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
- Nordic’s maiden 14-month diamond drilling campaign commenced at the Hotinvaara Prospect, with two diamond drill rigs in operation.
- Moving Loop Electromagnetic (MLEM) and Borehole Electromagnetic (BHEM) geophysical surveys completed at the Hotinvaara Prospect, with multiple discrete EM conductors detected both within and external to the existing JORC Mineral Resource.
- Regional UAV (drone) magnetic survey recently completed over the entire Pulju ground holding, with interpreted results to be released shortly.
- Nordic accepted into BHP’s inaugural Xplor program, which provides non- dilutionary exploration funding for early-stage exploration companies looking for metals vital to the energy transition as well as providing access to BHP’s deep expertise and global partnerships.
- Cash of $8.02m as of 31 March 2023.
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, as indicated by the near-surface maiden JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Hotinvaara deposit of 133.6Mt @ 0.21% Ni, 0.01% Co1.
During the March 2023 Quarter, Nordic Nickel commenced a major diamond drilling program at Hotinvaara, designed to:
- Evaluate the scale of the broader, district-scale disseminated nickel system;
- Target extensions of the near-surface mineralisation for an updated MRE later this year; and
- Test multiple EM conductors for potential accumulations of high-grade massive sulphides.
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 19ktpa 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 March Quarterly Activities Report, Nordic Nickel Managing Director, Todd Ross, said: “We are now well and truly underway with our maiden diamond drilling program at our flagship Pulju Nickel Project, and we’re very excited about what we’ve seen so far. Visual observation of the drill core indicates the widespread presence of sulphide mineralisation of varying intensity, with first assay results from the drilling expected soon2.
“We also completed a highly successful MLEM survey at the high-priority Hotinvaara Prospect during the quarter, with multiple discrete EM conductors detected both inside and outside the existing JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate envelope, expanding the mineralised footprint over an estimated strike length of around 3.4km.
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