Coffee with Samso Episode 77 with Scott Williamson, Managing Director of Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX)
Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX:BSX) is now positioning itself to be part of the sector supplying the battery market.
I have been a big fan of Blackstone for a very long time. Followers who have been with Samso since the beginning will know that I have been sharing their story since 2019 when they were just AUD$0.15. In fact, I have just realised that they went down to AUD$0.08 during COVID.
In the early days, the story was focused on whether they would be able to come up with good drilling results which was to be followed by the probability of "resources". The next step would be the obligation to show the competency of the existing plant.
In the last episode of Coffee with Samso with Scott, he mentioned the beginnings of a downstream strategy, Producing Nickel for the EV Revolution - Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX) .
Scott Williamson outlines why their nickel products are of the highest quality.
In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Scott Williamson tells us about how the company intends to make the best battery products for the industry.
There is going to be a supply issue. The biggest deal breaker for the battery market is a lack of nickel sulphide concentrates.
As I have mentioned before in the other Coffee with Samso, the whole business of finding more nickel metal is a forgone conclusion. The relentless results coming out from Vietnam is now boring me. It is now just a matter of time for a re-rating of the company.
Would I buy Blackstone now?
I have been asked many times if BSX is still a buy at the current price. My simple answer is similar to what Rick Rule mentioned in our last Coffee with Samso. Look at 35:54 | Rick and Paladin - The story of Investing in Mineral Explorers.
The story that Rick tells is the best answer to any investor's questions of entry timing, understanding the value and letting that dictate your decision.
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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