Company & Project Details
Project: Bhalukona Nickel-Copper-Platinum Group Elements (Ni-Cu-PGE) project.
Location: Basana Tehsil, Mahasamund District, Chhattisgarh, India. The project area covers approximately 30 sq. km.
Licence: The Government of Chhattisgarh executed the Bhalukona–Jamnidih Composite Licence in favour of the Company on April 1, 2025.
Key Quantitative Figures & Exploration Results
Mineralisation Potential: Preliminary geological modelling indicates the potential for over 4 million tonnes of mineralisation.
Grade: The estimated grade is approximately 0.24% nickel equivalent (Ni_Eq), based on the weighted contribution of nickel, copper, platinum, and palladium.
Exploration Scope: The current estimates cover near-surface mineralisation across approximately 300–350 metres of an identified 1.3-km mineralised corridor. This represents only about 25% of the total corridor.
Drilling Programme: The company has completed a diamond-core drilling programme comprising 15 drill holes totalling 2,773 metres.
Geological Characteristics: The drilling has established a mineralised corridor more than 100 metres wide, extending to depths exceeding 200 metres. The mineralisation includes disseminated and heavy-to-massive sulphide occurrences, with principal sulphide minerals identified as pyrrhotite, pentlandite, and chalcopyrite.
Exploration Activities & Methodology
The staged exploration programme over the past 19 months has included:
- Drone magnetic and LiDAR surveys
- Deep induced polarisation (IP) surveys
- Electrical resistivity tomography
- Geological mapping
- Rockchip and channel sampling
- Bulk sampling for beneficiation studies
- Diamond-core drilling (2,773m)
Management Commentary
Dr. Hanuma Prasad Modali, Managing Director, commented on the development, stating the project is an "encouraging milestone" in the effort to unlock India's domestic critical-mineral potential and contribute to the country's resource security. The focus was stated to be on advancing the project through "science-led exploration, technical rigour, and long-term commitment."
Important Qualifications & Forward Plan
The disclosed figures are stated to be preliminary exploration-stage interpretations and explicitly do not constitute a defined mineral resource or mineral reserve. Further exploration, geological evaluation, and technical assessment will be required to establish the scale, continuity, and economic potential of the mineralisation. The company stated it will use the results to guide further work and assess the full extent of the mineralised system, which includes potential repetitions of the mineralised sequence suggested by geophysical surveys.