Blackstone listed on the ASX in January 2017 after a A$3.5 million initial public offering, initially focused on gold and nickel in Western Australia, but Blackstone announced the acquisition of the Little Gem project in late July.

Little Gem, 15km along strike from the Bralorne-Pioneer mining complex in British Columbia, was discovered in the 1930s but has had little modern exploration.

A single hole drilled by Blackstone prior to winter hit of 4.3m grading 1% cobalt and 15 grams per tonne gold, including 1m at 3% cobalt and 44gpt gold.

“It is very unusual to see these sorts of grades,” Blackstone managing director Scott Williamson told the RIU Explorers Conference yesterday.

The company sees similarities between Little Gem and Bou-Azzer in Morocco, one of the world’s only operating primary cobalt mines.

“It’s exactly the same geological setting,” Williamson said.

“Once we realised that analogy we went and pegged ground with the same geological setting.”

Blackstone now has 48km of strike in an area known for gold, but largely ignored for cobalt.

“Everyone else has been looking around the town of Cobalt [in Ontario], which is a different style of deposit,” Williamson said.

Blackstone is planning to resume drilling in the June quarter and is targeting a maiden resource in the medium-term.

Shares in Blackstone peaked at 65.5c in January, but last traded at 38c, capitalising the company at around $33 million.