High-grade copper-nickel hits reveal NexMetals’ Selebi potential

Results from NexMetals Mining’s (TSXV, NASDAQ: NEXM) Selebi North project in eastern Botswana have extended the South Limb’s mineralization by 35% beyond last year’s resource estimate. Shares of the company rose.Hole SNUG-25-186 cut 16.25 metres grading 1.13% copper and 0.94% nickel from 895 metres depth, NexMetals reported Wednesday. The intercept included 10.45 metres at 1.62% copper and 1.24% nickel, and 6.45 metres grading 2.3% copper and 1.44% nickel.“The continued extension of high-grade copper and nickel mineralization at Selebi North is a significant step in the right direction, highlighting how much potential was previously undefined,” NexMetals CEO Morgan Lekstrom said in a release. “The results today reinforce our growing confidence and support our strategy of driving additional value through targeted drilling, unlocking the full potential of this asset.”Summer tailwindsThe results extend a productive summer for NexMetals, whose stock started trading on the Nasdaq in mid-July. A day later, the company received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for a potential loan of $150 million to support the redevelopment of its past-producing Selebi and Selkirk nickel-copper mines in Botswana.The listing follows a $36 million investment into NexMetals predecessor Premium Resources six months ago by investors such as mining entrepreneur Frank Giustra and his Fiore Group.NexMetals shares gained 9% to C$7.38 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of C$156.58 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of C$4.90 to C$17.Mineralization extends downThe holes SNUG-25-184 and SNUG-25-186 extended mineralization 315 metres down-plunge past the 2024 resource, which has a 990-metre down-plunge extent, NexMetals said.SNUG-25-186 builds on the strength of SNUG-25-184 in the South Limb, which cut 13.5 metres at 1.13% copper and 1.24% nickel, as reported in June.Large resourceThe Selebi North site hosts 3 million indicated tonnes grading 0.9% copper and 0.98% nickel for 27,000 tonnes contained copper and 29,000 tonnes nickel, according to an initial resource released almost one year ago. Inferred resources total 5.83 million tonnes grading 0.90% copper and 1.07% nickel for 52,000 tonnes contained copper and 62,000 tonnes nickel.The adjacent Selebi Main deposit hosts 18.9 million inferred tonnes grading 1.69% copper and 0.88% nickel for 319,000 tonnes contained copper and 165,00 tonnes of nickel.The Selebi Main mine started production in 1980. Both it and Selebi North – which is located about 410 km north of the nation’s capital, Gaborone – were shuttered in 2016 due to a failure in the processing facility. Selkirk, about 75 km north of Selebi North, hosts an inferred resource of 44.2 million tonnes grading 0.24% nickel, 0.30% copper, 0.55 gram palladium and 0.12 gram platinum.Its mining licence covers 14.6 sq. km, plus four prospecting licences covering 126.7 sq. km.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com