phase 2 drill program testing additional high priority targets along the favourable geologic trends to the east and west of W4."
The drill program was designed to test gaps within the W4 Zone historic drilling and provide EVNI with representative intersections of the W4 mineralization, test the eastern and western boundaries of the W4 Zone and explore the favourable ultramafic horizon to the east and west of the W4 mineralization.
Drilling within the W4 Zone intersected significant nickel mineralization associated with disseminated, blebby, veined and massive sulphides hosted in a serpentinized ultramafic unit including 40.2 metres grading 0.68% Ni in hole EV21-08; 17.10 metres grading 0.91% Ni in EV21-02; and 1.11 metres grading 8.66% Ni in EV21-01. These results confirm the high-grade nature of the sulphides mineralization associated with the W4 Zone. EV Nickel has implemented the analysis of sulphur for all drill core samples, allowing the Company to determine the nickel tenors, (nickel content in 100% sulphide) that have been calculated between 18% to >40% within the W4 Zone. This indicates that significant nickel mineralization is associated with low sulphide concentrations of less than 5% sulphide within the host ultramafic host. Assay results are pending for 10 holes of the Phase I drill hole program.
The type of nickel mineralization associated with the W4 Zone is not typical of the other nickel deposits hosted within the Shaw Dome, south of Timmins, Ontario. The sulphide composition of the mineralized zones is composed almost exclusively of pentlandite resulting in significant nickel grades being associated with low sulphide contents. The sulphide mineralization is also finely disseminated within the zone and has led the Company to expand the sampling in holes EV21-01 and EV21-10 to include intersections adjacent to those reported in Table 2 for which the assays are still pending. This style of mineralization also presents with a different geophysical signature than the traditional deposits and opens up additional target areas within the Langmuir Property.
Assay QA/QC
Drill core samples from the 2021 drill program at the Langmuir Project are cut and bagged at the core logging facility located near the property and transported to ALS Canada Ltd for analysis. Samples, along with standards and blanks that are included for quality assurance and quality control, were prepared and analyzed at the laboratory. Samples are crushed to 70% less than 2mm. A riffle split is pulverized to 85% passing 75 microns. Nickel, copper, cobalt and sulphur are analyzed by sodium peroxide fusion with an ICP finish and platinum, palladium and gold by fire assay and ICP-AES finish. These and future assay results may vary from time to time due to re‒analysis for quality assurance and quality control.
About EV Nickel Inc.
EV Nickel is a Canadian nickel exploration company, focused on the Shaw Dome area, south of Timmins, Ontario. The Shaw Dome area is home to its Langmuir project which includes W4, the basis of a 2010 historical estimate of 677K tonnes @ 1% Ni, ~15M lbs of Class 1 Nickel. EV Nickel's objective is to grow and advance a nickel business, targeting the growing demand for Class 1 Nickel, from the electric vehicle battery sector. EV Nickel has almost 9,100 hectares to explore across the Shaw Dome and has identified 30km of additional favourable strike length.
Qualified Person
The Company's Projects are under the direct technical supervision of Paul Davis, P.Geo., and Vice-President of the Company. Mr. Davis is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release. There are no known factors that could materially affect the reliability of the information verified by Mr. Davis.
Cautionary Note Regarding the Langmuir project's 2010 historical estimate:
Historical mineral resources for Langmuir were estimated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., as documented in a report entitled, "Golden Chalice Resources Inc., Mineral Resource Evaluation, Langmuir W4 Project, Ontario, Canada", dated June 28, 2010 (the "Historical Report"). A qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, has not done sufficient work to verify the historical assay results and technical information reported herein. The Company is not treating the Historical Report as current. The reader is cautioned not to rely upon any of the historical report, or the estimates therein. The historical estimates presented herein as geological information only, as a guide to follow-up technical work, and for targeting of confirmation and exploration drilling.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "proposed", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although EV Nickel believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in business plans and strategies, market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under various contractual arrangements, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, and to explore and develop its projects and for general working capital purposes, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration, future prices of metals and other commodities, environmental challenges and risks, the Company's ability to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop its projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives, changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with such laws and regulations, the Company's ability to obtain required shareholder or regulatory approvals, dependence on key management personnel, natural disasters and global pandemics, including COVID-19 and general competition in the mining industry. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. The forward-looking information in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of EV Nickel based on information currently available to the Company. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Contact Information
For further information, visit www.evnickel.com
Or contact: Sean Samson, Chief Executive Officer at samson@evnickel.com.
EV Nickel Inc.
200 - 150 King St. W,
Toronto, ON M5H 1J9
www.evnickel.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release.
SOURCE: EV Nickel Inc.
News Provided by ACCESSWIRE via QuoteMedia
Highlights
Managing Director, Mr Fairhall said:
“Horden Lake continues to deliver - from both step-out, and infill from historical drilling. In the shallow areas, results indicate excellent continuity, in places widening, of expected mineralisation, along with a suite of valuable by-products which were overlooked in previous drilling.
