Widgie Nickel has updated the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Gillett nickel deposit, which is central to the Widgie South project and a key component of the Mount Edwards project in Western Australia.
The Gillett deposit’s MRE now equals 3.14 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.30 per cent of nickel for 40,770 nickel tonnes, representing a 75 per cent increase in total contained nickel compared to Widgie Nickel’s 2023 MRE.
This brings Widgie Nickel’s total nickel resource to 13.03Mt at 1.45 per cent nickel for 189,300 nickel tonnes.
The new MRE has brought a 108 per cent increase in the indicated category with 30,650 nickel tonnes, and 72 per cent of the MRE is now within the indicated resource category.
The updated Gillett MRE follows the updated MRE for the Faraday and Trainline lithium deposits, which resulted in a 375 per cent increase in the deposit’s lithium mineral resources.
“The second of six MRE revisions destined to be delivered over the next few months is a resounding success demonstrating the potential we all see in the Mount Edwards nickel project,” Widgie Nickel managing director and chief executive officer Steve Norregaard said.
“Gillett is now the largest, highest confidence resource in the company’s portfolio, with ample exploration upside remaining.”
The following month saw the company announce that the scoping study for the Mount Edwards nickel project had been delayed to February 2024. Norregaard said the Gillett MRE upgrade will feed into the scoping study.
“Widgie’s unique assemblage of 12 resources in close proximity make for a wonderful opportunity to build a long life, high confidence, low risk mining operation in the medium term,” he said.
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