European Nickel in joint venture with Balkan Resources in Albania

TIRANA, Nov 17 – European Nickel PLC announced last week that it had through its wholly owned subsidiary Adriatic Nickel Resources Sh.p.k, signed a binding term sheet with Balkan Resources Inc, a privately owned Canadian company, to jointly develop Balkan’s Kokogllave and the Company’s contiguous Devolli nickel laterite deposits in Albania.
The Company’s Devolli nickel laterite deposit is located in south-eastern Albania, close to the Greek border and has a JORC resource of 427,000 tones of contained nickel (35.6 million tones at 1.20% nickel).
Balkan has completed a technical report on its Koko nickel laterite deposit and it is intended to develop both deposits as one single mining operation. The Koko tenement has a historic resource estimate of approximately 30 million tons at a grade of approximately 1.2% nickel.
Under the terms of the agreement, Balkan will earn its 50% interest in the joint venture by contributing the Koko deposit and funding, through to completion, a pre-feasibility study on the combined Koko/Devolli deposits to Canadian NI 43-101 standards. European Nickel will earn its 50% interest by contributing the Devolli deposit and granting access, via a license agreement, to its heap leach technology, knowledge and experience.
The study is expected to cost some US$5-7 million and it will require extensive drilling to bring sufficient tones into the indicated category to support a proposed production of 15,000-20,000 tones a year of contained nickel over a mine life of 15 to 20 years.
It will also be necessary to compile the engineering, mine development planning, environmental, infrastructure and other reports to substantiate the viability of this operation.
Cabo Drilling Corp. has been awarded its first drilling contract in Albania.
The contract is for a minimum 10,000 meters of core drilling on Balkan Resources Inc.’s Kokogllave Drill project in the district of Devolli, Albania.
“Cabo is pleased to announce the expansion of the Company’s drilling services into the Albanian market place,” said John A. Versfelt, President and CEO of Cabo Drilling Corp.
“Together with our Albanian partner, Fatbardh Doko, we have identified a number of opportunities within the country and will use our field office in Albania as a gateway location for potential prospects in the Balkan States Region of Eastern Europe.
Cabo has formed Balkan States Drilling Ltd. a joint venture company with SHSHMN DOKO to offer exploration drilling services in Albania and the rest of the Balkan States Region.”