Interested parties and investors are requested to read the following Important Statements in full.
Competent Persons Statement – Mineral Resources
Any information on this website that relates to nickel geology, nickel Mineral Resources, Exploration Targets, Exploration Results and the Company’s Historical Core Program, which includes the accessing, re-processing, re-logging, cutting and assaying of historical WMC Resources Ltd diamond core and the appropriateness of the use of this data and other historical geoscience hard copy data such as cross sections, underground level mapping plans, longitudinal projections and long sections, including commentary relying on personal experience whilst employed at Kambalda by WMC Resources Ltd and Gold Fields Ltd, is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Aaron Wehrle, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr. Wehrle is a full-time employee of Lunnon Metals Ltd, a shareholder and holder of employee options/performance rights; he has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Wehrle is the Company’s principal Competent Person and consents to the inclusion on this website of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
The information on this website that relates to the MRE geostatistics, methodology and estimation is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Stephen Law, who holds current Chartered Professional (Geology) status with the AusIMM. Mr Law is a full-time employee of Lunnon Metals Ltd; he has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Law consents to the inclusion on this websitet of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Any information on this website that relates to reporting of prior nickel metallurgical testwork results, was based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Barry Cloutt, who is a Member of the AusIMM. Mr. Cloutt is an external and independent consultant to Lunnon Metals Ltd and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Cloutt consented to the inclusion in those announcements of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Any information on this website that relates to the mining, metallurgical and environmental modifying factors or assumptions as they may apply to the Company’s MREs was based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Mr. Max Sheppard, Mr. Wehrle and Mr. Edmund Ainscough, who are Competent Persons and Members of the AusIMM and full time employees of Lunnon Metals Ltd. Mr. Wehrle and Mr. Ainscough are shareholders and all three are holders of employee options/performance rights. All three employees have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation, the types of deposit under consideration, the activity that they are undertaking and the relevant factors in the particular location of the prospect area, the historical Foster mine and the KGNP generally, to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Sheppard, Mr. Wehrle and Mr. Ainscough consent to the inclusion on this website of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
Competent Persons Statement – Ore Reserves
The information on this website that relates to nickel Ore Reserves at Baker is based on information compiled by Mr. Sheppard, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr. Sheppard is a full-time employee of the Company and is the holder of employee options/performance rights. Mr. Sheppard has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Mr Sheppard consents to the inclusion on this website of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Forward Looking Statements – Inferred Resources
The Company notes that an Inferred Resource has a lower level of confidence than an Indicated Resource and that the JORC Code 2012 advises that to be an Inferred Resource it is reasonable to expect that the majority of the Inferred Resource would be upgraded to an Indicated Resource with continued exploration. Based on advice from relevant Competent Persons, the Company has a high degree of confidence that the Inferred Resources reported at the Kambalda Nickel Project will upgrade to an Indicated Resource with further exploration work.
The Company believes it has a reasonable basis for making the above forward looking statement, based on the information contained in this website and, in particular, the JORC Code 2012 and the Mineral Resources reported to the ASX since listing and also recorded in the Company’s Prospectus dated 22 April 2021 and released to the ASX on 11 June 2021.
Exploration Target
The information on this website that relates to the original East Cooee Exploration Target was based on information compiled by Mr. Aaron Wehrle. Mr. Wehrle is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, is a full time employee of Lunnon Metals, a shareholder and holds options and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Wehrle consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
An Exploration Target for East Cooee was estimated by the Company in 2020 in accordance with the guidelines of the JORC Code, 2012. This work identified multiple mineralised surfaces in basalt-ultramafic contact trough locations, contact flanking locations, footwall positions and extensive hangingwall surfaces. The combined tonnage and grade potential of the Exploration Target was estimated to be in the range of 500 kt to 750 kt with an average grade of 1.25% to 2.5% nickel. The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. Lunnon Metals notes that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
The Exploration Target is based on supporting geological information and drillhole data from WMC and geological interpretations by Lunnon Metals. Included in the data on which this Exploration Target has been prepared are the results from surface diamond drillholes, completed by WMC during the 1970s and 1980s. The Exploration Target does not account for potential geological complexity, possible mining method or metallurgical recovery factors.
