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Resources Top 5: Buxton makes a high-grade nickel find at Dogleg

Buxton Resources’ share price gained new bite after exciting news about nickel sulphide finds at its Dogleg prospect. Get your resources wrap here.

Rob Badman
6 min read
November 6, 2023 - 2:53PM
Stockhead
Busxton is on a roll at Dogleg. Picture: Getty Images
Busxton is on a roll at Dogleg. Picture: Getty Images

Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) is a resources star on the ASX on Monday, thanks to a WA nickel sulphide find.

At 3pm (AEDT), BUX was up nearly 20 per cent for the day.

Buxton has a diverse minerals exploration portfolio, and is on the hunt for nickel, copper, gold, iron and graphite across various Aussie tenements.

Monday’s news, though, is all about nickel sulphides – of the high-grade variety.

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The small (but well formed) explorer revealed this morning that assay results returned from the first diamond drill hole at its Dogleg Ni-Cu-Co prospect at its West Kimberley project in WA – a JV with IGO (ASX:IGO) – have confirmed high-grade nickel sulphides with 13.85m (true width 13.24m) at 4.35 per cent Ni, 0.34 per cent Cu, 0.15 per cent Co from 177.34m, including 5.86m (true width 5.60m) at 7.47 per cent Ni, 0.31 per cent Cu, 0.25 per cent Co from 179.08m.

If you’re not a mining stats nut, then just take on board the words “high” and “grade”, along with “nickel sulphides” and then consider whether you believe in the long-term future of the electric vehicle market narrative into which this resource (once it’s converted to nickel sulphate) plays heavily.

The company also notes that a downhole electromagnetic (DHEM) survey completed on hole 23WKDD004 shows “strong in-hole response”, which is always nice. And that apparently provides a good basis for potential follow-up drilling.

Assay results are expected on the second hole (23WKDD004) in 3-7 weeks’ time.

“The Buxton and IGO technical teams are extremely excited to report high grade nickel and cobalt mineralisation in sulphides from the first diamond hole at the Dogleg Prospect within our West Kimberley Project JV,” Buxton CEO Marty Moloney said.

“This result, along with previous exploration success at the Merlin Prospect, validates our view that the West Kimberley Project has the potential to host Nova-Bollinger style nickel sulphide deposits.”

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Other resources stocks in the news

GREENTECH METALS (ASX:GRE)

Azure neighbour GreenTech Metals, also on the hunt for battery-metal white gold, has news out Monday regarding the Osborne lithium project in the Pilbara.

And at 3pm (AEDT), GRE was up more than 19 per cent for the day.

It has the diamond drills spinning at the highly promising JV – 51 per cent GRE and 49 per cent Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) – tenement, in which it says its campaign will provide for up to 1500m drilling to “test stratigraphy and structure to aid in planning of future detailed drilling”.

The drilling is specifically targeting north-dipping stacked LCT pegmatites in the project’s “Southern Zone”.

Analysis has previously confirmed spodumene-bearing pegmatite at the Kobe and Osborne prospects, and a heritage survey report is expected in about 4-6 weeks that the company says will allow for further detailed drilling.

Results from latest rock chip samples at the Northern LCT pegmatite (Kobe prospect) at Ruth Well and Osborne have returned excellent lithium grades of up to 1.82 per cent Li2O along the 7.5km long trend.

You can read a bit more about GreenTech’s other latest significant news regarding Kobe here.

A diamond drill rig on site at Osborne, targeting the Wally pegmatite zone. Source: GRE ASX announcement
A diamond drill rig on site at Osborne, targeting the Wally pegmatite zone. Source: GRE ASX announcement

This is all magnified by the fact nearby Azure Minerals is the subject of a $1.6 billion takeover bid from SQM, itself facing competition from the big-spending Hancock Prospecting and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN).

It shows what can happen if you do cotton on to that magical Pilbara lithium find.

“In light of the recent $1.6 billion takeover offer for Azure, the West Pilbara is continuing to cement its position as one of the premier global jurisdictions for hard rock lithium exploration,” the company’s executive director Thomas Reddicliffe noted.

“GreenTech is moving quickly with its exploration programs as it continues to reveal the true potential of its significant tenure in the region.”

For more on GRE’s drill-spinning news from today, read our special report.

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WILDCAT RESOURCES (ASX:WC8)

Speaking of Pilbara lithium finds … super-stonking-hot lithium-hunter Wildcat is up about 3855 per cent YTD. So does it really need the extra 11 per cent or so it’s added on over the 24 hours to 3pm, Monday? Of course it does.

