Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) has begun reverse circulation drilling within the Wandanya Project in Western Australia, to follow-up rock chip sample assays that returned up to 58.5% manganese at the W2 prospect.
The drilling program will comprise 40 holes for 1,000m on a 40m by 40m regular grid pattern. Assay results are expected through October 2024.
There has been no historic drilling at W2, and this initial program has been designed to establish the thickness of mineralisation across the outcrops.
Subject to the thickness of the mineralisation, Black Canyon says there may be scope to outline a coherent zone of mineralisation and estimate a mineral resource.
Managing Director Brendan Cummins says the mapping and surface rock chip samples that were previously gathered across the project warrant drill testing.
“Establishing the potential thickness of the mineralisation will be key to understanding the grade range and size potential,” Cummins says.
“Dipole dipole induced polarisation (DDIP) surveys completed over the W2 prospect also identified several deeper targets that are to be tested during this drill campaign.”
In 2023, a DDIP survey was completed at W2, which uncovered several anomalies. One strong chargeable anomaly lies to the east of the main body of the mineralisation, while a deeper discrete chargeable anomaly was detected between 50m and 100m below the main body of mineralisation.
While the reverse circulation rig has been mobilised, Black Canyon has decided to conduct infill drilling and potentially extend the KR2 deposit’s inferred resource estimate of 24 million tonnes at 11.9% manganese.
At the KR2 prospect, drill spacing is 200m by 200m and the infill program is expected to reduce this to 100m by 100m.
The company says closer spaced drilling may enable an upgrade to a higher confidence of indicated or measured, which can be used in more advanced Feasibility Studies to estimate reserves.
Cummins adds that the company has taken the opportunity to infill drill KR2 within the Balfour Manganese Filed, with the hopes of upgrading the current resource to a higher classification.
“The Scoping Study released by the company earlier this year demonstrated the benefit of shallow, low strip ratio and higher grade mineralisation we discovered at KR2,” he says.
“The company has continued its strategy to demonstrate the scale of the Balfour Manganese Field to provide development options to produce manganese concentrate for the steel industry and a high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) feedstock.”
HPM products are considered essential materials needed by Europe’s fast growing EV and lithium-ion battery industries. The term HPM refers to a suite of highly refined finished products that are critical to most lithium-ion batteries.
Manganese sulphate monohydrate is used in lithium manganese oxide and nickel manganese cobalt battery chemistries with the manganese contribution varying between 8-29%.
Currently, China accounts for the majority of the HPMSM market, producing 90% of the global production.
Further, the company’s previously announced share purchase plan to raise $500,000 is scheduled to close at 5pm AWST on 30 September 2024.
Eligible shareholders have the opportunity to increase their holding by up to $30,000.
Black Canyon is an Australian manganese explorer and developer focused on its landholding covering 2,100km2 in the underexplored Balfour Manganese Field and across the Oakover Basin, in Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Black Canyon
