Michael Rowley, President and CEO of Stillwater Critical Minerals (TSX.V: PGE – OTCQB: PGEZF), joins us to unpack the key takeaways from the recently announced Resource Estimate update at their flagship Stillwater West Project in Montana. As announced on January 25, 2023, this updated Resource Estimate show a 62% increase over the 2021 Maiden Resource Estimate to 1.6 Blbs Battery Metals and 3.8 Moz PGE+Gold. Base Case Inferred mineral resources of 1.6 billion pounds of nickel, copper and cobalt and 3.8 million ounces palladium, platinum, rhodium, and gold, in a constrained model totaling 255 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.39% total estimated recovered NiEq (or 1.19 g/t Palladium Equivalent).
We compare this resource to other projects in North America, and there are surprising few peers with this type of mineral endowment. These leads us to further discuss the parallels between this Project and their neighbors, Sibanye Stillwater, that are currently producing nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, and rhodium at that highest grade PGM mine in the world. Mike makes the point that the mining approach for Stillwater Critical Minerals that is being proposed is more of a bulk mining deposit more akin to the South African Platreef battery metals and platinum group elements mines and development projects found on the northern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex. Mike addresses the question of whether Sibanye Stillwater could be the only suitor, and points out there are ongoing discussions with a number of major metals producers and so there are plenty of options on the table for the road ahead.
Next we discuss the exploration work successfully completed in 2022 at the Pine Target, which is an additional gold target returning high-grade gold, that is 2kms away and currently not one of the 5 deposit areas presently included in the resource estimate, but that more drilling will be focused here in 2023 to keep delineating this additional target area. The focus of the exploration team at present is continuing to expand the high-grade areas of the 9km strike length, and for better understanding the geological structural controls, with a wealth of potential targets for future drilling in that larger context for the 2023 exploration season. The key focus of exploration for 2023 will still be the primary other 5 target areas at their Stillwater West project, with a large exploration program to be announced later this year.
If you have any questions for Mike regarding Stillwater Critical Minerals, then please email us at either Fleck@kereport.com or Shad@kereport.com.
In full disclosure, Shad is a shareholder of Stillwater Critical Minerals.
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