Peak Nickel could be sitting on the next world-class nickel sulphide deposit at Rodburn in Scotland
And this is not news.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s Gold Fields and Rio Tinto both took advantage of the then prevailing government tax incentives to give certain promising areas of Scotland a good going over – initially as competitors and then latterly as joint venture partners in a vehicle called EVL.
EVL did identify some very promising targets, particularly in the area between Inverness and Aberdeen. One of these is Rodburn, which is now the flagship asset of Peak Nickel, a private company formed by Chris MacKenzie, late of Helio Resource Corp, and now with the involvement of Richard Williams, late of Cornish Metals.
In total, Peak Nickel has identified a prospective area covering 250 square kilometres of ground in north-east Scotland, and over the past couple of years it has been methodically undertaking work to deepen its’ understanding of just what sort of potential Rodburn actually has.
Drilling in 2023 identified that alongside the nickel and copper already identified at Rodburn, there was also a significant cobalt credit on offer.
And, in 2024 Peak drilled a further 1,100 metres that extended the extent of the known mineralization. Rodburn remains open in all directions.
Now, in 2025, the company is coming round again, and proposes to drill an initial four holes, three shallow holes in the North Zone of Rodburn, and a deeper hole to test the down-dip extent of the high grade South Zone. To do this it will need money, of course, and to that end Peak Nickel is currently raising £500,000 through the Minexia platform and others.
Once the money’s in, Peak will get to work.
The goal is simple, according to Williams: “to go and figure out just how big this thing really is.”
And how big could it be?
That’s an open question, but a couple of points are worth noting. First, there’s the matter of the 5-15 metres of glacial clay that covers most of the ground. Were it not for this, argues Williams, and if instead there had been visible outcrops, the project might well have been developed sooner.
Nevertheless, the potential at Rodburn has been recognized by local authorities – the Rodburn target has a mineral safeguarding, protecting it from adverse planning applications. Peak’s aspiration is that if Rodburn ends up being developed it will help offset the effects of job losses in the North Sea oil and gas sector.
Williams says the planned work programme is designed to demonstrate to the potential for a resource of between 10 million and 20 million tonnes of ore grading around 1.0% - 1.9% nickel equivalent.
There’s already data in to support a reasonably optimistic prognosis about grade: Peak Nickel’s own drilling has hit nickel equivalent mineralization of 1.37% over six metres, 1.8% over 12 metres, 2.44% over 5.4 metres and 2.77% over 5.97 metres, to pull out just a few highlights.
It’s also worth noting that in this style of nickel mineralization, the higher grade often lies deeper, so there could be bigger and better grades to come.
So, this year looks like it will be pivotal: if the next round of drilling is successful, then Peak plans to step the pace up significantly.
“Our ideal plan on success,” he says, “is to come back and raise between £2 million and £3 million, for a 7,000-to-10,000 metre drill programme and metallurgical work.”
If he can get that kind of programme running then the picture at Rodburn really will start to come into focus.
For now, though, the immediate priority is to complete the ongoing £500,000 raise. This is being done at 16p per share – the same price at which the company last raised money. At that price, Peak has a pre-money value of £7.2 million.
It’s an enticing opportunity, and given that there are no current plans to list the company, one that won’t be subject to the ill winds that have blown through public markets of late.
Peak’s near neighbour Aberdeen Minerals has thus far made a success of staying private, and other privately-held London-based companies with big assets overseas have succeeded in monetising them without recourse to markets.
But first things first, fundraising and the next four holes.
For more information, visit:
https://peaknickel.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Peak-Nickel-Presentation-1dec24_final2.pdf
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