Excitingly, deeper drilling and DHEM again combine to show excellent down plunge continuity of the deposit, and the huge potential for it to continue at depth. We now have a zone over 600m extending the mineralisation strike length that exhibits strong potential for expansive down-plunge extension with further drilling, potentially similar to that observed in the central zone which extends to over 490m vertical (and remains open).
Overview
Horden Lake is a copper dominant Cu-Ni-Au-PGM-Co Project located 131km north-northwest of Matagami, in Quebec Canada. The Project hosts an indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate of 28mt at 1.5% CuEq, as a result of over 52,464m of drilling previously completed on the property. Pivotal has recently completed a 7,097m / 34 hole diamond drilling campaign of which 1,800m / 9 holes have been reported prior to this announcement.
The objectives of the drilling program were to infill missing by-product multi-element assay information, target resource expansion potential (which remains open at depth across its full extent) and collect a distribution of metallurgical sample for a complete test work program. Downhole EM surveys have also been completed to dimension future exploration potential and targeting.
Figure 1: Drill plan map with significant 2024 results, Horden Lake Cu-Ni-Au-PGM Project
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Pivotal Metals, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Blackstone Minerals is well-positioned to leverage a projected nickel supply deficit as it strives to become a vertically integrated producer of low-cost, low-carbon, battery-grade nickel. Key to this is Blackstone’s Ta Khoa project in Vietnam, an emerging hub for the electric vehicle market.
As the world moves closer to a sustainable net-zero future, the need for battery metals continues to mount and nickel may soon be among the metals to see a supply crunch. Though its roots are in the stainless steel sector, it's also a critical component of lithium-ion batteries.
Given that many nations are aiming to replace combustion vehicles with electric cars by 2030, the metal is already experiencing a massive spike in demand. Benchmark Minerals expects the need for battery-grade nickel will increase about 950 percent by 2040.
It's imperative to ramp up global nickel production but the resource sector, for its part, must do so with a much-reduced carbon footprint to influence the sustainability of the entire value chain. Blackstone Minerals (ASX:BSX,OTC:BLSTF,FRA:B9S) recognizes this. As a vertically integrated producer of low-cost, low-carbon nickel, the company aims to become a leading source of low CO2 emission nickel sulphide. Its flagship Ta Khoa project in Vietnam is representative of that goal.
Blackstone Minerals business structure schematic
With over 20 active mines and a burgeoning technology sector, Vietnam is on the road to becoming a hub of electric vehicle production and innovation, with low labor costs and regulated electricity pricing further driving its growth. Steadily increasing foreign direct investment in the region is indicative of this as the country seeks to attract $50 billion in new foreign investment by 2030.
Blackstone is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this, thanks to two factors. US President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which came into force in August 2022, represents the largest investment into climate action in United States history. A similar initiative is rolling out in the European Union (EU), which maintains a Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam — something multiple partners of the company have expressed interest in.
Blackstone's Ta Khoa Project consists of two streams, the Ta Khoa Nickel Mine and the Ta Khoa Refinery. Recent milestones point to Blackstone’s commitment to advancing this game-changing project.
These milestones include a memorandum of understanding with Cavico Laos Mining to collaborate in a number of areas associated with CLM’s nickel mine in Lao People's Democratic Republic and supply of nickel products for Blackstone’s Ta Khoa Refinery in Vietnam.
Blackstone also partnered with Arca Climate Technologies to further investigate the carbon capture potential at the Ta Khoa Project through carbon mineralisation, and explore opportunities to utilise Arca’s carbon capture technologies within the project.
In a bid to collaborate on the supply of renewable wind energy to the Ta Khoa Project, Blackstone signed a direct power purchase agreement with Limes Renewables Energy.
Blackstone received AU$2.8 million as an advance from a research & development (R&D) lending fund backed by Asymmetric Innovation Finance and Fiftyone Capital. The advanced payment reflects the significant investment by Blackstone to develop the Ta Khoa Refinery process and Blackstone’s unique strategy to convert nickel concentrate blends into battery products in the form of precursor cathode active material (pCAM).
In December 2023, Blackstone entered into an option agreement with CaNickel Mining to acquire the Wabowden nickel projectlocated in the world-class Thompson Nickel Belt in Manitoba, Canada.
The Wabowden project will have the potential to fill the Ta Khoa Refinery, removing dependence on third party feed sources.
The company has signed a non-binding MOU with the Development for Resources Environmental Technology joint stock company (DRET) to investigate opportunities to repurpose and trade waste material (or residue) from the Ta Khoa Refinery into construction material products. Moreover, it has also progressed the Ta Khoa Refinery byproduct offtake strategy with Vietnam Chemical Group (VinaChem), PV Chemical and Equipment Corporation (PVChem) and Nam Phong Green Joint Stock Company (Nam Phong) to sell Ta Khoa Refinery byproducts, being manganese sulphate (or epsomite) and sodium sulphate.
