Thick manganese zones confirmed at Black Canyon’s (ASX:BCA) LR1 deposit; MRE upgrade to follow

Highlights

• Recent RC drilling program over the LR1 deposit at Black Canyon’s Flanagan Bore Project has intersected thick zones of manganese-enriched shale.
• The results suggest strong potential to expand the LR1 Mineral Resource and increase the global Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at Flanagan Bore.
• The Company is gearing up to boost its stake in the project to 75% by funding an additional AU$2.5 million in exploration expenditure.
• BCA continues to progress hydro-metallurgical testwork on manganese concentrates from Flanagan Bore to produce manganese sulphate – a critical precursor cathode material for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.  

Black Canyon Limited (ASX:BCA) has unveiled results from its latest drill campaign at the LR1 deposit at the Flanagan Bore Project. The assay results have confirmed thick zones of manganese-enriched shale, opening up the opportunity to expand the current 37Mt @ 10.8% Mn Mineral Resource Estimate at LR1.

The reverse circulation (RC) drilling operation was undertaken during May and June 2022. A total of 181 RC holes for 7,534m were drilled targeting the LR1 and FB3 deposits at the Flanagan Bore Project. The current assay results are from LR1 with the FB3 and other drilled targets expected in the coming weeks.

Black Canyon operates the Flanagan Bore Project in a joint venture with Carawine Resources (ASX:CWX). The Company currently owns a 51% interest in the project and is in the process of earning up to 75% stake by sole funding an additional AU$2.5 million for exploration activities.

Drilling confirms thick manganese intersections at Flanagan Bore

Black Canyon undertook the RC drilling campaign over the project area to target the FB3 and LR1 deposits and discovery drilling in the area between these two deposits.

With this drilling program, the Company reduced the drill spacing from 200m spaced lines to 100m spaced lines and 100m drill centres. The objective was to double the intensity of drilling to potentially upgrade the current MRE from Indicated to Measured category. Increasing the resource confidence to the Measured category would make it suitable for detailed feasibility study and related mining and processing studies.

The drilling has delineated a 1200m x 800m zone of manganese-enriched shale zone on LR1. The deeper holes drilled during the campaign intersected thicker mineralisation intervals than previously encountered.

These thicker mineralised results have the potential to expand the MRE at LR1 and, in turn, increase the global resource at Flanagan Bore. The project currently holds 104Mt @10.5% Mn, containing 11Mt of Mn. Also, the mineralisation remains open to the west.

The encouraging drilling results follow the recent completion of the Flanagan Bore Scoping Study, which demonstrated significant project value.

Read detailed scoping study results here

What’s next?

Black Canyon has set an aggressive action plan and schedule to get Flanagan Bore development ready. The Company believes that all begins with a sizable, outcropping manganese mineral deposit of the highest quality.

Meanwhile, BCA continues to advance hydro-metallurgical investigations with acid leaching tests on manganese concentrates obtained from the Flanagan Bore deposits. This is a vital aspect of the project as the Company is progressing to produce manganese sulphate.

Manganese sulphate is an important ingredient for cathodes used in the lithium-ion batteries.

BCA shares traded at AU$0.24 on 7 September 2022.