NickelSearch listed on the ASX in October after a A$10 million initial public offering.

Last month, founding South32 executive team member Nicole Duncan joined the company as managing director.

A lawyer by background, Duncan spent 15 years with BHP before joining South32 at its formation in 2015.

Duncan said her career decisions had been driven by three aspects.

"Good people, interesting and challenging work and work that matters to society," she told a webinar this week.

"NickelSearch ticks all three boxes."

Carlingup is adjacent to First Quantum Minerals' Ravensthorpe nickel operation and about 100km south of Western Areas' Forrestania operation.

The project has a resource of 171,000 tonnes of nickel at 0.58%.

The Rav8 deposit historically produced 16,100t at 3.45% nickel, including 9600t of nickel at 5.83%.

It was only mined to about 300m depth and much of the historical drilling has only been to about 80m depth.

The company has completed a 32-hole maiden drilling program, though due to a backlog in assay labs, the results are still flowing through.

The first assays from Rav8 returned 2m at 4.5% nickel within 5m at 2.6% nickel from 101m.

Duncan said it was exciting to confirm the presence of platinum group minerals, copper and cobalt.

NickelSearch plans to include PGM, copper and cobalt credits in future resource estimates.

While the company is primarily searching for komatiitic nickel sulphide deposits, the project hosts the John Ellis laterite deposit, which is contiguous with First Quantum's Nidibillup deposit.

Duncan said John Ellis could add 2-3 years of life to Ravensthorpe.

NickelSearch recently appointed scientist Tamsin Senders as manager of processing.

The company is conducting early stage bioleaching test work.

"We're very focused on exploration," Duncan said.

"At the same time, we're keeping an eye on how we can produce a product and get it to market."

NickelSearch is planning to conduct a scoping study next year.

In the meantime, the second phase of drilling is underway.

"We should have very active news flow over the next six months," Duncan said.

In a period of heightened interest in nickel and nickel stocks, Duncan said NickelSearch was "relatively undervalued".

Nickel prices rose as high as US$100,000 per tonne last week and further volatility is expected.

"The nickel price at the moment is just not sustainable," Duncan said.

She suggested early 2022 prices could be sustained by electric vehicle demand.

NickelSearch was trading at A22.5c this week, giving the company a market capitalisation of $23.4 million.