Coffee with Samso Episode 131
Scott Williamson, Managing Director of Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX) returns today with insights about the release of their Pre Feasibility Study.
The time has finally come for the Blackstone story to move to a stage where investors and shareholders can feel some level of comfort. The Pre Feasibility Study (PFS) is a major milestone for the company as it makes its way to becoming a nickel miner and a producer of battery cathodes.
The PFS is basically the script to what the end goal will look like in 2025. The next stage of the Definitive Feasibility Study will only differ marginally. - Scott Williamson
It has been a while since I last spoke with Scott Williamson. In this episode, we explore the meaning and workings of the PFS. As one of the major steps in the journey, I wanted Scott to talk to us and explain what all the facts and figures mean for the company and shareholders.
This episode is what we have been waiting for since the Scoping Study which we talked about in a previous Coffee With Samso back in 2020: The First Step in Creating a Green Nickel Mine - Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX).
When we look back at the very first episode: Blackstone Minerals Limited - Not just Mining Nickel, Scott positioned their journey. Today's story is the next step that brings Blackstone to another level. I feel that this could probably be the last step where shareholders can jump on this story as a "cheap" valuation.
It is with this thought that I urge readers to Do Your Own Research - DYOR (always a healthy habit to have) and decide if this is a good place to put your hard earned money.
Tune in to find out how Blackstone will generate billions.
Chapters
00:00 Start
00:20 Introduction
00:50 Scott updates on the PFS.
02:40 CAPEX
03:23 Good Payback and Margins of the Business.
05:11 The Coop Story.
06:40 What does the PFS mean for shareholders?
09:12 Can Investors take the PFS as a Green Light?
11:12 How does the Ta Koa Nickel Project compare to world standards?
14:13 How feasible is 2025?
17:01 The 50% third party Feed - will that be a problem?
19:32 ESG compliant feed.
20:24 Timeline for Mining and Refinery.
21:14 Is there pressure to start earlier?
22:48 How is the mineral resource coming along?
24:49 What are the Challengers for Blackstone?
26:58 What could derail the Blackstone Story?
28:26 What are the Brokers/Funders saying?
30:33 How are shareholders taking the PFS and how should they take it?
33:25 Raising $850M should be easy.
34:26 Conclusion
PODCAST
About Scott Williamson
Managing Director
Blackstone Minerals Limited Qualifications: BEng (Mining), BCom, MAusIMM
Scott Williamson is an experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the mining and metals industry. He is skilled in Open Pit and Underground Mining, Corporate Finance, Investor Relations and Project Planning. A strong business development professional with equity capital markets experience, Scott graduated from West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University of Technology. Scott holds a WA First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
About Blackstone Minerals Limited
Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX: BSX) is developing the district-scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam where the company is drilling out the large-scale Ban Phuc Nickel-PGE deposit. The Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE Project has existing modern mine infrastructures built to International Standards including a 450ktpa processing plant and permitted mine facilities.
Blackstone Minerals also owns a large landholding at the Gold Bridge project within the BC porphyry belt in British Columbia, Canada with large scale drill targets prospective for high-grade gold-cobalt-copper mineralisation. In Australia, Blackstone Minerals is exploring for nickel and gold in the Eastern Goldfields and gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Blackstone Minerals has a board and management team with a proven track record of mineral discovery and corporate success.
The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project
The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project is located 160 km west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance. The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016. In the Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, previous project owners invested more than US$136m in capital and generated US$213m in revenue during a 3.5-year period of falling nickel prices. The project was placed into care and maintenance in mid-2016 during some of the lowest nickel prices in the past 10 years.
Existing infrastructure associated with the project includes an internationally-designed 450 ktpa processing plant connected to local hydro grid power with a fully-permitted tailings facility and a modern 250-person camp.
Since commencing maiden drilling in August 2019, Blackstone Minerals has made significant progress at Ta Khoa, drilling over 9,000 m of diamond core in more than 47 holes into the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and the highly prospective King Cobra discovery zone. An initial scoping study evaluating mining and processing options is well advanced, including potential in-country downstream processing to deliver high-value nickel sulfate into Asia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry. The recently announced MOU with Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest EV battery cathode manufacturer, Ecopro BM Co Limited represents a significant step towards making this a reality.
Disclaimer
The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer.
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