It said mining operations and plant throughput are performing above expectations, with the first two months of ore mining delivering a metal reconciliation in excess of forecasts.
"All operational aspects associated with RAV 8 have met or exceeded the benchmarks set in the project's bank feasibility study," the company said.
Tectonic has also increased its RAV 8 reserves following further analyses of early grade control drilling which identified additional shallow resources within and adjacent to the open pit design used for the 1999 feasibility study.
Reserves have risen to 206,404 tonnes grading 5.49% nickel from 164,933t at 5.83% Ni, resulting in a 17% increase in anticipated nickel in concentrate from about 19.9 million pounds to 22.4Mlb.
As the recent drilling did not close off the strike, exploration will continue to test its extent and to assess some other regional targets.
Tectonic has also reached an agreement with Homestake Gold of Australia to take control of the Kundip Joint Venture, which it hopes will provide for additional production once the economic potential of RAV 8 has been fully exploited.
