Pic: John W Banagan / Stone via Getty Images
Mining
A new research report has highlighted the huge potential of a cobalt drilling program underway at Centaurus Metals’ (ASX:CTM) Itapitanga project in northern Brazil.
With first assays just a fortnight away, the report by Independent Investment Research emphasises Itapitanga’s location just 15km down the road from Anglo American’s world-class Jacaré nickel-cobalt project.
Assays are lab tests used to determine the quality of ore or minerals.
Itapitanga is a direct extension of the geological complex that hosts Jacaré. A 15km stretch in the middle hosts the high-grade nickel-cobalt deposit of Brazilian mining giant Vale.
At Itapitanga, high-grade mineralisation occurs from the surface and shares the same key geological characteristics as the Anglo and Vale deposits.
Centaurus carried out an earlier, shallower drilling program at Itapitanga where 49 of the 63 holes reported to date finished in nickel-cobalt mineralisation.
Intersections included 10.1m at 1.03% nickel and 0.12% cobalt from surface, 8.7m at 1.21% nickel and 0.10% cobalt and 6.5m at 0.92% nickel and 0.20% cobalt.
The earlier drilling returned strong nickel and cobalt results over an area of more than 5km long and up to 500m wide.
A 5000m program of deeper “reverse circulation” drilling began in late April, and first assays are now expected in just a fortnight.
Reverse circulation is a more advanced drilling technique that can reach 500 metres.
Independent Investment Research senior analyst Mark Gordon says in his in-depth report that Itapitanga is part of Centaurus’s high-quality portfolio of copper-gold-cobalt and nickel-cobalt projects in the world-class Carajás region of Pará State in Brazil.
“The Itapitanga laterite nickel-cobalt mineralisation is developed above the same ultramafic intrusive complex that hosts Anglo American’s Jacaré Ni-Co Project, which has total resources of 307Mt at 1.3% nickel and 0.13% cobalt, including a high-grade cobalt resource of 185Mt at 1.2% nickel and 0.18% cobalt,” Mr Gordon says.
“Centaurus has identified two targets at Itapitanga: a northern target with a strike length of some 3.3km and a southern target with a strike length of 2 km.”
He notes that the Carajás projects also include Salobo West, which is highly prospective for copper and gold.
“This prospective property is 12km along strike from Vale’s world-class Salobo Mine (their largest copper producer) and has latest reserves of 1.2Bt at 0.61% copper and 0.32g/t gold,” Gordon says.
Centaurus Managing Director Darren Gordon said strong, earlier drilling results at Itapitanga and its location next to the established nickel-cobalt projects of Anglo and Vale was an outstanding combination.
“Given what we have already seen at Itapitanga and the geological traits it shares with the deposits of Anglo and, we are eager to see the first assays from the reverse circulation drilling,” Mr Gordon said.
“If our drilling is successful, we see a clear pathway to establish nickel-cobalt resources right next door to one of the world’s biggest and highest-grade nickel-cobalt deposits,” he added.
“This will give Centaurus significant exposure to two strongly performing metals which are highly leveraged to the fast-growing battery metals sector.”
This special report is brought to you by Centaurus Metals.
This advice has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, therefore, consider the appropriateness of the advice, in light of your own objectives, financial situation or needs, before acting on the advice.
If this advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product, the recipient should obtain a disclosure document, a Product Disclosure Statement or an offer document (PDS) relating to the product and consider the PDS before making any decision about whether to acquire the product.
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