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Nordic Nickel
Overview
Nordic Nickel (ASX:NNL) is a nickel sulphide exploration and development company focused on becoming a major supplier of sustainably sourced, traceable, high-purity class 1 nickel and battery minerals through its portfolio of highly prospective assets in Finland. A highly credentialed team with a solid track record and experience throughout the mining industry leads the company in executing its exploration and development strategy.
Finland is a Tier-1, mining-friendly jurisdiction with a long mining history in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Additionally, the country is incentivising battery mineral projects and is positioned to become a major player in the full battery value chain, making it an ideal jurisdiction for exploration and development.
The European Union Critical Minerals Act includes nickel as a critical mineral and will play a vital role in the transition to clean energy and decarbonization.
Nordic Nickel’s 100-percent-owned flagship Pulju Project already has a JORC-compliant resource estimate of 133.6 million metric tonnes at 278,520 tonnes of nickel and 12,650 tonnes of cobalt. The Pulju Project’s unique mineralisation is amenable to a dual exploration strategy of both near-surface disseminated nickel and deeper high-grade massive sulphide lenses. The project is in an area of known mineralisation and several major discoveries, including the 304-Mt, open-pit nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), gold (Au), Kevitsa Mine, owned by Swedish mining company Boliden, and the world-class 44-Mt Cu-Ni-PGE Sakatti Deposit discovered by Anglo American. Historical drilling has been shallow with no modern geophysics, which Nordic Nickel has now undertaken. Multiple electromagnetic anomalies have been identified and targeted for the 22,000-meter drilling campaign now underway.
The current resource estimate was estimated based on 10,000 meters of historical drilling at the Pulju Project is contained within only 5 square kilometers (2 percent) out of a 240-square-kilometer land package. Since the maiden resource was released Nordic Nickel has completed an additional 15,432-meter drill campaign which has substantially expanded the areas of known mineralization and will see a much larger mineral resource estimate due for release in Q1 2024. Additionally, the company remains focused on targetting Sakatti-style analogues of high-grade massive sulphides and the 2023 campaign is being used now to vector in on the high grade zones.
In 2023, Nordic Nickel secured an exploration licence (EL) for the Pulju Project. The newly granted EL, known as Holtinvaara, is highly prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation and is three times the size of the Hotinvaara Prospect, which has been the focus of Nordic’s maiden exploration program and the company's resource development activities to date.
Nordic Nickel’s second project, the Maaninkajoki 3 (MJ3) asset comprises 30 square kilometers of exploration licenses and is also in a region of known mineralisation or similar mafic/ultramafic lithologies to the nearby Sakatti deposit. The company has an earn-in agreement to acquire 75 percent of the asset as exploration continues.
A management team with a range of expertise throughout the mining industry builds confidence in the company’s goal to explore its assets fully. Expertise includes corporate administration, geology and international finance.
Company Highlights
- Nordic Nickel is an Australian exploration and development company focusing on its district-scale nickel and battery minerals assets in Northern Finland.
- Finland is a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction with a deep exploration and mining history with mining-friendly regulations and a strategy to become a major player in the European battery value chain.
- The European Union Critical Minerals Act includes nickel as a critical mineral and requires 10% of all critical minerals to be sourced from Europe (when presently there is less than 3%). There are only two producing nickel mines in Europe and they are both in Finland and exploration and development activities will benefit from future EU incentives.
- Nordic Nickel’s flagship Pulju Nickel Project already has a near-surface JORC-compliant resource estimate of 133.6 million tonnes, with 278,520 tonnes of Nickel and 12,500 tonnes of cobalt which is contained in less than 2 percent of the Pulju Project.
- The company’s second Maaninkajoki 3 Project covers 30 square kilometers of exploration licenses, and the company has the option to earn up to 75 percent.
- An experienced management team with a track record and deep expertise in the natural resources industry leads the company.
Key Projects
Pulju Nickel Project
The company’s 100-percent-owned flagship Pulju project covers 240 square kilometers of land in Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. Nordic Nickel has completed a maiden diamond drilling campaign with 15,423 meters completed since the beginning of 2023.
