Weda Bay says Pintu deposit drilling shows encouraging results

Canadian nickel explorer Weda Bay Minerals Inc. said Wednesday that drillings at Pintu deposit in Halmahera Island, North Maluku province, ?showed encouraging preliminary results?.

According to the company?s statement, the first twenty diamond drill holes at the Pintu deposits resulted in average grade of 1.34 percent Ni and 0.14 percent Co.

The Pintu deposit is 13 square kilometers in area and approximately 1.5 times the size of Weda?s Santa Monica deposit located nearby, which has an indicated resource of 65.7 million dry tons at 1.40 percent Ni and 0.09 percent Co plus an inferred resource of 13.4 million dry tons at 1.26 percent Ni and 0.11 percent Co.

The company said this discovery was a significant development as it was the largest of a series of mapped extensive laterite bodies to the east of Santa Monica.

Weda Bay holds 90 percent of interest in PT Weda Bay Nickel, which runs the project while publicly listed state miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. (Antam) holds the remaining 10 percent. (Alex)