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Pivotal Metals Limited (ASX:PVT) (‘Pivotal’ or the ‘Company’) is pleased to provide the first assay results from the first 2 of 34 diamond drill holes completed at its 100% owned Horden Lake Project in Quebec, Canada.
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.
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Pivotal Metals
Overview
Countries across the globe are setting energy transition goals to meet emissions targets, leading to increasing global competition for critical minerals. Canada and the US have developed their own clean energy strategies, yet both countries are also heavily reliant on imports. A common denominator among the critical mineral strategies is the need to develop domestic and/or IRA supply chains that will require significant government investment. All of these factors add up to a steadily growing global demand for minerals and fierce competition to win the attention of mining companies necessary to shore up supply of critical metals.
Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) is a global developer and explorer of world-class mineral deposits critical to an ever-increasing, technology-driven world economy. With copper and nickel assets in Canada, Pivotal Metals is committed to developing its projects in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
The Horden Lake copper-nickel-PGM development project in Quebec, Canada has a JORC mineral resource estimate of 27.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.49 percent copper equivalent (CuEq) containing 414 kilotons (kt) of contained CuEq. The deposit starts at surface and is well located just 10 km from a national highway. In addition to defined resources, the deposit is open at depth and is considered highly prospective for discovery of additional resources. The project benefits from being in Quebec, a mature and supportive mining jurisdiction, and has access to low-cost, carbon-neutral La Grange hydropower.
The company’s Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt (BAGB) exploration project has known high-grade nickel-copper-PGM deposits at Midrim, Lorraine and Alotta across a 157 square kilometre consolidated land holding. The company is targeting the mineralised feeder system that acted as the source for the numerous discoveries to date.
As of January 2024, exploration activities are on track across the company’s projects. Pivotal Metals is commencing an 8,000-metre drill program at the Horden Lake project, with the objective of potential size and grade increases of the deposit, and collection of metallurgical sample for optimisation test work. Downhole geophysics will be completed to target extensions of the mineralisation. At the BAGB property, results are pending on a magnetotelluric survey to aimed to highlight controlling structures and target future drilling to test substantial massive and semi-massive sulphide accumulations
Pivotal Metals has $5.3 million in cash and completed a $2.5 million placement. Consistent news flow is expected as work programs across its properties are being implemented.
An experienced management team and board of directors lead the company. Ivan Fairhall, managing director and mechanical engineer, brings 20 years of experience in the resource sector focused on development stage companies. Eddy Canova, executive operations, Canada, is a professional senior geologist with extensive experience in advancing exploration projects in Quebec and internationally.
Company Highlights
- Pivotal Metals is an exploration and development mining company with assets in Canada, enabling it to become a significant contributor to IRA-compliant supply chains of critical minerals.
- The company’s Horden Lake copper-nickel-PGM project in Quebec is an advanced project with a JORC mineral resource estimate of 27.8 million tons (Mt) at 1.49 percent copper equivalent (CuEq) containing 414 kt of contained CuEq.
- The Belleterre-Anglier Greenstone Belt (BAGB) Project, also in Quebec, is an exploration stage asset with known, very high-grade nickel-copper-PGM discoveries.
- Pivotal Metals is led by an experienced management team and board of directors that create confidence in its ability to reach its goals.
- Pivotal Metals is well financed to execute an exploration and project development work program across its properties in 2024.
Key Projects
Horden Lake Copper-Nickel-PGM
Pivotal Metals acquired the Horden Lake polymetallic deposit in northwestern Quebec in September 2022. Horden Lake is an advanced project located approximately 140 kilometres north of the mining town of Matagami, and 300 kilometres north of the company’s wholly owned Belleterre-Angliers Copper-Nickel-PGM project, also in Quebec. The company has said that the project will be developed as a carbon-neutral operation, by accessing the low-cost La Grange hydroelectric power complex.
Project Highlights:
- JORC Mineral Resource Estimate: 27.8 Mt at 1.49 percent CuEq containing 414 kt of contained CuEq
- Excellent Exploration Upside: the deposit is open at depth across almost its entire strike, and as a structurally controlled system is considered to have good prospectivity for resource extension.
- Potential for Fast-tracking: Significant body of historical technical study work and more than 50,000 metres of drilling database makes for a well-defined resource and a huge potential to accelerate the project to pre-feasibility study
- Stable Infrastructure: Close to existing mines, transportation links and large hydropower facilities
- By-product Potential: Intercepts showed good grades of gold and cobalt, as well as silver and PGMs, not all of which are currently included in the resource.
Belleterre-Anglier Exploration Project
Pivotal Metals strengthened its PGM-nickel-copper sulphide portfolio in Canada by consolidating the Alotta, Lorraine, Midrim and Laforce discoveries, to create the Belleterre-Anglier PGM-nickel-copper exploration project. The package dominates the eastern portion of the Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt located in the Abitibi-Pontiac Greenstone. Exploration to date has discovered Ultra-High grades drilled into gabbroic intrusions by previous operators, and included historical mining of some deposits. The exploration strategy is to target a broader intrusive complex that could host substantial massive and semi-massive sulphide accumulations, and search for anomalies and targets of real scale.
The company now has a total of 137 new and reclassified targets identified across the combined exploration package, 20 of which were identified as ‘priority 1’ for further investigation. A MT geophysical survey has been completed to further highlight deeper controlling structures to improve targeting for future drilling.
Project Highlights:
- Best drill intercept of 9.4 metres of 3.5 percent nickel, 4.3 percent copper and 4.6 grams per ton (g/t) PGM at the Midrim discovery.
