February 26, 2026 — Leads & Copy —
Aurania Resources Ltd. reports findings from 28 samples collected from the Balangero Ni-Co Project in northern Italy.
The samples, assessed at Laboratoire GeoRessources – École Nationale Supérieure de Géologie, Université de Lorraine, yielded between 1560 and 2015 ppm nickel (averaging 1763 ppm), 81.5 to 108 ppm cobalt, and 16.2 to 146 ppm copper. Aurania said the results align with more than 200 historical samples taken from the site.
Aurania’s President and CEO, Dr. Keith Barron, noted the historical context of the Balangero site, stating that in 1942, the Italian Government established SANI (Societá Anonima Nichelio Italiana) to identify nickel sources within Italy. He said that in 1943, the magnetic sand-sized fraction of waste from asbestos beneficiation at Balangero was used to produce hardened steel for the war effort. Barron added that this information was found in the Archive of the City of Turin.
The Balangero Mine (also called San Vittorio), located 30 kilometers from Turin, was Europe’s largest open pit asbestos mine, operating from 1918 to 1990. In 1966, the waste from the mine was investigated as a potential source of nickel and cobalt. The company said that Aurania staff became familiar with the project through a literature search on their Northern Corsica Ni-Co project.
Like Corsica, the Balangero site contains an abundance of the mineral awaruite, a nickel-iron alloy without sulphur. Aurania said that the mineral can be used as a direct furnace feed for stainless steel production or processed into EV Battery Grade nickel sulphate. The company noted that the site aligns with the European Union’s goals for extracting and producing Clean Critical Metals, making it a potential source of “Green” nickel.
Aurania noted that several companies are exploring awaruite occurrences as sources of Green Nickel and Cobalt, including FPX Nickel Corp and First Atlantic Nickel Corp. Aurania said that FPX’s project is in northern British Columbia, and First Atlantic’s is in Central Newfoundland, and both are greenfields projects that will require open pit mines. Aurania emphasized that unlike the other projects, the potential resource at Balangero consists of dry-stacked tailings already crushed to less than 4 centimetres. Aurania said this eliminates the need for drilling, blasting, tunneling, and haulage.
SRK International Consultants is currently conducting a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Balangero Project. The company said that it is considering a Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) before the end of 2026. A recent legal opinion determined that Aurania could conduct Sonic Drill Sampling and Bulk Sampling on the Project under the existing permits of RSA, rather than submitting environmental impact studies, potentially accelerating the project timetable.
Aurania also reported that Dr. Chiara Boschi from the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IGG-CNR, Pisa, Italy) confirmed that several of the 28 samples from the Balangero Project do not contain asbestos but do contain awaruite. These asbestos-free samples were taken from old development rock piles, suggesting that the potential nickel resource at Balangero will include both crushed tailings and excavated development rock at the surface. The volume of these rock piles will be assessed in the future.
Comminution tests of the Balangero tailings are ongoing at STEVAL in Nancy, France. Aurania said the material appears amenable to easy extraction of awaruite and magnetite.
Aurania VP Exploration, Mr. Jean-Paul Pallier, MSc, a EurGeol and Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified and approved the geological information in the release.
Aurania is a mineral exploration company focused on precious metals and critical energy in Europe and abroad.
Source: Aurania Resources Ltd.