Project Highlights:
- Prolific Resource Estimate with Expansion Potential: The current JORC-compliant resource estimate indicates 133.6 million tonnes for 275,520 tonnes of contained nickel and 12,560 tonnes of contained cobalt. Since the maiden resource was released Nordic Nickel has completed an additional 15,432-meter drill campaign which has substantially expanded the areas of known mineralization and will see a much larger mineral resource estimate due for release in Q1 2024. Additionally, the company remains focused on targetting Sakatti-style analogues of high-grade massive sulphides and the 2023 campaign is being used now to vector in on the high grade zones.
- Encouraging Historical Drill Results: Past drill results, including 51 drill holes for both near-surface and deeper high-grade sulphides, have produced encouraging results.
- Near-surface:
- 97 meters at 0.33% Ni from 102 meters
- 122 meters at 0.25% Ni from 33 meters
- 108 meters at 0.26% Ni from 98 meters
- Massive sulphide intersections:
- 0.26 meters at 9.61% Ni, 0.17% CuCu and 0.36 % cobalt from 147.37 meters
- 0.90 meters at 4.98% Ni%, 0.03 % Cu and 0.14 % cobalt from 190.40 meters
- 0.32 meters at 5.03% Ni%, 0.06 % Cu and 0.24 % cobalt from 45.7 meters
- Near-surface:
- Promising Geology: The regional geology of the project is amenable to rich nickel deposits. The presence of ultramafic rocks mirrors the Sakatti and Kevitsa deposits. The project contains a 35-kilometer continuous prospective strike with considerable blue-sky potential as exploration continues.
- Newly Granted Exploration License: The new Holtinvaara exploration licence is highly prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation and is three times the size of the Hotinvaara Prospect, which has been the focus of Nordic’s maiden exploration program and the company's resource development activities to date.
- Significant Assay Results: Nordic Nickel completed 28 diamond drill holes for 15,432 meters as part of its maiden drilling program. Assays have returned extensive zones of nickel sulphide mineralisation, including zones of higher-grade massive stringer sulphides.
- Some highlights from the 2023 maiden drill campaign include:
- 91.7m @ 0.22% Ni from 1.6m; and
- 164.15m @ 0.20% Ni from 216m; and
- 26.4m @ 0.59% Ni from 412.6m, including:
- 6.1m @ 0.74% Ni from 412.6m; and
- 4m @ 0.77% Ni from 420m; and
- 3.35m @ 0.91% Ni from 428m, including:
- 1.2m @ 1.02% Ni from 428m; and
- 2m @ 0.52% Ni from 433m
- 125.7m @ 0.19% Ni from 152.3m; and
- 54.25m @ 0.22% Ni from 319.55m, including:
- 5.8m @ 0.57% Ni from 322.25m
- 99.1m @ 0.22% Ni from 4.7m
- 64.3m @ 0.19% Ni from 220.3m; and
- 57.35m @ 0.17% Ni from 331.9m
Maaninkajoki 3 (MJ3) Nickel Project
Nordic Nickel’s MJ3 Project covers 30 square kilometers of exploration licenses. The asset is subject to an earn-in agreement, which gives the company the right to acquire up to 75 percent of the project over two stages. The project is highly prospective for both intrusive-hosted and komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide mineralization.
Management Team
Todd Ross - Managing Director and CEO
Todd Ross has over 24 years of experience in finance, derivatives and corporate advisory within the natural resources sector. He is the former managing director and head of Western Australia for BNP Paribas. Ross is a specialist in project and acquisition financings across a range of commodities across multiple jurisdictions. His previous roles include senior positions at BNP Paribas, Westpac, Royal Bank of Canada, CBA and Oakvale Capital. Ross holds a Bachelor of Business from Edith Cowan University and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investment from FINSIA.
Marcello Cardaci - Non-executive Chairman
Marcello Cardaci is the former partner of Gilbert & Tobin’s Corporate Advisory Group. He has 25 years’ experience advising public and private equity fundraisings, M&A and divestment. Cardaci has extensive experience in capital raisings, takeovers, schemes of arrangements and joint ventures. His current directorships include ASX-listed Altamin Limited and Manhattan Corporation Ltd. Cardaci holds law degrees (BJuris, LLB) and commerce (BCom).