- Previous open-pit mining at Lorraine during the 1960s produced recovered grades of 0.38 percent nickel, 0.90 percent copper, 0.62 g/t gold
- Drill results at Alotta are comparable to the historic high-grade polymetallic intersections at Pivotal Metals’ existing Midrim project, located just 1.5 kilometres NE of Alotta.
- Completed assays at Midrim and LaForce serve as proof of concept that the geological formations contain significant deposits. Testing has revealed 5 percent nickel in 10 percent sulfide at the Midrim nickel tenor and 10 percent sulfide at the Laforce nickel tenor
Management Team
Simon Gray - Non-executive Chairman
Simon Gray was previously a director on the boards of Morgans Financial Limited and before that Shaw and Partners Limited, each being among the largest investment and wealth management firms in Australia. Before this, he was at various times Shaw’s deputy CEO and general counsel. Gray has a strong background in law and financial markets, having obtained a bachelor of law and Aster of law in corporate and commercial law, and as a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ivan Fairhall - Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Ivan Fairhall is a chartered engineer and mine finance professional with nearly 20 years of mining industry experience. He was most recently the CEO of TSX-listed Mawson Gold, prior to which he spent seven years as a senior investment manager with the UK private equity group Greenstone Resources, where he successfully identified, acquired and managed investments in development stage companies through to standalone production. Through his career, Fairhall has obtained an extensive technical grounding in various design, construction and commissioning roles, including considerable experience managing pre-development studies across the commodity and geographic spectrum.
Dr. Robert Wrixon - Non-executive Director
Dr. Robert Wrixon is currently a director of the mining venture capital group Starboard Global Limited and has 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, commodities marketing, mining M&A and mineral exploration management. He has previously run two listed junior resources companies in Australia, and prior to that spent five years in corporate strategy for Xstrata plc based in Sydney and London. Wrixon is an Irish national and holds a Ph.D. in mineral engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Wrixon is not considered to be an independent director.
Steven Turner - Non-executive Director
Steven Turner brings over 25 years of experience in the resource sector, having held senior roles in both industry and investment banking. During his career, Turner has been based in London, Aberdeen, Singapore, Brisbane and Madrid. Turner has raised significant capital for the development of resource projects, including equity, public bonds and project finance. Most recently he was head of business development at a private mining group, having been instrumental in the successful growth of the company from a junior to mid-tier Australian base metal operator. Turner holds Australian, Canadian and UK citizenship and is a fellow of The Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Daniel Rose- Non-executive Director
Daniel has extensive experience in the investment banking industry, commodity financing, origination and trading. He most recently served as CEO and director of VTB Capital Hong Kong (VTBC), overseeing an SFC-regulated investment banking platform focused on natural resources activities across global markets, structured and corporate finance, M&A and asset management. Rose has spent 18 years in the commodity markets working for Societe Generale (before VTBC) in Sydney, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Rose holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and Bachelor of Commerce degrees from Bond University.
Eddy Canova – Executive Operations, Canada
Eddy Canova is a professional senior geologist (OGQ (403)-PGeo) with extensive experience of advancing exploration projects both in Quebec and internationally. Canova has successfully advanced exploration projects from inception to mine development, managed mining operations, and has followed through various study stages: preliminary economic evaluation, pre-feasibility, feasibility and environmental impact studies.
Amanda Wilton-Heald - Company Secretary
Amanda is a chartered accountant with over 20 years of accounting, auditing (of both listed and non-listed companies) and company secretarial experience within Australia and the UK. Amanda has been involved in the listing of junior explorer companies on the ASX and has experience in corporate advisory and company secretarial services.
Drilling Confirms Thick Copper Zone Continuity at Horden Lake
Highlights
- HN-24-94 extends broad zones of copper rich mineralisation down-plunge of previously reported HN-24-93.
- 39.1m @ 0.97% CuEq (0.4% Cu, 0.17% Ni, 0.06g/t Au, 0.14g/t Pd) plus additional 0.07g/t Pt, 131ppm Co, 4.7g/t Ag from 154.1m
- Including 19.7m at 1.41% CuEq from 163.6m
- Includes multiple 2-3m sections grading >2% CuEq
- Drill hole infills a large area, almost 100m from any previous drill hole
- HN-24-95 confirms mineralisation continuity below HN-24-92.
- 4.95m @ 0.66% CuEq (0.23% Cu, 0.12% Ni, 0.05g/t Au, 0.14g/t Pd) plus additional 0.05g/t Pt, 240ppm Co, 3.3g/t Ag from 155.7m
- Assay results and mineralisation consistent with the lower magnetic response between the central and southern zones of the deposit
- Significant gold, silver, palladium, platinum and cobalt metals delineated once again, which were not assayed for in this part of the deposit during previous drill campaigns.
- Consistent news-flow ahead, including results from the remaining 6,392 m / 30 diamond drill holes and downhole EM surveys to be released progressively through the quarter, followed by mineral resource update and metallurgical testwork in H2.
Managing Director, Mr Fairhall said:
“Horden Lake delivers further confirmation of the wide zones of mineralisation indicative of the large, open-pittable copper project that has been defined on the project. The meaningful assays of palladium, gold, cobalt, platinum and silver, previously ignored, further reinforce the upside potential of this asset.
Logging and analysis continues, and we expect consistent news flow over the coming months as we release assays and downhole geophysics interpretations to target both grade and tonnage upside potential on the project.”
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. 2 drill holes / 264m have been reported prior to this announcement.
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 targeting.
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 hole pierce points.
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.
Pivotal Metals Investor Kit
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- Insights
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- Upcoming projects