Blackstone Minerals

Financials:

Primary ticker: ASX:BSX, OTCQB:BLSTF, FRA:B9S
Stage of development: Exploration, Development
Primary minerals: Nickel, Copper, Gold, Cobalt
Project to promote: Ta Khoa Nickel Project
Project location: Vietnam
Website: www.blackstoneminerals.com.au

Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX / OTCQX: BLSTF / FRA: B9S) is focused on building an integrated upstream (Ta Khoa Nickel Project) and downstream (Ta Khoa Refinery Project) battery metals processing business in Vietnam that produces Nickel Cobalt Manganese Precursor products for Asia’s growing Lithium-ion battery industry.

 

 

The Company owns a 90% interest in the Ta Khoa Nickel Project. The project is located 160km west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently being used to process nickel ore delivered by the underground bulk sample program. The nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016.

 

 

Blackstone’s Ta Khoa Nickel Project and Ta Khoa Refinery Project are the two major cogs in Blackstone’s vertically integrated development strategy. The Company’s development strategy is underpinned by Blackstone’s ability to secure nickel concentrate and Ta Khoa is emerging as a nickel sulfide district of enviable scale with several exploration targets yet to be tested.

 

 

In December 2022, Blackstone’s piloting programme at ALS Metallurgy (“ALS”) in Western Australia marked a critical milestone to validate and underpin the Company’s ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for the Ta Khoa Refinery project. With the support of ALS, and engineering partner Wood, a 12-month programme of work

was undertaken that developed a scaled version of Blackstone’s Ta Khoa Refinery,

processing nickel concentrate to battery grade nickel and cobalt sulphates, and successful processing of third-party MHP and cobalt supply.

 

 

Key piloting highlights were:

  • Operations: >15,000 labour hours without injury;
  • Feed: >7 tonnes (comprised of Ban Phuc and third-party tonnes from Trafigura);
  • POX piloting: >700 hours of operation;
  • SX piloting: >1,100 hours of operation;
  • MHP: >2.2 tonnes produced and leached;
  • Product quality:
    1.  Nickel sulphate: achieved battery grade specification
    2.  Cobalt sulphate: achieved battery grade specification
    3.  Copper cathode: achieved >99.99% specification;
  • Stakeholders: five visits from potential partners and other stakeholders

 

Cash: AUD$18.2M (30 January 2023)
Debt: NIL

 

Major shareholders:

Deutsche Balaton – 15%
Fidelity – 8%
Nanjia / Civetta – 8%
EcoPro – 7%
BNP Paribas Noms PTY LTD <DRP> – 4%
Management Ownership – 5%

 

Management Profile

Scott Williamson – Managing Director

Mining Engineer with a Commerce degree from the West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University, over 10 years experience in technical and corporate roles in the mining and finance sectors.

Tessa Kutscher – Executive – Sustainability, Government Relations & People Operations

Ms. Kutscher is an Executive with more than 20 years’ experience in working with C-Level Executive teams in the fields of business strategy, business planning/optimisation and change management. After starting her career in Germany, she has worked internationally across different industries, such as mining, finance, tourism and tertiary education.

Ms. Kutscher holds a Master’s degree in Literature, Linguistics and Political Science from the University of Bonn, Germany and a Master degree in Teaching from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

What is your rationale for taking part in 121 Mining Investment?

Attending 121 Mining online provides us with the opportunity to update the investor and analyst community and broaden our investor base.

What recent news would you like to highlight to investors attending?

28/3/2023 Blackstone receives A$3.8M R&D refund

Blackstone Minerals Limited (“Blackstone”) is pleased to announce that it has received A$3.8 million from the Australian Tax Office (“ATO”). The funds, as part of the ATO’s research & development (“R&D”) tax incentive program, were approved in recognition of technical advancements made by Blackstone in the financial year ended 30 June 2022. The R&D claim reflects the significant investment by Blackstone to develop the Ta Khoa Refinery process. The ATO has recognised Blackstone’s unique strategy to convert nickel concentrate blends into battery products in the form of precursor cathode active material (“pCAM”). The majority of Blackstone’s investment was directed to process development and piloting programs. 


9/3/2023 Digbee Assessment confirms Blackstone’s ESG credentials 


Blackstone has completed its second Digbee ESG assessment to support the development of the Ta Khoa Project in northern Vietnam. The overall score for the assessment was BBB (refer Figure 1). This is an improvement from an overarching score of BB in 2021. The assessment emphasises that clear improvements at all levels of the Company have been made since the inaugural submission in December 2021, showing that Blackstone holds sustainability as a core value within the organisation.


3/3/2023 Ta Khoa Project Development Update


Blackstone provides an update on corporate activities, and on the Ta Khoa Project development. With completion of the Ta Khoa Refinery (“TKR”) piloting program, Blackstone has progressed critical project milestones in collaboration with prospective technology and off-take partners. 


20/12/2022 Blackstone Successfully Completes Major Milestone at Ta Khoa


Blackstone provides a project update concerning its integrated Ta Khoa mine to battery precursor project in Vietnam. The company achieved a major milestone following the completion of a comprehensive 12-month piloting programme. Blackstone’s piloting programme at ALS Metallurgy (ALS) in Western Australia was completed on 16 December 2022. Piloting is a critical milestone to validate and underpin ongoing Definitive Feasibility Studies (DFS). With the support of ALS, and process engineering partner Wood, a 12-month programme of work was undertaken that developed a scaled version of Blackstone’s concentrate to sulphate flowsheet.