Black Canyon Limited reports 23.6Mt manganese resource at Wandanya
The Western Australian deposit also holds a 12.5-million-tonne iron resource; a study of potential economics is due in December.
Mara Quinlan
Black Canyon Limited ASXBCA reported in a Sept. 29 release a maiden manganese resource of 23.6 million tonnes grading 25.8 per cent at its Wandanya deposit in Western Australia. More than 90 per cent of the manganese resource is Measured or Indicated, giving holders a first classified inventory for the project's December scoping study.
Black Canyon shares rose 8.2 per cent to A$0.33 on the ASX at 12:24 p.m. AEST on Wednesday, according to its ASXBCA quote.
The same release estimated a separate iron resource of 12.5 million tonnes grading 54.9 per cent iron. All of the iron tonnes are Measured or Indicated. The manganese estimate uses a 12 per cent cut-off grade, while the iron estimate uses 50 per cent.
The resource follows drilling of shallow, outcropping mineralization along 3.4 kilometres of strike. Black Canyon says a December scoping study will assess preliminary economics, the two metals and potential direct shipping ore, providing the next test of how the deposit could be developed.
At a higher 35 per cent cut-off, the manganese estimate contains 3.7 million tonnes grading 38.9 per cent manganese. Applying a 55 per cent iron cut-off gives 5.5 million tonnes grading 57.9 per cent iron. Black Canyon describes these higher-grade portions as direct shipping ore potential; the figures are subsets of the resource estimates, rather than additional tonnes.
Pilot-scale dense media separation tests upgraded manganese feed to as much as 41 per cent manganese at 80 per cent recovery, the company said. Iron drop tower tests generated a 74 per cent lump product grading 59.7 per cent iron. Those test results describe processing samples, while the scoping study is intended to examine the economics of mining and selling material from the deposit.
Black Canyon's project page, read Sept. 30 describes Wandanya as a wholly owned project about 80 kilometres south of the Woodie Woodie manganese mine. Earlier drilling had traced manganese mineralization along a broad shallow horizon; the new resource estimate puts a tonnage and grade against the mineralized ground for the first time.
The new Wandanya estimate sits alongside an older Balfour Manganese Field inventory. Black Canyon's October 2025 resource table lists 315 million tonnes at 10.5 per cent manganese across that field, using a seven per cent cut-off. The different cut-offs mean its field-wide grade cannot be compared directly with Wandanya's 25.8 per cent grade. The Sept. 29 release gives no construction capital, mine life or payback figure for Wandanya.
"A Scoping Study evaluating preliminary economics, dual-commodity development, and DSO opportunities is underway, with completion scheduled for December 2026 (Q4 CY2026)." Black Canyon said in its Sept. 29 release.
Black Canyon expects to complete the Wandanya scoping study in December 2026.
