Widgie optimistic following study

Junior explorer Widgie Nickel is confident results from a recent scoping study at its Mt Edwards project bode well for its plans amid a difficult time for nickel.

Widgie managing director and chief executive officer Steve Norregaard said the findings, coupled by the likelihood of eventual market improvement, would ensure Mt Edwards' viability. 

"This scoping study demonstrates that we have a robust nickel project that should be progressed to the pre-feasibility study stage," he said.

"The fact that we have seven additional mineral resources that have not yet been examined as part of this process provides underlying confidence in the long-term nature of the standalone project.

“Of course, we are cognisant that the nickel price has been quite volatile over the last year, starting at well over $US30,000 per tonne and now sitting around $US17,500/t.

"As quickly as it has come off, we have confidence that the fundamentals are there to support the price rebounding over the future years.

"We are building a project for the future, not necessarily one to be immediately developed today. This is a very significant step forward for the company.”

Australia's nickel industry has dominated discussion in recent months, due to waning prices and an increased amount of China-based nickel interest in Indonesia, which has resulted in several Australian companies re-evaluating their respective commodity portfolios. 

Over the past 12 months, Widgie has invested substantially in Mt Edwards, which is located near Widgiemooltha in the Goldfields.

In May last year, the company tapped investors for $12 million in a bid to fund future exploration and development expenditure. Five months later it told the market it had benefited from retested lithium assays, which documented a 64 per cent improvement on identical drillholes tested at the beginning of 2023. 

The scoping study found that full operation mining production could be achievable for six years, under present target markers, while seven additional defined mineral resources containing nickel could also be utilised. 

It is predicted that Widgie, which has nickel and lithium interests, would need to attain $270 million in funding to achieve all outcomes within the scoping study. 

The mooted operation would consist of four underground mines, along with an 800,000 tonnes per annum nickel concentrator. A fly-in, fly-out workforce would also utilise the site's 250-room accomodation complex. 

During its December 2023 quarterly report, the company informed shareholders that updated mineral resource estimates at its Widgie 3 and Gillett deposits at the site would be included in the study, which would likely positively impact the early years of the site's mine plan. 

Widgie last traded at 49 cents per share, up 11 per cent, as of 10.18am AWST.