Managing Director Brendan Cummins says the manganese and iron discoveries at the Wandanya Project in Western Australia are starting to shape up as Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) seeks to establish the mineral resource potential.
In December 2024, the company conducted a two-tranche a $2.5 million placement,which was supported by Lowell Resources Funds, shareholders, and an additional institutional investor Nero Resource Fund.
Speaking to Mining.com.au, Cummins says the placement allows for Black Canyon to plan and implement the next round of drilling at the manganese targets and an initial drilling program at the iron-rich targets.
“The Wandanya manganese and iron discoveries are starting to shape up even at this early stage,” Cummins tells this news service.
In Q4 2024, Black Canyon revealed hydrothermal manganese at the W2 prospect within the Wandanya Project.
Black Canyon says this represents a “significant” new exploration model and is complementary to the mineral resources already defined across the Balfour Manganese Field.
Further drilling is planned to increase the mineralised footprint and a density-based beneficiation metallurgical testwork program is advancing. The testwork aims to upgrade Wandanya’s mineralisation using simple density based techniques to deliver manganese concentrates to smelter end users and establish potential suitability for high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate downstream processing.
Meanwhile, at Wandanya’s iron discovery in Q4, the company received rock chip samples grading 64.3% ion and 62.4% iron — which is within the typical ranges for direct shipping ores.
Black Canyon says exploration potential exists along a 5km-long striking ridge with multiple hematite rich and enriched iron formations between 50 and 300m wide.
Once the wet season has concluded, drilling will be carried out.
Cummins says identifying high-grade iron mineralisation adds further potential particularly to the south, where the company has uncovered multiple outcrops along 2km of strike.
“What I like about the mineralisation at Wandanya is its simplicity and our mapping shows there is scale along strike and importantly down dip for this flat lying mineralisation,” he tells this news service.
“The mineralisation represents a unique geological opportunity with hematite-rich iron formations on the crest of the ridge extending east downslope to outcropping high-grade stratabound manganese.
“The thickness of the iron mineralisation has not been drill tested but the overall conformity of the iron rich formations along the ridge and scale is impressive and warrants further investigation. Both the iron and manganese are outcropping so lower costs to drill and potentially low strip ratios under a development scenario.”
Further, at the KR2 prospect, the company is reviewing infill reverse circulation drilling results which supported the July 2024 Scoping Study which is part of the broader Balfour Manganese Field.
Black Canyon is a manganese-focused explorer that holds a 2,100km2 tenement package that contains several near-term development deposits in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Black Canyon
