The Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX) share price stormed more than 11% higher in today’s session.
Shares in the nickel mining company surged ahead after the company released an update, with the price reaching an intraday high of 50.5 cents.
At the time of writing, shares in Blackstone are trading 3.3% higher at 47 cents.
Let’s take a look at what Blackstone announced.
Blackstone share price soars on feasibility study
Earlier today, Blackstone announced the completion of its pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Ta Khoa Refinery Project (TKR) in northern Vietnam.
Blackstone highlighted that the PFS demonstrated the project will require low capital intensity to produce Class I nickel at scale.
The company noted that the project will have a refinery capacity of up to 400ktpa of nickel concentrate and a 10-year life-of-operations. As a result, Blackstone will be able to produce battery-grade nickel for the lithium-ion battery industry.
According to Blackstone’s PFS, the life-of-operations revenue for TKR is estimated at US$14 billion. In addition, the project is estimated to produce an operating cash flow of US$4.5 billion.
Blackstone noted that an upfront project capital of US$491 million would be paid back in 1.5 years from first production.
Blackstone management highlighted the PFS as an important milestone towards achieving the company’s vision to integrate lithium-ion battery supply chains and enable a green solution from mine to consumer.
More on Blackstone
Blackstone is a nickel mining company that has a 90% interest in its flagship TKR Project in Vietnam.
Ahead of today’s news, Blackstone recently reported its first batch of precursor battery-grade nickel-cobalt-manganese. The results were generated using ore from its TKR Project and third-party feed.
According to the company, analysis of the precursor material confirmed that it met specifications for the lithium-ion battery industry.
Including today’s bullish price action, the Blackstone share price has soared more than 50% since the start of July.
Overall, shares in the mining company are trading around 23% higher for the year to date.