Robert Wrixon - Executive Director
Robert has over 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, mining M&A and mineral exploration. He is the director of Starboard Global Ltd, private equity and incubation of projects in the metals and mining sector. His current directorships include Rafaella Resources Ltd, Emmerson PLC. Wrixon holds a PhD in mineral engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Juho Haverinen - Non-executive Director
Juho Haverinen has over ten years of experience in planning and overseeing mineral exploration in Finland and is currently head of exploration for Magnus Minerals Oy. He has significant experience in Finland with exploration joint ventures with major multinational mining companies and is a member of the board of the Finnish Mining Association (FinnMin) and a board member of Magnus Minerals Oy. Haverinen holds BSc and MSc geology degrees from the University of Helsinki.
Aaron Bertolatti - Company Secretary and CFO
Aaron Bertolatti is a qualified chartered accountant and company secretary with over 15 years of experience. He has significant experience in the administration of ASX-listed companies, corporate governance and corporate finance. He was previously CFO of Highfield Resources Ltd and American Pacific Borates.
Vern Langdale - Country Manager, Finland
Vern Langdale is a mining veteran with 38 years of experience across various roles in mining projects and mines from many countries. He studied mining engineering at the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, England and started his career working in gold mines in the Goldfields of Australia. Langdale has been involved with building and commissioning mines often in challenging and remote locations in China, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. In 2018, he moved to Finland with Nordic Gold. Langdale worked as director of operations for Endomines AB at its US and Finnish operations, where he provided support in the re-start of its mining operations. He was also mine manager at the Nordic Gold in Finland. He was the project manager for Jac Rijk Al Rushaid in Saudi Arabia, where he coordinated the work of a multi-lingual and multi-national workforce for the largest gold mining project of the Ma’aden Gold Group.
Pekka Tuomela - Sustainability & ESG Manager, Finland
Pekka Tuomela has a master of science in geology from the University of Oulu, Finland and an impressive career spanning over 20 years in exploration and mining projects in Finland and internationally, at all project phases. Tuomela has a solid understanding of the Finnish environmental and mining permitting regime, mining ESIAs and associated ESG/CSR sustainability practices including stakeholder communication. In addition, he advises on mineral intelligence and mineral economics policy and strategy matters.
First Assays Confirm Thick Copper Zone and Significant By-Products at Horden Lake
Highlights
- Drilling confirms broad zones of copper rich Cu-Ni-Au-PGM-Co mineralisation at Horden Lake, including 37.5m at 1.31% CuEq.
- Significant gold, silver, palladium, platinum and cobalt metals delineated, which were not assayed for in this part of the deposit during historical drill campaigns.
- The first two drill holes fall within the pit constrained portion of the 28 Mt at 1.5% CuEq Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate1,2, and display moderately thicker and better grades than the surrounding historical holes.
- Consistent news-flow ahead, including results from the remaining 6,833 m / 32 diamond drill holes and downhole EM surveys to be released progressively through the quarter, followed by mineral resource update and metallurgical testwork in H2.
Assay Highlights
HN-24-93
- 37.5m @ 1.31% CuEq2 (0.57% Cu, 0.22% Ni, 0.10g/t Au, 0.15g/t Pd) plus additional 0.05g/t Pt, 180ppm Co, 7.2g/t Ag from 51.15m
Including 15.0m @ 2.15% CuEq (0.98% Cu, 0.35% Ni, 0.2g/t Au, 0.18g/t Pd) plus additional 0.04g/t Pt, 261ppm Co, 13.4g/t Ag from 73.65m - 1.2m @ 4.44% CuEq (2.73% Cu, 0.35% Ni, 0.81g/t Au, 0.39g/t Pd) plus additional 0.11g/t Pt, 324ppm Co, 33.1g/t Ag from 87.45m
HN-24-92
- 4.8m @ 0.67% CuEq (0.2% Cu, 0.12% Ni, 0.05g/t Au, 0.18g/t Pd) plus additional 0.07g/t Pt, 96ppm Co, 2g/t Ag from 82m
- 6.75m @ 1.54% CuEq (0.63% Cu, 0.28% Ni, 0.07g/t Au, 0.20g/t Pd) plus additional 0.10g/t Pt, 179ppm Co, 7.2g/t Ag from 99m
Including 3.85m @ 2.14% CuEq (0.85% Cu, 0.40% Ni, 0.09g/t Au, 0.26g/t Pd) plus additional 0.12g/t Pt, 234ppm Co, 9.5g/t Ag from 101.2m
Managing Director, Mr Fairhall said:
“I am very pleased to be sharing the first of many assays from Pivotal’s maiden drilling campaign at Horden Lake. These results showcase the shallow wide zones of copper rich mineralisation that characterises Horden Lake. Importantly they validate the existence of significant gold, palladium, platinum, cobalt and silver which were never previously assayed in this part of the deposit, and will serve as potential upside to our mineral resource update later this year.
