Gallium in pole position as Nimy Resources targets multi-metallics across Mons Greenstone

Following its latest metallurgical test results of up to 84% extraction from Mons’ Block 3 gallium resource, which sparked an almost 20% share price lift, Nimy Resources (ASX:NIM) is moving ahead with greater certainty towards a flowsheet for the critical mineral.

That process technology will feed into the Block 3 scoping study scheduled for release this year and provide valuable IP for the company and its rare RE deposit.

But managing director Luke Hampson says the company is “walking and chewing gum” across the Greenstone Belt project, relying heavily on exploration data in its polymetallic exploration strategy.

Gallium may not be as well-known as some other critical minerals whose prices have rocketed up in recent times and, for a commodity that’s causing big issues, the US consumes only about 20 tons of it per year – enough to fit on one flat-top truck.

But that relatively tiny volume is a critical and non-substitutable anchor for US defence and other vital industries. Used across advanced electronics, gallium’s applications span weapon systems, satellites and solar energy alongside semiconductors and other data centre technologies.

As with many other minerals on critical lists around the world, western nations are now scrambling for secure sources as China controls nearly all global production and restricts exports.

Hampson says his recent trip to the US reinforced the sense of urgency to develop alternative supply.

“There’s an absolute imperative over there to get hold of these critical metals,” he said.

“And then there’s a whole lot of work around not only getting hold of them, but processing and manufacturing them.”

Hampson says the recent met test results mark a milestone on the WA company’s pathway towards production because Block 3’s gallium is hosted in chlorite, while gallium is usually sourced as a bi-product in bauxite mining.

“We already know that Block 3 has a substantial resource with scope for significant growth,” Hampson said. “But there’s no point trying to produce a gallium-rare earth concentrate unless you can find a methodology to actually extract the gallium.

“Now that we’ve managed to extract it, Curtin and Strategic Metallurgy have greater confidence to really get into how the flowsheet fills out backwards.”

At the same time, Nimy is involved with the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) and Curtin on three separate stages of a processing flowsheet for its gallium.

Currently, at a 20g/t Ga2O3 cut-off, Block 3 hosts an inferred resource of 64.3Mt at 42g/t gallium trioxide (Ga2O3) and 507ppm TREO, containing about 2700t of gallium trioxide and 32,600t of total rare earth oxides.

At the higher-grade 70g/t Ga2O3 cut-off, the resource contains 7.2Mt at 102g/t Ga2O3 for about 740t of contained gallium trioxide and 538ppm TREO.

That’s a lot of numbers but Nimy’s magnetic survey work has shown the host unit extends for up to 4km, more than eight times the strike of the existing resource, while soil sampling and magnetic responses have highlighted additional targets.

“There are high magnetic responses and good gallium-in-soil results, so there’s potential to repeat what we’ve already got and convert some of that exploration target,” Hampson said. “But given what the world market looks like, our view is that there’s already enough to progress the current resource.”

One challenge for the scoping study is putting a reliable price on gallium. Hampson says quoted prices vary substantially depending on the source, with Chinese material around US$400 per kilogram, while some European market sources quote prices in the thousands of dollars per kg.

But Hampson says this also highlights the potential premium attached to secure non-Chinese supply.

Meanwhile, Nimy is planning further drilling to aggressively follow up gold targets at the Corporate James prospect, while electromagnetic surveys continue.

Hampson says the combination of magnetic, gravity and drilling data is increasingly giving the company greater confidence in its understanding of the geology – and identifying where the mineralisation may be concentrated.

Further north, the Masson prospect is giving Nimy another exploration avenue through copper, nickel and platinum group elements.

An electromagnetic conductor extending beyond the drilled mineralisation is now being targeted.

“We know it’s mineralised but where’s the accumulation? That’s where we’re at now,” Hampson said.

At Sneaky Squirrel, Nimy is testing a VMS-style copper-zinc system via ground electromagnetic surveys to chase the conductors and determine whether the mineralisation extends into a larger sulphide system.

Drilling has intersected zinc-dominant mineralisation, while magnetic responses at depth have added another layer to the company’s geological interpretation.

With a background in asset management, Hampson ensures the company relies heavily on hard data in all its exploration work. “We’re not speculating. It’s in the drill, or it’s in the gravity, or it’s in the electromagnetics.”