NexMetals Mining Grows the Selkirk Deposit with 70% Resource Expansion
CEO.CA Jun 30, 2026 8:58
Summary
NexMetals grew Selkirk in Botswana by 70% to over 1.1 billion pounds of copper equivalent (metals value expressed as copper) in the indicated category.
Metallurgical work drove the gain: copper recoveries rose from 70% to 78% and palladium from 59% to 78%, lifting value per tonne.
A 1:1 strip ratio (one bucket of waste per bucket of ore, improved from 1.65) lowers operating costs at Selkirk.
Flagship Selebi gets five drills; an updated resource estimate is due in Q3, followed by a PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) six to eight weeks later.
Management calls Botswana Africa's top mining jurisdiction — the Fraser Institute ranks it seventh — and points to peers like FireFly for a higher valuation.
Sean Whiteford's takeaways
- Top takeaway Sean Whiteford argues the 2026 Selkirk MRE proves the market was undervaluing the asset — growth from 44 Mt in 2024 to over 93 Mt combined indicated and inferred — and says NexMetals will choose within weeks between partnering, spinning out, or advancing Selkirk to PEA/PFS itself.
- He attributes the resource growth chiefly to metallurgy: copper recoveries up from 70% to 78%, palladium from 59% to 78%, newly payable cobalt, silver and gold, and re-assaying of 51 historic holes that lacked the full metals suite.
- He positions NexMetals as undervalued against peers, pointing to Foran's reported $3.8 billion sale and FireFly's $1 billion-plus market cap, and says he hopes the market catches up.
- He argues Botswana is the number-one mining jurisdiction in Africa — ranked 7th by the Fraser Institute, ahead of Newfoundland — with a government that wants mines opened quickly and sees NexMetals as a past producer that could start mining tomorrow once a concentrator is built.
- He expects the same value-unlocking playbook at flagship Celebi: five drills currently turning, an updated MRE due in Q3 2026 and a PEA six to eight weeks after that.