GCIMetals One unveils promising nickel sulphide discoveries in Norway, outlines ambitious 2024 exploration plans
() , a battery metals explorer with projects in Northern Europe, noted results from the 2023 core drilling programme at its nickel/copper/cobalt Råna project in Norway. Operator Kingsrose Mining has so far drilled 4,318m across 12 holes at Råna, noting positive results from the project's 3 priority prospects.
At the Rånbogen prospect, Kingsrose said holes 23RAN004 and 23RAN005 intercepted mineralisation 60m up-dip and 40m east of a massive sulphide zone previously intercepted in 23RAN002. The zone has been drill-proven over 200m of strike and remains open in all directions, within a 1.6km trend of mineralisation and conductive anomalies.
Specifically, hole 23RAN004 intercepted 1.4m at 1.8% Ni, 0.2% Cu, 0.19% Co from 233.9m, and hole 23RAN005 intercepted three zones of mineralisation, including 13.3m at 0.4% Ni, 0.1% Cu, 0.02% Co from 151.1m; 0.3m at 1.3% Ni, 0.3% Cu, 0.12% Co from 215.3m; and 0.6m at 0.8% Ni, 0.1% Cu, 0.09% Co from 228.2m. Kingsrose has further identified several priority areas of outcropping massive sulphide nickel mineralisation at Rånbogen, to be drilled in 2024.
At the Malmhaugen prospect, Kingsrose intercepted a new zone of massive sulphide mineralisation named "Malmhaugen" in hole 23RAN006, located 1.1km east-northeast of Rånbogen. 23RAN006 was drilled to test a 750m long, east-west striking elongate Magnetotelluric conductor with a coincident electromagnetic plate.
Three zones of sulphide breccia were intercepted, including 5.2m at 0.4% Ni, 0.2% Cu, 0.11% Co from 63.0m, and 11.5m at 0.3% Ni, 0.1% Cu, 0.07% Co from 126.8m, with further EM surveys and drilling planned to test the large anomaly.
At the Bruvann prospect, hole 23BRU005 extended mineralisation by 200m to the west along strike from the Bruvann mine with a blind, narrow high-grade nickel sulphide intercept. Kingsrose reported 2.6m at 1.0% Ni, 0.1% Cu, 0.03% Co from 414.9m, including 0.6m at 3.2% Ni, 0.3% Cu, 0.07% Co from 416.9m. The hole was collared in gneiss targeting an EM plate in a zone previously considered closed and unprospective.
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More positive results from Råna, identifying new zones of nickel sulphide mineralisation and further establishing the potential and prospectivity of the underexplored Råna intrusion. In addition to the new massive zones intercepted by Kingsrose at Rånbogen and Malmhaugen, the operator outlined the next high-priority targets for its 2024 drill programme.
As mentioned, these targets include the shallow, highly conductive anomalies identified at Rånbogen, down dip and along strike from holes 23RAN001 to 23RAN005, and highly conductive EM plates and MT anomaly located at the contact between peridotite and graphitic gneiss at Arnesfjellet. Kingsrose intends to commence mapping and geophysical surveys in Q2 2024 to generate a pipeline of drill locations and plans to conduct additional core drilling in Q3 2024.
The positive drill results from Råna so far indicate strong economics with a high potential for one or more prospective nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM deposits. The first three metals are main ingredients in most Li-Ion battery chemistries, demand for which continues to climb amid increasing orders for EVs and grid storage solutions.
In addition to Råna, Metals One recently concluded the first drill programme at its flagship Black Schist Ni-Cu-Co-Zn project in Finland, adjacent to Europe's largest nickel mine at Talvivaara. Initial assessments of the core indicated potential intersections of Talvivaara-style Ni-Cu-Co-Z mineralisation, which is an important milestone toward significantly increasing the project's existing resource of 28.1 Mt. This style of mineralisation is a highly sought-after low-cost, low-carbon source of battery metals in Europe.
In summary, both assets are shaping up to be significant deposits of critical battery metals. With highly prospective European brownfield projects, reliable partners, and well-funded work programmes, the company is well-positioned for rapid progress in the battery metals sector.
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