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It sounds like a piece of sage geological advice: “the best scandium does not necessarily sit with the best nickel.”
That observation could unlock a new exploration opportunity for Australian Mines at its Sconi project in Queensland, where a review of historical drilling has identified extensive shallow scandium mineralisation previously overlooked in nickel and cobalt-focused exploration.
The company has identified significant scandium intersections across the granted Lucknow and Kokomo mining leases, including 27m at 883 parts per million (ppm) scandium from surface.
Sconi was historically explored and assessed primarily for nickel and cobalt, with scandium grades excluded from cut-off analysis, pit optimisation and mine scheduling.
However, the latest review suggests some of the strongest scandium mineralisation occurs outside the areas previously prioritised for nickel.
Australian Mines managing director Andrew Nesbitt said the findings justified a fresh assessment of Sconi’s potential.
“Sconi was drilled for nickel and cobalt. Looked at it for scandium alone, the same holes show shallow, higher-grade intersections on granted mining leases, and the best scandium does not necessarily sit with the best nickel,” Nesbitt said.
“We will now consider targeted drilling to test the extent and continuity of these zones and assess the case for a mineral resource estimate focused on scandium.”
High-grade intersections highlight opportunity
The review identified 546 drillholes containing scandium assays of at least 100ppm, including 172 with continuous intervals of at least 10m grading above that threshold.
Of these, 181 holes recorded peak grades exceeding 300ppm, including 112 above 400ppm and 58 above 500ppm.
At Lucknow, hole LKRC099 returned 27m at 883ppm scandium from surface, including 21m at 1036ppm from 6m and 10m at 1375ppm from 17m to the end of the hole.
Another hole, LKRC205, intersected 15m at 499ppm from surface.
At Kokomo, drilling returned 38m at 427ppm from 15m, including 15m at 555ppm from 38m to the end of the hole.
Importantly, 100 of the 546 holes ended in grades above 100ppm, suggesting potential extensions below the depths previously tested.
Earlier pilot and demonstration campaigns in 2017–18 also successfully produced scandium oxide from Lucknow ore, providing historical evidence of metallurgical recoverability.
A second scandium growth opportunity
The renewed interest in Sconi comes amid forecasts of substantial growth in global scandium demand, from approximately 50–60 tonnes annually to 300 tonnes by 2030 and 600 tonnes by 2035.
Potential applications include fuel cells for AI data centres, aerospace and defence alloys, and semiconductors.
Located approximately 220km from Townsville, Sconi benefits from granted mining leases and access to established regional transport and power infrastructure, although future operating requirements would need further assessment.
The project now complements Australian Mines’ flagship Flemington scandium project in central New South Wales, where an updated scoping study is underway.
For investors, Sconi offers potential additional scandium exposure without starting exploration from scratch, leveraging an extensive historical drilling database and previous metallurgical work.
The next catalysts will be decisions on targeted drilling at Lucknow and Kokomo, verification of historical results and assessment of an updated scandium-focused mineral resource estimate.
Establishing the continuity and scale of the higher-grade zones will be critical to determining whether Sconi can become a meaningful second asset in Australian Mines’ scandium development strategy.
Tribeca appointed to advance Flemington
In a separate development, Australian Mines has appointed Tribeca Capital Advisory as corporate adviser to help advance funding and strategic opportunities, particularly for its wholly owned Flemington scandium project.
Tribeca will advise on capital markets, project financing, offtake arrangements and strategic partnerships across Flemington and the company’s other projects.
The appointment follows completion of Flemington’s scoping study in April 2026, engagement of a specialist pre-feasibility study (PFS) team in September, confirmation of the project’s water access licence and renewal of the company’s board.
Australian Mines held $4.6 million in cash at September 30.
Near-term catalysts include aircore and metallurgical drilling results at Flemington, testwork targeting scandium oxide purity above 99.9 per cent and completion of the PFS, scheduled for mid-first quarter 2027.
Together, the Sconi reassessment and Flemington funding initiative provide Australian Mines with two avenues for advancing its scandium strategy, although further technical work and development funding will be required to convert that potential into production.
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