Caption: The Thackaringa project tenement map. Image: Australian Mines.
BY ELIZABETH FABRI
ASX-listed Australian Mines has identified large-scale cobalt-in-soil anomalies at its Thackaringa project near Broken Hill, NSW.
Recent surface geochemical sampling at Target Area A uncovered three zones of elevated levels of cobalt that are reportedly similar to the Pyrite Hill and Big Hill prospects at Cobalt Blue’s identically named Thackaringa project.
Australian Mines said with the anomalous zones partially buried by a shallow alluvial cover, surface expressions of cobalt mineralisation greater than 15ppm (grams per tonne) were considered significant.
“This technique, for example, has been successfully used by Alloy Resources on its Ophara CobaltGold project directly to the west of the Australian Mines’ Thackaringa Project, as well as being the documented geochemical signature of the Pyrite Hill and Big Hill cobalt deposits,” Australian Mines said in a statement.
The company will continue its soil and surface sampling program at Thackaringa across Target Area B and C, and make further announcements in the September quarter.
“At the completion of the geochemical exploration program, the new areas of elevated cobalt will be the subject of the company’s maiden drilling program at Thackaringa, which will also include the testing of the recently-identified bedrock conductor, BR_02_CC,” it stated.
Meanwhile, Australian Mines was also making progress at its flagship Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in northern QLD.
After signing an offtake-agreement with SK Innovation in February, project financing negotiations have accelerated, and Australian Mines was currently engaged in discussions with a range of global financial institutions.
“Sconi is the only cobalt project in Australia with a 100 per cent off-take agreement already secured for production,” the company stated.
Sconi is slated to begin construction later this year.
