Auroch in $4m nickel buy

Auroch Minerals has purchased a stake in a high-grade nickel project near Coolgardie, which it will jointly develop alongside private company Goldfellas.

The Nepean nickel project is owned by another private Western Australian company, Eastern Coolgardie Goldfields.

Auroch said the 3,128-hectare project was highly prospective and underexplored for both nickel and gold mineralisation.

The project is home to a past-producing high-grade nickel sulphide mine, which delivered about 32,300 tonnes of nickel metal at an average recovered grade of 2.99 per cent nickel between 1970 and 1987.

Auroch said there was potential to build on the mine’s remaining 13,250t of resources with drill targets along strike and at depth.

Managing director Aidan Platel said the Nepean mine still had a big role to play.

“We are very excited by the enormous potential of the Nepean nickel project and are eager to commence our initial exploration programs,” he said.

“It is the perfect complement to our existing Leinster and Saints nickel projects, and we look forward to progressing all three projects in parallel.”

Mr Platel said the business would also assess gold potential within the project tenure.

Auroch will pay $2 million in cash to ECG, along with $1.5 million in script, for an 80 per cent stake in the Nepean project.

Goldfellas will pay $500,000 in cash for a 20 per cent project interest.

Auroch shares closed down 4.8 per cent to trade at 20 cents.