- Auroch Minerals (AOU) has entered a binding agreement to acquire 80 per cent of the shares in Eastern Coolgardie Goldfields (ECG) for $4 million
- The remaining 20 per cent will be acquired by Goldfellas and, upon completion, the companies will operate the Nepean Nickel Project as a joint venture
- The Nepean Nickel Project lies in Western Australia and contains the historical high-grade Nepean nickel sulphide mine
- Between 1970 and 1987, the mine produced more than 1.1 million tonnes of ore at a 2.99 per cent average nickel grade
- Of the $4 million, $2.5 million will be paid in cash, while the remaining $1.5 million will be paid in Auroch shares
- In a busy morning for the company, Auroch also announced it has intersected five metres of nickeliferous sulphides at the Horn Prospect
- The hole is currently being logged and sampled with assaying to be fast-tracked to have results as quickly as possible
- Auroch is steady on the market with shares currently trading for 21 cents
Auroch Minerals (AOU) has entered a binding agreement to acquire 80 per cent of the shares in Eastern Coolgardie Goldfields (ECG) for $4 million.
The remaining 20 per cent will be acquired by Goldfellas.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Auroch and Goldfellas will operate the Nepean Nickel Project as a joint venture.
The Nepean Nickel Project lies 25 kilometres south of Coolgardie in the Goldfields region of Western Australia and is made up of two mining leases and 11 prospecting leases.
The project contains the historic high-grade Nepean nickel sulphide mine which produced 1,108,457 tonnes of ore between 1970 and 1987 for 32,202 tonnes of nickel at an average grade of 2.99 per cent nickel.
Due to low nickel prices, the mine closed in 1987, leaving significant sulphide mineralisation unmined and unexplored.
In 2008, previous owner Focus Minerals successfully intersected high-grade nickel sulphide mineralisation along strike to the south of the Nepean mine.
Results included three metres at 11.78 per cent nickel from 37 metres, three metres at 9.93 per cent nickel from 49 metres, and four metres at 6.63 per cent nickel from 46 metres.
“We are thrilled to be adding the Nepean Nickel Project to our existing portfolio of high-grade, high potential nickel sulphide projects in Western Australia,” Auroch Managing Director Aidan Platel said.
“The high-grade Nepean nickel mine is an integral part of the history of nickel mining in Australia, and with the remnant resources and strong near-mine potential to find further massive nickel sulphide mineralisation, we believe that it still has a big role to play,” he added.
Of the $4 million total, $2.5 million in cash will be paid once Auroch has paid a non-refundable $100,000 sum for exclusive due diligence.
The remaining $1.5 million will consist of 8,337,966 Auroch shares, issued upon completion at 17.99 cents.
However, the acquisition’s completion is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions, completing due diligence, and achieving shareholder and regulatory approval.
Auroch has already begun planning and permitting for an initial reverse circulation (RC) drilling program to test priority targets along strike from the Nepean nickel mine.
In a busy morning for the company, Auroch also announced it has intersected five metres of nickeliferous semi-massive to massive sulphides at the Horn Prospect within its Leinster Nickel Project in WA.
Hole HNDD01, which intersected the sulphide, is the first of a six-hole diamond drilling program testing nickel sulphide mineralisation identified in previous drilling.
This hole successfully confirmed the thickness, continuity, and depth of nickel sulphide mineralisation at Horn.
The hole is currently being logged and sampled, with assaying fast-tracked to deliver results as quickly as possible.
“We are thrilled to have successfully intersected a thick zone of nickeliferous semi-massive to massive sulphides in our first diamond drill-hole at the Horn Prospect,” Aidan continued.
“The second hole of six drillholes planned to validate and potentially extend the strike of the nickel sulphide mineralisation at the Horn is now underway,” he said.
Furthermore, a single diamond hole was drilled at the Valdez Prospect, however, no massive nickel sulphides were observed in the core.
Auroch is steady on the market, with shares trading for 21 cents each at 12:30 pm AEDT.