ASX-listed Botswana Metals has lodged three extension applications with the Botswana Department of Mines for prospecting licenses at its Maibele North nickel project.

Maibele North, which has a reserve of 2.38-million resource tones, was being developed through a joint venture with Botswana government-owned mining and smelting company BCL Limited. This partnership was now seeking to increase its resource tones, with a prefeasibility study by project delivery firm WorleyParsons currently under way.

The PFS, which was due for completion in the first quarter, would deliver a new Joint Ore Reserves Committee compliant resource estimate incorporating more than 10000m of drilling undertaken at PL 110/94 in 2015.

Further, Botswana Metals expected the new resource calculation to reclassify the current Jorc-compliant resource from an inferred to an indicated and/or measured category.

In accordance with the JV agreement, BCL would earn a 40% interest in the three licenses by spending $4-million and would be able to complete a bankable deasibility study to earn a 70% interest in the three licenses.

• [Editor:Juan]