Carlingup Nickel Sulphide Project

01

OVERVIEW

The Company’s Carlingup Project includes five currently known nickel sulphide deposits at RAV1, RAV4, RAV4 West, RAV5 and RAV8 spread along over 10 kilometres of strike length. These deposits contain shallow mineralisation open in most directions with an inferred resource at RAV8 of 13.2 million tonnes at 0.6% Ni for 75,100 tonnes of Ni and a combined exploration target at RAV1, RAV4 and RAV4 West of 300,000 tonnes at 0.9% Ni for 2,800 tonnes of Ni to 9,800,000 tonnes at 0.4% Ni for 41,200 tonnes of Ni. These exploration targets are based on information that is conceptual in nature noting that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a mineral resource and that it is not certain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral resource.

In addition, the Company’s John Ellis laterite nickel deposit contains 16.0 million tonnes at 0.56% Ni for 90,300 tonnes of Ni. Importantly the historical high grade RAV8 nickel mine which produced 16,100 tonnes of nickel at 3.45% demonstrates the potential for finding high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation at all the known deposits and virgin blind deposits yet to be discovered.

We are optimistic about the exploration potential of our tenements and have set a target of proving up a significant total resource of contained nickel in the coming years which will provide a solid foundation for future mining operations.

An agreement was executed with Medallion Metals Ltd (ASX:MM8) to acquire the Nickel-cobalt and PGE rights for tenements M74/83, E74/602, E74/638, E74/656 & E74/683 as well as 100% ownership of the historic RAV8 mine site M74/13, and E74/657.

02

WELL LOCATED IN ESTABLISHED NICKEL PROVINCE

The Carlingup Project is located approximately 500km south-east of Perth and encompasses belt scale coverage of the known prospective nickel terrain within the Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt. This belt occurs on the southern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton and is approximately 100km south of the Forrestania Greenstone Belt which hosts Western Areas Ltd’s existing nickel mining operations.

The Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt has the same nickel mineralisation endowment as Forrestania and other greenstone belts, including a historical nickel sulphide mine at RAV8 and the adjacent laterite mine at Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO). Through the circumstances of its exploration history, and due to the past focus on the Eastern Goldfields and the Kambalda nickel operations and its relatively isolated position, the Ravensthorpe area has remained one of the least explored of all the Archean greenstone belts for nickel sulphides.

• Highly prospective geological setting for nickel sulphides

• Favourable ultramafic host rocks for Kambalda-style komatiitic nickel sulphide deposits

• Well serviced by sealed roads & power supply

• Close to established nickel mining & processing infrastructure

03

The Company’s immediate objective is to increase the current Inferred resources through a combination of:

• Brownfields exploration at RAV1, RAV4, RAV4 West and RAV5; together with
• Greenfields exploration across the Carlingup Project

Whilst there can be no assurances that exploration activities will result in an increase in mineral resources, the Company is optimistic, based on the historical drilling results at the brownfield targets and the general exploration prospectivity of the Carlingup Project, that this objective can be achieved.

04

Historical Exploration

• Most previous drill testing has been shallow (mostly <80m depth)

• Significant potential exists for high-grade sulphide nickel deposits at moderate depths

• Multiple nickel targets along the basal ultramafic contact remain to be adequately drill tested

• A pyrite study by CODES on drill hole RAVD120 highlights potential for Degrussa-style VHMS Cu-Au mineralisation hosted in volcanic rocks

• Downhole EM identified subtle anomalies indicative of a VHMS mineralisation

Structural Framework

• A recent study defined a fold-thrust belt architecture for the Carlingup project area

• Structural targets coincide with favourable komatiite host units and with favourable drill hole lithogeochemistry

• Trough structure embayments that partly confine the nickel sulphide ore shoots have been modified during regional fold–thrusting

• Potential exists for structural folding, and thickening of ore shoots

• Recognition of these folding and thrusting patterns will aid future exploration

Geophysics

• Leveraging an extensive, high-quality exploration database

• Over 45 inadequately or untested tested EM targets

• Future exploration drilling will incorporate modern EM techniques

05

RAVENSTHORPE RANGE PROSPECTIVITY 

• Most advanced target is the B1Prospect

• • • Surface geochemical sampling defined a 400m x 100m anomaly
    • Drill testing intersected disseminated Ni sulphides with up to 1.52% Ni & 0.13% Cu
    • Further drilling is required to fully test the target

• Historical soil geochemistry identified widespread nickel anomalism coincident with the north-west trending Bandalup Ultramafics
• Numerous zones of coincident Ni-Co anomalism associated with magnetic features
• No systematic follow up or drilling of anomalous areas

06

NICKEL SULPHIDE DRILLING RESOURCE

• Multiple nickel sulphide deposits with potential to significantly extend along strike and at depth
• Shallow mineralisation identified to date is amenable to open pit mining
• Existing drilling highlights include:
  • • 4.13m at 2.15% Ni (RAV1)
    • 2.56m at 7.86% Ni (RAV4W)
• Resource drilling to upgrade to JORC 2012 at RAV1, RAV4 & RAV4 West
• Walk-up high potential targets identified at RAV5
• Drilling planned for Q4 CY21

07

RAV-8 MINERAL RESOURCE

• Historic high grade nickel production of 16.1kt Ni at 3.45% incl. 9.6kt Ni at 5.83%
• Classic Komatiite-hosted nickel sulphide deposit with 3 main massive sulphide shoots (red) with an overlying large disseminated nickel halo
• The mineralised halo has an inferred JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 13.2Mt @ 0.60% Ni for 75.1kt Ni
• Copper and cobalt credits likely to be included in future resource calculations

08

CONVENTIONAL AND GREEN PROCESSING ROUTE

• Simple to operate & produces high value products
• Low environmental impact and is well suited to remote locations
• Western Areas currently integrating their BioHeap™ process into Cosmic Boy Concentrator operations
• Terrafame’s bio-heap leach project in Finland was the world’s first for nickel – cost effectively processing low grade (0.26% Ni) ore