Ark Mines (ASX:AHK) extends drilling at Gunnawarra following ‘outstanding result’

• Ark Mines (AHK) extends its drilling program at the Gunnawarra project in North Queensland after intersecting extensive nickel and cobalt mineralisation
• With 1430 metres of RC drilling completed, nickel and cobalt has been identified up to 60 metres deep in the targeted laterites
• Given the results, drilling will now be extended at least another 400 metres to the west
• Shares in Ark Mines were up 17.1 per cent to 41 cents

Ark Mines (AHK) has elected to extend its drilling program at the Gunnawarra project in North Queensland after intersecting extensive nickel and cobalt mineralisation.

With 1430 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed to date, nickel and cobalt has been identified up to 60 metres deep in the targeted laterites.

The program was launched at the end of March, targeting known mineralisation in shallow laterites and several step-out locations at Gunnawarra, which borders Australian Mines’ Sconi project — the most advanced cobalt-nickel-scandium project in Australia.

In an announcement to the ASX today, Ark Mines said given the “encouraging results”, the drilling program will now be extended by at least another 400 metres to the west.

“Intersecting extensive nickel cobalt mineralisation down to 60 metres in depth, which is much deeper than we anticipated, during our maiden drilling program at Gunnawarra is an outstanding result and validates our exploration strategy,” Executive Director Ben Emery said.

“With an expanded program now being undertaken, our focus is on securing assay results as fast as possible.”

Comprised of 11 sub-blocks covering 36 square kilometres, Gunnawarra is thought to be comparable to the historical Greenvale mine in the same region, which produced 40 million tonnes of nickel-cobalt ore between 1974 and 1992.

While the deposit is estimated to have generated roughly $7 billion worth of nickel and cobalt metal, it was only mined within a three square kilometre area and at a depth of no more than 20 metres.

Shares in Ark Mines were up 17.1 per cent to 41 cents at 2:41 pm AEST.