Wally GrahamRepublished with permission of Resources Roadhouse
| COMMODITY CAPERS: The search for new cobalt resources is on in earnest with several ASX-listed explorers conducting greenfield exploration and revisiting previous results across their tenements. |
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Stock price |
47 c |
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52-week range |
5 – 73 c |
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Market cap |
A$94 m |
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Shares outstanding |
199 m |
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Source: Yahoo! |
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Jervois Mining (ASX: JVR) has developed its Nico Young cobalt-nickel project into a core asset, with cobalt-nickel resources becoming increasing valuable due to the forecast acceleration in demand.
The Nico Young exploration licenses, held by Jervois, contain published JORC Inferred resources of:
167.8 million tonnes at 0.59 per cent nickel and 0.06 per cent cobalt (using a 0.6% nickel equivalent cut-off), including a higher-grade zone of 42.5 million tonnes at 0.8 per cent nickel and 0.09 per cent cobalt (using a 1% nickel equivalent cut-off).
Within this mineral resource, focusing upon cobalt leads to JORC Inferred resource of:
99.1 million tonnes at 0.58 per cent nickel and 0.08 per cent cobalt (using a 0.05% cobalt cut-off), including 33.4 million tonnes at 0.66 per cent nickel and 0.12 per cent cobalt (using a 0.08% cobalt-cut off).
The company is currently undertaking a drilling campaign with the view to define an Indicated Resource.
The intention of the infill drilling is to consolidate current nickel-cobalt mineralisation and delineate the extents of high-grade cobalt zones.
Jervois considers that expanding the size and geological confidence of shallow cobalt rich zones will assist early mining studies, which will be reviewed as part of a Preliminary Feasibility Study.
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Corazon Mining (ASX: CZN) has recently extended the cobalt footprint of its Cobalt Ridge prospect within the company’s Mt Gilmore project near Grafton in north-eastern New South Wales. |
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Of course, Australia is not the only country to be blessed with attractive amounts of cobalt endowment, which is why some ASX exploration plays are active overseas.
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Stock price |
44 c |
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52-week range |
17 – 65 c |
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Market cap |
A$42 m |
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Shares outstanding |
96 m |
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Source: Yahoo! |
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Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX) recently commenced a maiden drilling program at the company’s high-grade Little Gem cobalt-gold project in British Columbia, Canada.
@ Little Gem project in British Columbia: Very high grade cobalt has been found.The first diamond drill hole of the program tested the upper portion of the alteration zone.
Although the hole was terminated (due to mechanical issues) halfway through the mineralised target, it had managed to intersect massive, semi-massive and disseminated mineralisation with results including:
4.3 metres at 1 per cent cobalt and 15 grams per tonne gold, including 1.1m at 3 per cent cobalt and 44g/t gold.
The initial results Blackstone achieved from the maiden drilling at Little Gem are consistent with historic drilling and adit channel sampling, which returned average grades of 3 per cent cobalt and 20g/t gold.
Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) is currently drilling its second diamond drilling campaign on the company’s 100 per cent-owned Sara Alicia gold and cobalt project in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.
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