WA-based Manganese player Black Canyon boosts ownership of Carawine Project

In case you missed it, manganese explorer Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) stepped up its ownership of a WA joint venture with Carawine Resources Ltd (ASX:CWX) last week by completing its requirement to spend $4M within five years.

The company noted this milestone was targeted in an initial binding Heads of Agreement (HoA) executed with Carawine back in December 2020.

An investment in the battery mineral sector

The Carawine Project covers 793km2 of tenure in the promising mining hotspot of WA’s Pilbara region.

The project is south of the existing Woodie-Woodie manganese mine and includes the Flanagan Bore target, which is of foremost interest to the company’s exploration team.

Existing data suggests significant deposits of manganese and copper may be present on-site, with known and proven exploration assets nearby boosting confidence in the play.

Both minerals are essential components for lithium-ion batteries with significant demand and restricted supply.

Significant progress in the Carawine JV

“Over the past year, Black Canyon has built a rapid and significant understanding of a potential mine development at Flanagan Bore,” Black Canyon Executive Director Brendan Cummins said.

2022 was a busy year for Black Canyon.

Significant progress over the JV portfolio includes:

• Posting a JORC resource of 171Mt of ore at an average manganese (MN) grade of 10.3% MN for a total of 18Mt.

• Metallurgical testwork confirmed the ability to produce manganese concentrate at grades over 30%.

• Completion of the project Scoping Study found the Flanagan Bore Project can generate strong financial returns over a 20 year life cycle including:

  • $31.1M annual revenue cashflow in the first four years

  • $134M in pre-tax project value.

  • 2 year payback period for pre-production expenditure of $44M.

  • Manganese mineralisation identified across other JV project areas.

Company chief Brendan Cummins kept his words brief, citing optimism for the year 2023.

“We look forward to the coming year as we continue to add value and de-risk Flanagan Bore, whilst also seeking to continue exploration activities across the Company’s prospective portfolio,” he said.

A look at Black Canyon's three month charts

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Black Canyon 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.