Blackstone positions Ta Khoa Nickel-Cu-PGE Project for Li-ion battery market with positive Scoping Study

What's happened?

Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX, “Blackstone”) has announced the completion of the Scoping Study for the development and restart of the Ta Khoa Nickel-Cu-PGE Project in Vietnam.

Note: Please refer to the cautionary statement on the announcement in conjunction with the highlights outlined here.

What are the key highlights?

1. Maiden Ban Phuc DSS indicated resource of 44.3Mt at 0.52% Ni for 229kt Ni and Inferred Mineral Resource of 14.3Mt at 0.35% Ni for 50kt Ni.
2. Annual production of ~12.7ktpa Ni over ~8.5-year project life.
3. Gross Revenue of ~US$3.3 billion (US$2.95 billion to US$3.6 billion).
4. Pre-production capital cost of ~US$314m including contingency.
5. Pre-tax NPV (8% discount) of ~US$665m (US$550m to US$780m) and ~45% IRR (38% to 50% IRR).
6. Economically robust nickel sulfide project to produce downstream nickel: cobalt: manganese (NCM) Precursor products for the Lithium-ion battery industry.
7. Upside opportunities include staged Capex, by-product credits (including copper, gold, platinum, palladium and rhodium), King Cobra Discovery Zone (KCZ), Ban Chang, Ta Cuong and 25 untested massive sulfide vein (MSV) targets.

For more information, please refer to the link below.