Kambalda nickel producer Mincor Resources NL announced today that it had reached an agreement with ASX-listed Tectonic Resources NL under which Mincor may earn an 80 per cent interest in the tenement holding the now-closed Rav 8 nickel mine near Ravensthorpe in Western Australia.
The tenement lies on the eastern flank of the Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt, approximately 300 kilometres southwest of Kambalda. Tectonic mined the Rav 8 ore body between 2000 and 2005, extracting 15,931 tonnes of nickel metal from 460,169 tonnes of ore at a grade of 3.46% nickel.
Mining ceased upon exhaustion of the known ore reserves, at the comparatively shallow depth of 270 metres
below surface.
Mincor said it believed the Rav 8 tenement held outstanding exploration potential for further nickel sulphide mineralisation, at shallow depths and close to existing underground infrastructure.
Immediate target areas include the zone directly down-plunge of the old mine, where previous exploration drilling extended no further than approximately 60 metres beyond the old workings.
"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Tectonic", said Mincor's managing director David Moore, "it adds a substantial new asset to our portfolio of nickel growth projects, which now includes Carnilya Hill, the major McMahon/Durkin Project and the potential new discovery at our operating Mariners Nickel Mine, as well as our ongoing earlier-stage nickel exploration work throughout the Kambalda District."
Moore said that Mincor believed the Rav 8 tenement held the same potential that the Company had identified at Carnilya Hill, where mineralisation that apparently terminated at a relatively shallow depth was subsequently found to re-form further down plunge. Mincor's nickel discovery at Carnilya Hill has now entered the stage of pre-feasibility studies.
Under the terms of the Agreement with Tectonic, Mincor has agreed to pay Tectonic $700,000 in cash and subscribe for 10 million shares at a price of 13 cents per share, for the right to explore the Rav 8 tenement. Mincor may sole-fund a total of $5 million over three years to earn an 80% interest in the tenement.
The Agreement remains subject to a number of conditions precedent, including legal due diligence and
the formal approval of Mincor's board.