The Exploration Target was estimated in order to provide an assessment of the potential scale and grade of the mineralisation intersected in drilling and supported by the strong and high magnitude nickel-in-soils geochemical anomalism. The Company’s work programs will seek to apply funds raised to progress exploration activities at East Cooee to confirm the presence of nickel mineralisation and generate sufficient new significant dill intercepts to position the Company to consider the estimation of a Mineral Resource within the first two years after listing. In the Company’s Independent Technical Assessment Report, Optiro Pty Ltd again noted that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
Historical Estimates – ASX listing rules 5.10 to 5.14
The information on this website that relates to the historical estimates at Foster and Jan mines, is based on information compiled by Mr. Aaron Wehrle and Mr. Edmund Ainscough. Mr. Wehrle and Mr. Ainscough are both Members of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, full time employees of Lunnon Metals, are shareholders and hold options in the Company and have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Wehrle and Mr. Ainscough state that this information is an accurate representation of the available data and studies for the Foster and Jan historical estimates and consent to the inclusion on this website of these matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears. The Company highlights that:
- The estimates are historical estimates and are not reported in accordance with the JORC code;
- A Competent Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code; and
- It is uncertain that following evaluation and/or further exploration work that the historical estimates will subsequently be able to be reported as Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code.
The historical estimates are based on work completed by WMC Resources Ltd as documented specifically in two unpublished internal technical reports (for Foster, Flomersfeld, P., and Clark, C., 1996. Feasibility of Remnant Mining at Foster. Unpublished Report No. BF:026. Western Mining Corporation (Kambalda Nickel Mines); and for Jan Shaft, Barratt, R.M, 1987. Jan Shoot – Geology, Ore Reserves and Potential on Mine Closure (P.13, 1986). Unpublished Western Mining Corporation Limited Report K3037.
The historical estimates use terminology developed by WMC and applied at their Kambalda nickel mines as follows:
- UGOR, or Unfactored Geological Ore Reserve – a polygonal estimate calculated by WMC’s in-house computer system at the time which incorporated drill intercept intervals selected and categorised to multiple different and separately interpreted nickel surfaces by the mine based geological staff together with the associated true width and SG of these intercepts to estimate a tonnage and average grade for each such identified block within manually digitised “areas of influence” i.e. blocks, panels etc.
- FGOR – Factored Geological Ore Reserve – this calculation was based on the UGOR above with the addition of a minimum mining width estimate, as defined by the width of the mining production methodology to be applied to extract the nickel metal mineralisation, often and typically (in the case of Foster and Jan Shaft) by airleg shrink stoping, airleg cut and fill and jumbo cut and fill methods; this estimation was typically performed in a “round table” meeting with the involvement and input of relevant mining production staff such as the shift boss/foreman, underground mine engineer and mine manager etc. The FGOR factors were originally predicated on airleg mining and adapted over time to allow or accommodate for jumbo development;
- PMR – the final step in WMC’s annual estimation process was to attempt to reconcile tonnes and nickel metal content allocated to the mine by the central concentrator processing facility in Kambalda against the annual mining performance claimed to be delivered; this step thus attempted to accommodate or incorporate unplanned ore loss and mining dilution. This resulted in a further application of modifying factors to the FGOR to derive the Planned Mining Reserve or PMR, against which the following year’s budget forecast would be made and mine performance judged.
The Company considers the historical estimates are directly relevant and in quantum, material, to the Company and represent the most accurate known estimation of the nickel mineralisation available and pertinent to those parts of the two historical mines until such time as the Company has completed the necessary work to update the estimation under the JORC 2012 Guidelines. The Competent Persons have sufficient direct knowledge and also completed sufficient further investigations to satisfy themselves as to the reliability of the historical estimates and their suitability for reporting under Chapter 5 rules. The WMC procedural steps listed above represent the best summary of the work programs on which the historical estimates were based and the mining and processing parameters that were used to prepare them and there are no known other estimates that are relevant to the reported mineralisation.