We look forward to sharing consistent news-flow in the coming months as we receive more assays and downhole geophysics interpretations, to complement our strategy to grow Horden Lake and demonstrate its high-quality development credentials.”
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 a 28mt at 1.5% CuEq indicated and inferred mineral resource estimate, as a result of over 52,464m of drilling already completed on the property. Pivotal has recently completed a 7,097m 34 hole diamond drilling campaign. The objectives of the drilling program were to infill missing by-product multi-element assay information, potentially expand the resource (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 targetting.
Figure 1: Drill plan map of the Horden Lake Cu-Ni-Au-PGM Project
Drill Hole Discussion
Holes HN-24-92 and HN-24-93 were designed to target gaps in the resource blocks, infill and add additional missing metals assay information. Table 1 contains significant intercepts, and Figure 2 is a longitudinal section showing the spatial distribution of historical and new drill holes.
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.
Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report
HIGHLIGHTS
- In January 2024, Blackstone entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Yulho Co. Ltd and EN Plus Co. Ltd to explore one or more strategic joint ventures,
- In February, His Excellency, Mr Andrew Goledzinowski, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam visited Son La Province in northern Vietnam, where Blackstone’s vertically integrated mining and refining projects are located. The Ambassador met with Son La Provincial Peoples Committee and toured the Company’s projects, the visit highlights the key role the Ta Khoa project plays in the global transition to net zero,
- Blackstone provided an update on its funding strategy and corporate activities in February, the primary focus being on project permitting, finalising the Ta Khoa Refinery definitive feasibility study and the joint venture partner search,
- In March, Blackstone provided an update to its refinery byproduct offtake strategy, signing a non- binding Memorandum of Understanding with three Vietnamese companies to sell Ta Khoa Refinery byproducts, being manganese sulphate (or epsomite) and sodium sulphate.
CORPORATE
- End of quarter cash position of $4.18m,
- Post quarter end received $0.9m from the sale of 25 million shares in Codrus Minerals Ltd,
- $2m received from the sale of shareholding in NiCo Resources Ltd,
- Listed investments of $1.6m at the end of the quarter,
- Completion of the retail component of the Non-Renounceable Entitlement Offer launched on 5th December 2023, raising an additional $323k before costs,
- Research and Development rebate of $4.25m received during the quarter, and the repayment of the $2.8m advance received in July 2023 to Asymmetric Innovation Finance.
Blackstone, Yulho and EN Plus Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Develop a Global Nickel Business
The MOU aims to establish a collaboration across the businesses including EN Plus and Yulho who are in JV on the Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project in Tanzania, and the Dinagat Island nickel laterite project in the Philippines.
Figure 1: Scott Williamson, Managing Director, Mr Yongin Choi, EN Plus CEO and Dr. Hyunkuk JE, Yulho Vice President
The Parties will investigate the feasibility of establishing a strategic partnership, focusing on the following project specifics:
1. Yulho, via the creation of a joint venture in Tanzania, will engage in nickel mining, primarily to supply concentrate to Blackstone's facilities in Vietnam.
2. Blackstone's Vietnamese refining facility will be tasked with producing NCM811 precursor.
Yulho Overview
Yulho is a company that specialises in providing comprehensive IT infrastructure solutions encompassing servers, storage, networking, virtualization, and cloud computing. It was acquired by EN Plus in December 2023. Yulho will be the holding company for EN Plus’s mining and battery materials businesses which currently include the Ntaka Hill nickel sulphide project in Tanzania, and the Dinagat Island nickel laterite project in the Philippines.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Blackstone Minerals, 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.
Nordic Nickel Investor Kit
- Corporate info
- Insights
- Growth strategies
- Upcoming projects