Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX) is a mineral exploration and development company, which acquired in May 2019 a 90% interest in the Ta Khoa nickel project in Vietnam. The Ta Khoa project includes the Ban Phuc nickel sulphide mine, which successfully operated from 2013 to 2016, when it shut due to low nickel prices (~US$8,000/t).
Current price is now ~$14,000/t.
The strategy consists of the following three key elements:
- Delineate a large disseminated sulphide mineral resource
- Increase the plant throughput from 450ktpa to 2mtpa
- Add a Pressure Oxidation circuit to produce nickel sulphate
The key outcomes if successful are:
- Globally significant mineral resource / project
- Project restart on larger scale and longer mine life
- Value added nickel product to attract Li-ion battery raw materials manufacturers
