Premium Resources (TSXV: PREM) has reported promising drill results from two holes outside the existing resource estimate at the past-producing Selebi North underground nickel-copper-cobalt mine in Botswana.
The latest assays confirm high-grade mineralization, with copper grades reaching up to 1.73%.
Drill hole SNUG-24-172, drilled on the South Limb, intersected 14.2 metres grading 1.73% copper, 1.66% nickel, and 0.08% cobalt from a depth of 623.8 metres.
Meanwhile, hole SNUG-24-144 on the N2 Limb returned 14.4 metres averaging 1.44% copper, 1.24% nickel, and 0.06% cobalt from 610.3 metres.
“This exploration program aims to expand the Selebi North mineral resource by targeting large, highly conductive borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) anomalies interpreted as massive sulphide mineralization,” said company president Sean Whiteford.
Located 410 km north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, Selebi North operated from 1990 to 2016, producing 13.9 million tonnes at 0.74% nickel and 0.66% copper from depths reaching 970 metres. The mine was placed on care and maintenance following its closure.
Premium Resources completed an initial resource estimate for Selebi North in August 2023, outlining:
- Indicated: 3 million tonnes grading 0.9% copper and 0.98% nickel (27,000 tonnes copper, 29,000 tonnes nickel).
- Inferred: 5.83 million tonnes grading 0.90% copper and 1.07% nickel (52,000 tonnes copper, 62,000 tonnes nickel).
The deposit is part of the broader Selebi mines project, which includes the Selebi Main deposit. Selebi Main, which began production in 1980, was also placed on care and maintenance in 2016 due to processing facility failures.
It hosts an inferred resource of 18.9 million tonnes grading 1.69% copper and 0.88% nickel (319,000 tonnes copper, 165,000 tonnes nickel).
Premium Resources plans to update the resource estimate for both Selebi North and Selebi Main in the first half of this year.
The company also intends to upgrade the Selebi shafts and commence construction of a new mill in the latter half of 2025, with the goal of starting production between 2027 and 2028.
At midday trading, Premium’s shares on the TSX Venture Exchange were down 2.5% at C$0.40, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately C$74 million ($51.5 million). Over the past year, shares have ranged between C$0.33 and C$1.66.
