The Conversation (0)
Nordic Nickel Limited’s (“Nordic Nickel” or “the Company”) (ASX: NNL) flagship 100%-owned Pulju Nickel Project is located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB), 50km north of Kittilä in Finland, with access to world-class infrastructure, grid power, a national highway, international airport and, importantly, Europe’s only two nickel smelters.
HIGHLIGHTS
- High impact, low cost regional exploration activities continuing at the Pulju Project.
- Analysis of an important, extensive new Bottom of Till (“BOT”) drilling database (9,632 samples) covering the entire Pulju Project area, recently acquired from the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), is underway.
- Detailed summer mapping program underway focused on better characterising the extensive areas of known nickel/copper mineralisation and outcrop within the regional exploration licences at Pulju to prioritise future drilling targets.
- Positive progress on the metallurgical test work program for the Hotinvaara Resource to confirm potential recoveries and concentrate grades, with final results expected in Q3 2024.
- Discussions with potential strategic partners remains ongoing.
PULJU NICKEL PROJECT
The known nickel mineralisation in the CLGB is typically associated with ultramafic cumulate and komatiitic rocks with high-grade, massive sulphide lenses and veins enveloped by very large, lower grade disseminated nickel sulphide near-surface. The disseminated nickel at Pulju is widespread and indicates the presence of a vast nickel-rich system.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 drilling campaign, in March 2024, Nordic Nickel reported an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Hotinvaara Prospect at the Pulju Project which now comprises 418 million tonnes grading 0.21% Ni, 0.01% Co and 53ppm Cu for 862,800 tonnes of contained Ni, 40,000t of contained Co and 22,100t of contained Cu1.
Pulju is located 195km from Boliden’s Kevitsa Ni-Cu-Au-PGE mine and 9.5Mtpa processing plant in Sodankylä, Finland. Kevitsa provides feed for the 35ktpa Harjavalta smelter, which is located approximately 950km to the south and processes concentrate from Kevitsa’s low-grade disseminated nickel sulphide ore (Mineral Resource Estimate Ni grade ~0.21%). Europe’s only other smelter is Terrafame’s 37ktpa Sotkamo smelter, located 560km south-east of Pulju.
Figure 1: Location of Pulju Nickel Project and Europe’s entire nickel smelting and refining capacity.
Management Comment
Commenting on the June Quarter, Nordic Nickel Managing Director, Todd Ross, said: "We are very pleased with the progress made during this quarter despite continued challenging market conditions.
“The acquisition of the extensive BOT drilling database combined with historical drilling results and geophysics across Pulju provides us with a wealth of data to guide our future exploration efforts. This data, combined with the third summer mapping program now underway is another critical step in identifying new drilling targets and advancing our understanding of the Pulju Project's geology.
“Additionally, the ongoing metallurgical test work at Hotinvaara is crucial for assessing the economic potential of the project and advancing an initial scoping study, and we eagerly anticipate sharing the final results in the coming quarter.
“These activities underscore our commitment to advancing the Pulju Project and our strategic vision of supplying sustainably sourced nickel and battery metals to Europe. With that in mind, discussions with potential strategic partners continue which will allow us to ultimately fully unlock the value of Pulju for our shareholders.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Nordic Nickel, 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.
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