The Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX) share price is in the green today after the company provided a nickel update about its project in Vietnam.
Shares in the mining exploration company were swapping hands at 56 cents apiece in afternoon trading, up nearly 1%. They were as high as 59 cents in early trade.
What did the company announce?
The Blackstone Minerals share price is climbing after the company provided an update on its Ta Khoa nickel project in northern Vietnam. The company holds a 90% stake in the project.
This resource includes the Ban Phuc and Ban Khoa disseminated sulphide (DS) deposits and the Ban Chang and King Snake massive sulphide vein (MSV) deposits.
A drilling expedition over the past year has uncovered 485 kilotonnes of nickel at the project, representing a 73% increase.
Commenting on the news driving the Blackstone Minerals share price, managing director Scott Williamson said:
An aggressive drill over the past 12 months has culminated into a global Ta Khoa mineral resource of enviable scale and increased confidence. Our mineral resource is an early indication of the potential of the Ta Koa nickel sulphide district, with further agressive testing already ongoing.
Ban Phuc, our large bulk tonnage disseminated sulphide deposit, will underpin base load feed to a large concentrator that is being examined in our upstream pre-feasibility study.
Ban Chang and King Snake are the first of many high-grade massive sulphide opportunities and the company continues to work diligently to increase surety of nickel supply for our downstream refinery in Vietnam, with exploration and resource delineation at Ta Khoa being a core part of our strategy.
What else is happening?
After releasing the nickel update to the market, Blackstone Minerals advised investors it has completed a share placement.
The company placed 56,692,782 new shares on the market at 58 cents, raising nearly $33 million before costs. Shareholder approval for this placement was received on December 16. An earlier share placement on November 10 raised $55 million.
Blackstone Minerals share price snapshot
The Blackstone Minerals share price has soared in the past 12 months, gaining 53%. Year to date, the company's shares are up 47%.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned more than 11% to investors in the past year.
Shares in the Blackstone have stagnated over the past month and are down 4% in the past week.
The company commands a market capitalisation of roughly $218 million based on the current share price.
