Drilling since late 2020 has delivered the Andover deposit an indicated and inferred resource of 4.6 million tonnes at 1.1% nickel, 0.47% copper and 0.05% cobalt (or 1.41% nickel equivalent) for 75,000 tonnes of contained metal, and with the resource open and other prospects along trend showing early positive signs, the project's owners are confident of additional growth.

 

The resource, 80% of which is indicated, contains 51,700t of nickel, 21,7000t of copper and 2290t of cobalt using a 0.5% nickel cut-off.

 

It includes a 2Mt at 1.78% nickel equivalent high-grade component.

 

Azure managing director Tony Rovira said the project had "extraordinary potential" to deliver a new nickel sulphide province, with promising intercepts from the nearby Ridgeway, Seaview, and Skyline and undrilled prospects such as Atrium and Woodbrook.

 

"I'm confident this is only the start of mineral resource definition at the Andover project," he said.

 

The project, which is just 35km south of the regional centre of Karratha, has seen 102 diamond and two RC holes for some 44,000m drilled on a 50m by 50m spacing.

 

While the area had seen some prior exploration of the mafic-ultramafic intrusive Andover complex since the 1980s, the potential of the area didn't really become clear until Azure and Creasy joint ventured the area and commenced diamond drilling in late 2020, building on the few RC holes completed by Creasy in 2018 that encountered nickel-copper sulphide hits about 20m below outcropping gossans.

 

The deposit is now mapped over 400m of strike to more than 550m deep.

 

Azure's last reported cash position was A$19 million.

 

It counts Deutsche Balaton (17.3%) and Creasy Group (16.2%) as its two largest shareholders.

 

Azure shares were last traded at 36c, valuing it at $112 million.

 

The stock has traded between 19.7c and 47c over the past year.