Lunnon Metals Ltd (ASX: LM8) has extended the resource at its flagship Baker Resource in the West Australian Goldfields region, with a program of reverse circulation drilling which revealed nickel grades going beyond eight percent with some intercepts.
The drilling was following up with infill work completed at the end of 2023 which had identified nickel mineralisation outside the project’s mineral resource estimate (MRE) and this time around results included 9 metres at 5.29 percent, 6 metres at 4.99 percent, 7 metres at 3.99 percent and 3 metres at 8.14 percent.
Next cab off the rank will be an update to the MRE – which is set at 0.93 million tonnes at 3.3 percent nickel for 30,800 tonnes of nickel metal.
Lunnon says it will include this in a combined Baker and Foster Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), following the PFS which was prepared for Baker in May last year which showed the deposit to have ore reserve estimated at 0.61 million tonnes at 2.86 percent nickel for 17,500 tonnes of nickel metal.
Managing director Edmund Ainscough said the drilling work had produced another desired result at the Baker deposit located near Kambalda.
“Each time the Company drills at Baker, there is more nickel mineralisation recorded than previously recognised,” he said.
“Whilst the high-grade, near surface nature of the Baker deposit underpins the project’s impressive economics, in the prevailing nickel market this program is the last nickel focussed program for the foreseeable future at Baker.
“The cost to continue the permitting and finish the PFS study for Baker-Foster is minimal, which allows the Company to preserve cash and focus on its exciting gold program.”
Lunnon Metals was up 4% mid-morning trading at 26c.