This metal is priced at US$930,930/t and Conico has found it at Mt Thirsty

Conico is enjoying a cold brew after drilling returned outstanding cobalt, nickel and scandium results from its Mt Thirsty joint venture project near Norseman, Western Australia.

Three distinct zones of mineralisation were identified – an upper nickel-cobalt-manganese-scandium horizon, a middle platinum group element (PGE) horizon, and a lower nickel horizon – with hole MTRC011DA returning the sixth best cobalt intercept in Australia for 2022.

Notable intercepts in each of the zones are:

• Upper zone – 15m grading 0.45% cobalt, 0.91% nickel, 5.42% manganese and 40.9 grams per tonne (g/t) scandium from a down-hole depth of 45m (MTRC011DA);
• Middle zone – 9m at 0.14g/t 3E PGE, 0.09% nickel and 0.02% copper from 223m; and
• Lower zone – 21.8m at 0.28% nickel and 49.8g/t scandium from 268.2m (MTRC009D).

The scandium intercepts are particularly interesting to Conico (ASX:CNJ) and its equal joint venture partner Greenstone Resources (ASX:GSR) given that it commands an eye-popping price of US$930,930 ($1.33m) per tonne (oxide) due to its essential role in hydrogen fuel cells.

Assays are still pending for 17 holes targeting the upper zone, four holes in the middle zone and five holes in the lower zone.

Options to consolidate the ownership structure of the Mt Thirsty JV to support an initial public offering are also being considered.

Drill results

The upper zone consists of a weathered ultramafic peridotite rock hosting nickel-cobalt-manganese-scandium mineralisation with the most recent drilling confirming the presence of a lower and potentially higher-grade section which is currently outside of the existing resource and supported by historical drilling.

This is thanks to the use of both reverse circulation and diamond drilling allowing holes to be drilled to a depth of about 350m, significantly deeper than the holes drilled by aircore rigs at Mt Thirsty in the past.

Additionally, the current drill campaign employed a comprehensive multi-element assay suite, serving to identify the presence of scandium which had not previously been assayed for and is not included within the existing resource estimate.

The middle zone consists of an intrusive gabbro sill hosting anomalous Callisto-style palladium-platinum-gold-copper-nickel mineralisation while the lower zone consists of a chromium rich basalt hosting a thick zone of continuous nickel mineralisation.

This article was developed in collaboration with Conico (ASX:CNJ), a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.