As the company plans to build a global nickel business, Blackstone signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Yulho Co. Ltd (Yulho) and EN Plus Co. Ltd (EN Plus) to establish a collaboration across the businesses including EN Plus and Yulho who are in joint venture on the Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project in Tanzania, and the Dinagat Island nickel laterite project in the Philippines.
Blackstone holds a 90 percent interest in the Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, located 160 kilometers west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam. It includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian Standards, which is currently under care and maintenance. The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanized underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016.
Blackstone intends to complement the existing mine through the installation of a large concentrator, refinery and precursor facility, supporting integrated on-site production of nickel, cobalt and manganese precursor products for the Asia-Pacific market. One of Blackstone's key Research and Development objectives with Ta Khoa is to develop a flowsheet that will support this production.
To fulfill this goal, Blackstone is focusing on a partnership model, collaborating with groups committed to sustainable mining. It is also working to minimize its carbon footprint and implement a vertically integrated supply chain.
Hamish Halliday is a geologist with over 20 years of corporate and technical experience. He is also the founder of Adamus Resources Limited, an AU$3 million float that became a multimillion-ounce emerging gold producer.
Scott Williamson is a mining engineer with a commerce degree from the West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University. He has over 10 years of experience in technical and corporate roles in the mining and finance sectors.
Dr. Frank Bierlein is a geologist with 30 years of technical and corporate experience, focusing on grassroots to mine-stage mineral exploration, target generation, project management and oversight, due diligence studies, mineral prospectivity analysis, metallogenic framework studies and mineral resources market and investment analysis.
Alison Gaines has over 20 years of experience as a director in Australia and internationally. She has experience in the roles of board chair and board committee chair, particularly remuneration and nomination and governance committees. She is also the managing director of Gaines Advisory P/L and was recently global CEO of international search and board consulting firm Gerard Daniels, with a significant mining and energy practice.
Gaines has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (hons) from the University of Western Australia, a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from Australian National University and an honorary doctorate of the University and Master of Arts (Public Policy) from Murdoch University. She is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds the INSEAD certificate in corporate governance. She is currently the governor of the College of Law Ltd, and non-executive director of Tura New Music.
Daniel Lougher’s career spans more than 40 years involving a range of exploration, feasibility, development, operations and corporate roles with Australian and international mining companies including a period of eighteen years spent in Africa with BHP Billiton, Impala Plats, Anglo American and Genmin. He was the managing director and chief executive officer of the successful Australian nickel miner Western Areas Ltd until its takeover by Independence Group.
Lougher also holds a first class mine manager’s certificate of competency (WA) and is a fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Lougher is the chair of the company’s technical committee and nomination committee.
Jamie Byrde has over 16 year's experience in corporate advisory, public and private company management since commencing his career with big four and mid-tier chartered accounting firms positions. Byrde specializes in financial management, ASX and ASIC compliance and corporate governance of mineral and resource focused public companies. He is also currently company secretary for Venture Minerals Limited.
Tessa Kutscher is an executive with more than 20 years of experience in working with C-Level executive teams in the fields of business strategy, business planning/optimisation and change management. After starting her career in Germany, she has worked internationally across different industries, such as mining, finance, tourism and tertiary education.
Kutscher holds a master’s degree in literature, linguistics and political science from the University of Bonn, Germany and a master’s degree in teaching from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Andrew Strickland is an experienced study and project manager, a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, University of WA MBA graduate, with undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering and extractive metallurgy from Curtin and WASM.
Before joining Blackstone, Strickland was a senior study manager for GR Engineering Services where he was responsible for delivering a series of scoping, PFS and DFS studies for both Australian and international projects. Over his career, he has held a variety of project development roles across both junior to mid-tier developers (including Straits Resources, Perseus Mining and Tiger Resources) and major multi-operation producers (South32).
Graham Rigo is an experienced study manager with over a decade of on-site production experience, holding undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering and finance from Curtin University, WA.
Before joining Blackstone, Rigo was a study manager for Ausenco where he was responsible for delivering a series of scoping, PFS and DFS studies for both Australian and international projects over a range of different commodities.
Rigo has over 11 years of site experience in nickel and cobalt hydromet production experience, in supervisory/superintendent level roles as well as process engineer experience.
Lon Taranaki is an international mining professional with over 25 years of extensive experience in all aspects of resources and mining, feasibility, development and operations. Taranaki is a qualified process engineer from the University of Queensland Australia. He holds a Master of Business Administration, and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Taranaki has established his career in Asia where he has successfully worked (and lived) across multiple jurisdictions and commodities ranging from technical, mine management and executive management roles.
Prior to joining Blackstone in February 2022, Taranaki was the chief executive officer of Minegenco, a renewable-energy-focused independent power producer. Preceding this, he was managing director of his private consultancy, AMG Mining Global, where he was providing services to the mining industry in Singapore, Guyana, Indonesia and Cambodia. Additionally, Taranaki has held various senior positions with Sakari Resources, PTT Asia Pacific Mining, Straits Resources, Sedgmans and BHP Coal.