The Company has work programs planned and previously applied (to the Foster 85H, South and Warren Shoot mineralisation) which will be applied to the Foster and Jan Shaft historical estimates with the objective of reporting them as Mineral Resources, if warranted, under the JORC 2012 Guidelines within two year period post listing. The first product of this programme was announced to the ASX on 22 April 2022 with the first-time Mineral Resource for the N75C nickel surface at Foster.
Not All Exploration Results reported – ASX listing rule 5.6 & 5.7
This Statement is made in relation to ASX Listing Rules 5.6 & 5.7 and Appendix 5A (JORC Code) clauses 18 & 19 and explains that Not All Exploration Results have been reported.
The information on this website that relates to the Mineral Resource at Foster mine, the historical estimates quoted at Foster and Jan mines and the East Cooee Exploration target, together with any Exploration Results reported from the balance of the Company’s Kambalda Nickel Project are based on dill intersections considered significant following interpretation and analysis by Mr. Aaron Wehrle and Mr. Edmund Ainscough. The Company highlights for the sake of completeness that those Exploration Results utilised in the Mineral Resource or reported in connection with the historical estimates or Exploration Target at East Cooee do not represent all Exploration Results at KGNP.
The Company notes that all the Exploration Results available are based on drilling carried out by a previous owner of the KGNP, WMC Resources Ltd who, whilst listed on the ASX during the relevant period that the original Exploration Results would have been generated, given the size and scope of its then active nickel mining and processing business coupled with multiple other commodity divisions, in all likelihood did not consider any of them material to its then current activities to warrant selective reporting. The geological database for the KGNP is of significant size and it is possible as a consequence of WMC’s position in regard to materiality, that many, if not all, Exploration Results now considered potentially of significance by the Company have not previously been publicly reported.
The Company’s JORC Table 1 appended to the ITAR in Schedule 3 of the Prospectus dated 22 April 2021 provides significant additional details required to provide the exploration context of all available Exploration Results including the type and method of drilling and sampling, method of assay analysis, data aggregation methods, land tenure together with further details material to an assessment of the previous drilling activities and all Exploration Results; however the Company considers it is not practicable or meaningful to report all individual assays or drill holes of significance due to the size of the KGNP geological database; this historical drill database contains more than 5,000 drill holes and more than 100,000 nickel assays (and more than 145,000 gold assays).
In order to provide sufficient information to place the non reporting of all Exploration Results in context, additional summary tables are provided as Appendices A,B,C & D to the ITAR in Schedule 3 of the Prospectus and document:
- nickel drillholes with significant assays i.e. the number of drillholes containing at least one assay value greater than or equal to 1.0% Ni versus total number of holes in the database;
- number of nickel assay values greater than or equal to 1.0% in the database;
- number of drillholes containing at least one assay value greater than or equal to 1.0 ppm Au versus total number of holes in the database; and
- number of gold assay values greater than or equal to 1.0 ppm in the database.
The above data is further grouped by drilling type, by project or lease location and categorised as completed under either WMC’s (pre Dec 2001) or Gold Fields’ (Dec 2001 – present) ownership of the tenure. The Competent Persons have sufficient direct knowledge of both WMC’s and Gold Fields’ practices and procedures at St Ives/Kambalda and have also completed sufficient further investigations to satisfy themselves as to the reliability of the Exploration Results that are reported and of all Exploration Results in general. The Company’s work programs will progressively address all areas under tenure at the KGNP and enable previous Exploration Results to be reported in correct context as newly acquired Explorations Results relevant to each area are generated.
Mr. Ainscough and Mr. Wehrle are both Members of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, full time employees of Lunnon Metals, are shareholders and hold options in the Company and have sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Ainscough and Mr. Wehrle state that this information is an accurate representation of the available data and consent to the inclusion in this website of these matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.