Early signs of nickel and cobalt at Firetail’s Mt Slopeway project

Battery metals explorer Firetail Resources (ASX: FTL) has completed a reverse circulation drilling program at its Mount Slopeway project in Central Queensland, Australia.

Management has highlighted the following results, which detail the composition of various samples taken from different depths across several drill holes.

The first drill hole showed a mineralised zone at a depth starting from the surface and extending for 29 metres. The ore in this zone contains 0.92% nickel and 0.05% cobalt.

Additionally, two narrower zones showed higher concentrations of nickel and cobalt:

• 7 metres long with 1.41% Ni and 0.15% Co starting at a depth of 1 metre, and

• 8 metres long with 1.0% Ni and 0.02% Co starting at a depth of 21 metres.

The report provides similar information for the other drill holes, with nickel and cobalt found to extend from the surface to depths of between 8 metres and 51 metres. Grade quality ranges from 0.5% to 0.47% nickel, and 0.02% to 0.22% cobalt.

Firetail’s executive chairman, Brett Grosvenor, indicated the positive results are just the beginning of its assessment of the true nature and size of the mineralisation.

“We are pleased to have preliminary confirmation of the grades as expected, and to hit some thicker intercepts confirmed that the historical works are preliminary in nature and the project has lots of unexplored potential,” he said.

“Our follow-up drill planning is in progress, and we are very excited to explore this further.”

The results, when compared with nickel, cobalt and manganese assays drilled in late 2022, show a good correlation in the overall grades of all three elements and depth distribution.

What’s next?

The next steps for Mt Slopeaway include:

• Plans for a drilling program consisting of approximately 40 to 60 reverse circulation holes aimed at improving and expanding its existing Mineral Resource

• Review of historical data and geological data to identify potential resources in the Mt Slopeaway region, beyond the company's existing mining licences

• Preliminary metallurgical testing program to understand the metallurgical properties of the resources and potential recoveries.

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX-listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Firetail Resources was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.