The hits just keep on coming for WC8. It’s up on the news its Pilbara-based Tabba Tabba lithium project near Port Hedland has delivered more exceptional results.

New assay results from the Leia pegmatite in the project’s Central Cluster have revealed Wildcat has hit 180m at 1.1 per cent Li2O from 206m, adding further gravitas and proof that the company has a Tier-1 deposit under its boots.

The Leia pegmatite is now over 1.65km long, up to 180m wide, has been intersected to more than 350m vertical depth, and remains open laterally and at depth.

The company notes that results are now pending for 34 holes from Leia with Wildcat completing roughly eight of those holes a week.

As noted above in the GreenTech section, after the recent Liontown Albemarle/Rinehart tussle, and after SQM’s major move for Azure Minerals, the ASX lithium M&A scene is still frothy, still front and centre. And Aussie mining titan Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) last week came in hot for WC8.

So all that ought to tell you something about how highly prized WA’s lithium land is perceived.

The Chris Ellison-led mining giant has confirmed it’s now bought up almost a fifth of WC8, increasing its stake in the company to 19.85 per cent.

Per The Australian last week: “Mr Ellison is also speculated to be a shareholder in Azure Minerals under 5 per cent, and some had suspected he may have been looking to amass more shares in the takeover target of which Mrs Rinehart recently raided, with the billionaire gaining about 18 per cent.

“Wildcat’s market value has soared on the back of promising drilling results of its Tabba Tabba lithium project near Port Hedland in Western Australia.”

Ellison and Co. now hold more than 12 per cent of Azure along with nearly 20 per cent of Wildcat. Will the outback predator be the latest lithium junior to turn prey?

TG METALS (ASX:TG6)

The “Tethered Goat” is on the loose again, surging up the bourse to the tune of more than 41 per cent on Monday at 3pm (AEDT).

This lithium, nickel and gold exploration junior was October’s clear ressie stocks winner, rising 251 per cent for the month. In fact, it’s now up a stonking 500 per cent YTD as we type/read/sit here/drink third coffee of the day.

A couple of weeks ago, the company announced an interception of high-grade lithium at its Lake Johnston Li-Ni-Au project in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt of WA.

TG Metals, on the radar of renowned expert Joe “Mr Lithium” Lowry, noted that initial drilling of the 4.5km by 1.7km Burmeister lithium soil anomaly within the project had found a spodumene-bearing pegmatite with grades up to 2.28 per cent Li2O.

As noted in one of our recent special reports:

The stock listed on the ASX May last year with assets prospective for nickel, lithium, and gold in the Goldfields-Esperance region of WA.

It had amassed the largest land package ever held by one exploration company within the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt, saying the region has been “historically overlooked and underexplored”.

Five of the six holes completed, which were drilled to depths of between 120m and 132m, intersected multiple-stacked pegmatites with all pegmatite intervals hosting lithium mineralisation averaging 1.46 per cent Li2O in spodumene.

Down-hole widths ranging from 9m to 12m and the better intercepts are 9m at 1.35 per cent Li2O from a down-hole depth of 30m and 9m at 1.62 per cent Li2O from 87m.

NORTH STAWELL MINERALS (ASX:NSM)

Junior goldie North Stawell Minerals has had a great past week (up 66 per cent), and past 30 days (+76 per cent).

That fun has continued into Monday, with NSM up more than 32.5 per cent at 3pm (AEDT).

It’s most recent quarterly activities and cashflow reports were positive. Some highlights:

  • One hole was returned from the Caledonia prospect with: 1.3m at 2.29g/t Au from 63.1m (NSD051)
  • Corporate activity focused on M&A strategy and ongoing funding options.
  • Review of Wildwood, Forsaken and Caledonia targets sets some clear priorities for ongoing exploration.

North Stawell Minerals Chief Executive Officer Russell Krause said recently: “NSM has used the winter months to review and revise exploration plans on several fronts, to best deliver progress identifying and delineating Stawell-like gold mineralisation from the northern continuation of the rocks that host this impressive multi million-ounce gold deposit.

“The corporate team has focused on opportunities to expand NSMs project pipeline and to secure ongoing funding to get the work done.”

This content first appeared on stockhead.com.au

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. Although Greentech Metals and TG Metals are Stockhead advertisers at the time of writing but did not sponsor this article.

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Originally published as Resources Top 5: Buxton makes a high-grade nickel find at Dogleg

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/stockhead/resources-top-5-buxton-makes-a-highgrade-nickel-find-at-dogleg/news-story/8c91d56565f78e7d556ec581701c763d