Coffee with Samso: Positioning to supply the battery market - Blackstone Minerals

I have been a big fan of Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX) for a very long time. Followers who have been with Samso since the beginning will know that I have been sharing their story since 2019 when they were just A$0.15. In fact, I have just realised that they went down to A$0.08 during COVID. In the early days, the story was focused on whether they would be able to come up with good drilling results which was to be followed by the probability of 'resources'. The next step would be the obligation to show the competency of the existing plant. In the last episode of Coffee with Samso with Scott, he mentioned the beginnings of a downstream strategy,  Producing Nickel for the EV Revolution - Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX). Why their nickel products are of the highest quality In this episode of Coffee with Samso, Scott Williamson tells us about how the company intends to make the best battery products for the industry. There is going to be a supply issue. The biggest deal-breaker for the battery market is a lack of nickel sulphide concentrates. As I have mentioned before in the other Coffee with Samso, the whole business of finding more nickel metal is a forgone conclusion. The relentless results coming out from Vietnam are now boring me. It is now just a matter of time for a re-rating of the company. Would I buy Blackstone now? I have been asked many times if BSX is still a buy at the current price. My simple answer is similar to what Rick Rule mentioned in our last Coffee with Samso. Look at 35:54 | Rick and Paladin - The story of Investing in Mineral Explorers - Commodities and Equities: Advice from Rick Rule - Episode 70. The story that Rick tells is the best answer to any investor's questions of entry timing, understanding the value and letting that dictate your decision. PODCAST: About Scott Williamson Managing director, BEng (Mining), BCom, MAusIMM  Scott Williamson is an experienced managing director with a demonstrated history of working in the mining and metals industry. He is skilled in open pit and underground mining, corporate finance, investor relations and project planning. A strong business development professional with equity capital markets experience, Scott graduated from West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University of Technology. Scott holds a WA First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. About Blackstone Minerals Blackstone Minerals Ltd is developing the district-scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam where the company is drilling out the large-scale Ban Phuc Nickel-PGE deposit. The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project has existing modern mine infrastructures built to International Standards including a 450ktpa processing plant and permitted mine facilities.  Blackstone Minerals also owns a large landholding at the Gold Bridge project within the BC porphyry belt in British Columbia, Canada, with large-scale drill targets prospective for high-grade gold-cobalt-copper mineralisation. In Australia, Blackstone Minerals is exploring for nickel and gold in the Eastern Goldfields and gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Blackstone Minerals has a board and management team with a proven track record of mineral discovery and corporate success.   Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project is 160km west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance. The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016. Previous project owners invested more than US$136m in capital and generated US$213m in revenue during a 3.5-year period of falling nickel prices. The project was placed into care and maintenance in mid-2016 during some of the lowest nickel prices in the past 10 years.  Existing infrastructure associated with the project includes an internationally-designed 450 ktpa processing plant connected to local hydro grid power with a fully-permitted tailings facility and a modern 250-person camp.  Since commencing maiden drilling in August 2019, Blackstone Minerals has made significant progress at Ta Khoa, drilling over 9,000 metres of diamond core in more than 47 holes into the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and the highly prospective King Cobra discovery zone. An initial scoping study evaluating mining and processing options is well advanced, including potential in-country downstream processing to deliver high-value nickel sulphate into Asia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry. The MOU with Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest EV battery cathode manufacturer, Ecopro BM Co Limited, represents a significant step towards making this a reality. Please let Samso know your thoughts and send any comments to info@Samso.com.au. Remember to Subscribe to the YouTube Channel, Samso Media and the mail list to stay informed and make comments where appropriate. Other than that, also feel free to provide a Review on Google. For further information about Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talks visit: www.samso.com.au About Samso Samso is a renowned resource among the investment community for keen market analysis and insights into the companies and business trends that matter. Investors seek out Samso for knowledgeable evaluations of current industry developments across a variety of business sectors and considered forecasts of future performances. With a compelling format of relaxed online video interviews, Samso provides clear answers to questions they may not have the opportunity to ask and lays out the big picture to help them complete their investment research. And in doing so, Samso also enables companies featured in interviews to build valuable engagement with their investment communities and customers. Headed by industry veteran Noel Ong and based in Perth, Western Australia, Samso’s Coffee with Samso and Rooster Talk interviews both feature friendly conversations with business figures that give insights into Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) companies, related concepts and industry trends. Noel Ong is a geologist with nearly 30 years of industry experience and a strong background in capital markets, corporate finance and the mineral resource sector. He was founder and managing director of ASX-listed company Siburan Resources Limited from 2009-2017 and has also been involved in several other ASX listings, providing advice, procuring projects and helping to raise capital. He brings all this experience and expertise to the Samso interviews, where his engaging conversation style creates a relaxed dialogue, revealing insights that can pique investor interest. Noel Ong travels across Australia to record the interviews, only requiring a coffee shop environment where they can be set up. The interviews are posted on Samso’s website and podcasts, YouTube and other relevant online environments where they can be shared among investment communities. Samso also has a track record of developing successful business concepts in the Australasia region and provides bespoke research and counsel to businesses seeking to raise capital and procuring projects for ASX listings. Disclaimer The information contained in this article is the writer’s personal opinion and is provided for information only and is not intended to or nor will it create/induce the creation of any binding legal relations. Read full disclaimer.