NexMetals drills wide copper-nickel zones in Botswana

NexMetals Mining (TSXV, Nasdaq: NEXM) on Tuesday said four new holes in its 12-hole metallurgical program at the past-producing Selkirk copper-nickel–platinum mine in Botswana returned broad, near-surface mineralization, supporting a potential open pit.

Hole SMET-25-005 cut 219 metres starting at 47 metres downhole averaging 0.39% copper, 0.33% nickel, 0.61 gram per tonne palladium and 0.14 gram platinum, including a 157-metre section grading 0.46% copper, 0.38% nickel, 0.72 gram palladium and 0.16 gram platinum.

The drill program’s results inside the resource model “compare well against the 2024 model; near-surface hits suggest lower strip, and deeper intercepts reaffirm growth,” SCP Resource Finance analyst Brandon Gaspar wrote in a Tuesday note.

Within the conceptual pit shell but outside the current resource estimate, SMET-25-005 also intersected 48 metres averaging 0.19% copper, 0.20% nickel, 0.34 gram palladium and 0.08 gram platinum from 47 metres downhole.

Hole SMET-25-006 returned 66.35 metres averaging 0.43% copper, 0.41% nickel, 0.65 gram palladium and 0.14 gram platinum from about 20 metres depth.

“These latest drill results reinforce the scale and consistency of Selkirk, with wide near-surface zones highlighting resource expansion and open-pit potential,” CEO Morgan Lekstrom said in a release.

Pit optionality

Eleven of the 12 holes are intended to supply core for ongoing metallurgical test work. The latest disclosure brings released results to eight of those 11 metallurgical holes, following two updates last month. NexMetals added that the current resource uses a $25 (C$35) per tonne net smelter return royalty cut-off and that mineralization remains open in many directions.

Gaspar also highlighted pit optionality at Selkirk that complements the underground Selebi mine and cited the recent metallurgical work indicating the potential for a copper concentrate grading about 27.6% copper with recoveries up to 87%.

Selebi Main and Selebi North are about 75 km south of Selkirk. The Selebi sites are about 410 km north of the nation’s capital, Gaborone.

Shares of the Frank Giustra-backed company are down 50% over the past 12 months and closed down nearly 4% on Tuesday at C$7.67 apiece. The company has a market capitalization of C$165 million.