The Aberdeenshire firm trying to prove the potential for commercial metals production in the north-east has hailed drilling near Ellon as “a resounding success”.
An area around the drilling site at Arthrath was already known to be home to the largest known nickel deposit in the UK and it is a safeguarded site for mineral development.
Ellon firm Aberdeen Minerals has just completed the first phase of work to “verify and expand on” activity carried out there by global mining giant Rio Tinto during the 1970s.
It is now apparent that historical drilling only scratched the surface which makes us very excited about the mineral potential at the project and surrounding district.”
Fraser Gardiner, chief executive, Aberdeen Minerals.
Announcing its findings, Aberdeen Minerals said it had encountered “significant widths and grades” of metals – nickel, copper and cobalt – vital to Scotland’s energy transition.
These currently have to be imported from overseas.
Independent mining industry consultancy CSA Global has been commissioned to prepare a mineral resource estimate and/or identify a suitable exploration target at Arthrath. This is seen as a key step towards accelerated investment in exploration and development of projects in the north-east.
Significant widths & grades of #sulphides confirmed. AML announces the completion of its first phase of drilling at the Arthrath Project in #Aberdeenshire, where it is exploring for deposits of #nickel, #copper and #cobalt. 🏴⚒️https://t.co/UC2GKmiI02 pic.twitter.com/BABE90lHRQ
— Aberdeen Minerals Limited (@AberdeenMin) June 8, 2023
Aberdeen Minerals chief executive Fraser Gardiner said: “Our maiden drilling programme at Arthrath has been a resounding success. The levels of mineralisation have exceeded our expectations and we are strongly encouraged by the evidence supporting an exploration model of increasing sulphides (compounds containing metals) and corresponding metal grades at depth.
“It is now apparent that historical drilling only scratched the surface which makes us very excited about the mineral potential at the project and surrounding district.”
A total of seven “angled diamond drill” boreholes ranging in length from 328ft to 1,312ft were drilled at Arthrath.
The area – just a few miles north of Ellon – is classified by Aberdeenshire Council in its local development plan as an important mineral safeguarded site, where other forms of development should not generally be allowed.
Investors pump £1.1m into firm
Aberdeen Minerals revealed in January it had raised about £1.1 million from investors by issuing new shares.
The company said it would use the cash to further its work exploring for and evaluating deposits of nickel and copper, as well as cobalt, palladium and platinum, which are on a UK list of “critical minerals”.
Privately-owned Aberdeen Minerals has secured exploration agreements with landowners in a variety of north-east locations.
Other sites targeted
Drilling at Arthrath follows the first modern airborne geophysical study of the region by international specialist SkyTEM Surveys.
Land around Ellon, Balmedie, New Deer, Methlick and Maud was surveyed in the search for base metals. Other locations included Pitmedden, Oldmeldrum, Tarves and a swathe of land north-west of Huntly.
The helicopter surveys last autumn hit a hitch when scanning equipment hit a powerline. More than 1,000 homes in Balmedie were without electricity for a spell.
Many geologists believe the north-east is rich in mineral resources, including metals that will be in high demand by battery-makers amid growing demand for electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies.
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