The Lainejaur Project, located in Västerbotten County, comprises a single exploration permit owned by Bayrock’s wholly owned subsidiary Metalore Pty Ltd and hosts the historic Lainejaur mine and deposit. The historic underground nickel mine which operated during World War II produced approximately 100,000t grading 2.2% Ni. A JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate completed in 2018 established an Inferred Mineral Resource of 460,000t @ 2.2% Ni, 0.15% Co, 0.70% Cu, 0.68g/t Pd, 0.20g/t Pt and 0.65g/t Au. Potential exists for extensions down-dip and surrounding this resource. Access to the site is via sealed road from Malå then via forest tracks around the Project area. Malå is the district office of the Swedish Geological Survey and a suitable support base for the Project.
High grade diamond drill results in mid 2023 included 4.7m at 2.0% Ni, 1.6% Cu and 0.1% Co from 283m downhole, within a mineralised section of 22m @ 0.61% Ni, 0.52% Cu and 0.04% Co from 267m downhole (LAI23001).
This drill hole and assay results successfully confirmed the historic mineralisation and geological interpretation of high grade nickel, copper, and cobalt (Ni-Cu-Co) mineralisation within a broader mineralised envelope within a gabbro host. Previous drill results included:
• 7.65m @ 2.10% Ni, 0.10% Co & 1.01% Cu from 168m in LAI-07-010
• 5.18m @ 2.64% Ni, 0.10% Co & 0.06% Cu from 215.9m in LAI-07-14A
• 9.88m @ 2.28% Ni, 0.17% Co & 0.61% Cu from 277.35m in LAI-07-15
The Ni-Cu-Co mineralisation is currently open to the north in a down-dip position. Deep extensional drilling has been planned for the winter drilling season (Feb-Mar 2024). Potential repeats of the mineralisation are indicated in the geophysics (magnetics and GeoTEM) with a 6km extension potential which is almost undrilled. This extended area has been consolidated and owned 100% for the first time by Bayrock, together with the historical workings at Lainejaur, in a lease area of 41km2.
The Vuostok Nickel-Copper Project in northern Sweden has shown massive sulphide mineralisation was intersected near surface in a series of diamond drillholes in mid 2023. Diamond drilling of 17 holes (508m) was completed at the Storbodsund Prospect, within the Vuostok project.
Highly encouraging nickel-copper grades returned from near surface in eight diamond drill holes including 6.9m @ 1.2% Ni and 2.2% Cu from 5 metres downhole and in another drillhole 6.2m @ 1.2% Ni and 0.3% Cu, from 11m. Results define near- surface massive Ni-Cu sulphides between 0.3 and 6 meters thick, less than 18 metres from surface and beneath a thin cover of glacial sediments. Results included:
VUO23011 : 6.2m @ 1.2% Ni, 2.2% Cu, 0.04% Co from 11m down hole.
including 2.38m @ 1.3% Ni, 5.32% Cu and 0.01% Co from 14.15m down hole
VUO23013 : 6.9m @ 1.2% Ni, 0.3% Cu, 0.05% Co from 5.1m down hole.
including 0.4m @ 3.9% Ni, 0.3% Cu, 0.11% Co from 6.85m down hole.
VUO23004 : 0.7m @ 3.2% Ni, 1.0% Cu, 0.08% Co from 10.3m down hole.
VUO23005 : 0.9m @ 1.2% Ni, 0.1% Cu, 0.08% Co from 6m down hole.
High-grade nickel and copper sulphides were previously intersected 70 years ago in the flat-lying Storbodsund deposit of near-surface sulphides (within 20m of surface). Massive Ni-Cu sulphides (average grade of 2.3% Ni and 0.6% Cu (including up 3.7% Ni), between 0.3 and 3.9 meters thick, occur in the basal section of a gabbroic intrusive at the contact with underlying granite and are covered by a thin veneer of glacial sediments.
Results suggest a potential district scale development of Nickel-Copper+/-Cobalt projects as Vuostok is within 60km of Bayrock’s Lainejaur high grade Nickel-Copper-Cobalt deposit.The aim of the drilling was to identify and characterise sufficient mineralisation within potential trucking distance of the Lainejaur project to advance the potential for future stand-alone nickel-copper operations or additional ore feed for a potential Lainejaur operation. The two deposits are connected by all-weather roads and both are close to considerable support infrastructure. Trucking ore material for processing is a regular feature of operations in this part of Northern Sweden.
