Exploration

Mincor maintains an aggressive and well-funded exploration program throughout the Kambalda Nickel District. This exploration is targeted at both near-mine (brownfields) exploration and regional (greenfields) exploration. Mincor's exploration budget for the current financial year is $18 million.

To date Mincor's exploration efforts have resulted in the discovery of the North and South Miitel ore bodies, the Carnilya Hill ore body, the Mariners N09 ore body, and numerous extensions to existing ore bodies. All-told Mincor's exploration has resulted in the discovery of an estimated 50,000 tonnes of nickel metal in resource so far, at a cost of approximately $0.24 per pound of nickel discovered.

Mincor's exploration team comprises an outstanding group of dedicated geologists and support staff with a thorough knowledge of Kambalda-style nickel deposits and extensive experience in the management of disciplined and carefully targeted exploration.

Mincor maintains an exploration office in the town of Kambalda, as well as a significant exploration infrastructure at its Miitel mine site.

The Company's landholdings in the Kambalda area comprise the large suite of tenements around Mincor's operating mines in the Widgiemooltha area, the Carnilya Hill tenements to the north of Kambalda (70% Mincor), a large holding over the northern half of the Kambalda Dome, the Bluebush Line covering over 40 kilometres of prospective strike, the RAV 8 tenement near Ravensthorpe (earn-in joint venture with Tectonic Resources Ltd) and a suite of tenements west of Kambalda (earn-in joint venture with Image Resources Ltd).

All of these tenement areas have proven high prospectivity for nickel, demonstrated by the existence of old nickel mines and the presence of the all-important 'basal contact'. The basal contact is the stratigraphic position (a contact between two rock types) along which all significant nickel ore bodies in the Kambalda District occur (see Genesis of Kambalda Nickel Deposits ).

The success of Mincor's ongoing exploration work in the Kambalda District is illustrated by the below graph, which demonstrates the increase in Mincor's nickel resources year upon year, after subtracting the nickel mined for each year.