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Canada Nickel announces drill results from Deloro target

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Global Mining Review,


Canada Nickel Company Inc. has announced assay results from its Mahaffy, Dargavel, Kingsmill, and MacDiarmid properties, and provided an update on drilling and corporate activities.

In addition to completed drill assay results, partial assays have been received to date from 11 holes drilled at the company’s Nesbitt property – these results have also been in line with expectations and will be released when all assays are received.

Highlights

  • First hole in recently acquired properties intersects 480 m of dunite at Deloro using a sixth drill rig acquired at start of year.
  • All nine holes from Dargavel, Mahaffy, MacDiarmid, Kingsmill intersected multi-hundred metre intersections of mineralisation with best interval from first hole at Dargavel of 162 m of 0.30% nickel (Ni) including 0.34% Ni over 28.5 m.
  • Completion of Crawford feasibility study expected by 4Q22 and formal start of permitting process in 1Q22.
  • Announces management additions in engineering and environment to support company efforts to advance Crawford through feasibility and subsequent steps towards development.

“I’m very excited to start the year with successful drilling of Deloro – the first of the 13 targets we acquired at end of last year and the first step in confirming the potential of the Timmins Nickel District. After two very successful years in 2020 and 2021, the year 2022 sets the stage for Canada Nickel to move to the next level with the formal launch of Crawford permitting this quarter, an updated resource next quarter, and a feasibility study expected to be completed by 4Q22, which is just over three years from our Crawford discovery,” said Mark Selby, Chair & CEO. “I am also pleased to expand our capabilities with the latest additions to our team. Canada Nickel is well-positioned not only for success this year but for continued success in 2023 and beyond as we advance Crawford towards production.”

Steve Balch, VP Exploration, added: “Today’s successful assay results from our initial set of properties outside of Crawford and the success of the first hole at Deloro confirm our targeting approach is correct. Deloro is a great first example having intersected mineralised dunite from just 2 m below surface over a length 480 m. This year we will move beyond our flagship Crawford property and start exploring our thirteen newly acquired regional properties, confident that our targeting approach will yield multiple discoveries. With over 40 km2 of ultramafic rocks yet to explore, we believe our project has the potential to grow to a massive scale. I look forward to further success as we continue to delineate this potential during 2022.”

Exploration results

All 20 holes from the regional drill programme intersected thick sequences of peridotite and/or dunite with some holes collared in, or ending in, volcanics. The highest-grade intersection was 0.34% Ni over 28.5 m in Dargavel hole DAR21-01 (0.30% cut-off) within a largerzone grading 0.30% Ni over 162 m (0.25% cut-off) starting at 375 m downhole. The thickest interval of mineralisation was in Kingsmill drillhole KML21-01 which intersected 0.24% Ni over 334.5 m starting at 16.5 m downhole. The overburden encountered was highly variable with as little as 12.5 m at Nesbitt and as much as 160 m at Mahaffy.

Deloro Property

DEL22-01, collared in the centre of the ultramafic target measuring 1.4 km long by 300 – 500 m wide, and drilled toward the west contact, intersected mineralised dunite (including some narrow dykes) starting at 1.8 m downhole. The hole remained in dunite beyond its projected length of 400 m to 482 m at the west contact for a total interval of 480 m.

Previously, six holes (FY-02-02, FY-02-06, FY-02-10, FY-02-11, FY-02-12, FY-02-13) were drilled at Deloro by other explorers, inside or on the edge of the ultramafic, with five intersecting serpentinised dunite/peridotite. Hole FY02-10 intersected 24.2 m, FY-02-13 intersected 138.4 m and four holes ended in serpentinised dunite/peridotite. All five holes noted magnetite (up to 20 – 25% magnetite in FY-02-02 from 39.4 – 89.5 m) and disseminated sulfides. Only specific non-consecutive intervals were assayed. Two of the four holes had nickel mineralisation exceeding 0.40% Ni: FY02-02 with 0.42% Ni over 4.2 m, with up to 0.73 g/t Pd and 0.23 g/t Pt over 1.2 m, and FY-02-10 intersecting 0.48% Ni, 0.28 g/t Pd, and 0.14 g/t Pt over 2.8 m.

Deloro is a property of approximately 1800 h.a in size and located 10 km southeast of Timmins. The property consists of a series of mining patents and mining claims that completely cover the ultramafic unit. The area is within 10 km south of Timmins and is easily accessed by road. It contains an ultramafic intrusion 1.4 km in length and up to 450 m wide, that strikes south-southeast as identified by its high magnetic intensity. Historical drilling intersected serpentinised dunite/peridotite with four of five holes ending in serpentinised dunite/peridotite. All five historical holes noted the presence of magnetite and disseminated sulfides. Only specific non-consecutive intervals were assayed, for example, FY02-02 reported 0.42% Ni over a core length of 4.2 m.

Dargavel-Bradburn Property

A single hole in Dargavel Township was completed in 2021 to confirm historic drilling from the 1960s by Inco. Drillhole DAR21-01 intersected 501.2 m of 0.23% Ni below overburden starting at 68 m with a higher-grade zone of 0.30% Ni over 162 m starting at 375 m and including 0.34% Ni over 28.5 m starting at 451.5 m downhole.

The Dargavel-Bradburn Property includes 3554 ha. of mining patents and 11 438 ha. of mining claims. The property hosts a series of very long ultramafic sills striking east-west that have been mapped for 10 km. These townships have been relatively unexplored, but historical drilling in the 1960’s by Inco Limited in Dargavel township encountered 590 ft of serpentinised peridotite in hole 25014 grading 0.24% Ni with local assays up to 0.40% Ni and 287 ft of serpentinised peridotite in hole 28479 (no assays reported).

Mahaffy Nickel Project

Drilling in 2021 intersected thick zones of mineralized peridotite and dunite in two holes with MAH21-01A encountering 0.22% Ni over 429.5 m and MAH21-02 intersecting 0.21% Ni over 335 m. Overburden in the drilling area was up to 120 m in vertical thickness but is known to be much thinner in other areas of the property.

The Mahaffy Property is located 12 km west of Crawford and consists of five closely spaced ultramafic sills having an aggregate strike length of 24 km. This property, comprising mining claims totalling approximately 4600 ha., was previously tested by historic hole 31901 (1966) which intersected 0.23% Ni over 127 m, and historic hole T2-80-2 (1980) which intersected 277 m of serpentinised ultramafic rock with no assays reported.

Kingsmill Property

In-fill drilling in 2021 intersected 334.5 m of 0.24% Ni starting at 16.5 m in KML21-01 and 268.5 m of 0.21% Ni starting at 118.5 m. Two holes testing for higher grade mineralisation near a major fault intersected only lower grade mineralisation with KML21-03 encountering 76.5 m of 0.13% Ni and KML21-04 intersecting 161 m of 0.14% Ni, both intervals within a weakly mineralised peridotite that is commonly encountered at the contact of the ultramafic.

The Kingsmill Property contains a large serpentinised ultramafic intrusion 2.2 km long and 375 – 600 m wide. The property has been previously explored where thick intersections of mineralised dunite were encountered. Follow-up drilling in 2021 consisted of two in-fill drill holes and two more drill holes to test an area of major faulting (sometimes an area of upgraded mineralisation).

MacDiarmid Property

MAC21-01 intersected 241.5 m of 0.22% Ni starting at 90.5 m downhole, MAC21-02 intersected 317.2 m of 0.23% Ni starting at 61.5 m, and MAC21-03 intersected 308 m of 0.22% Ni starting at 30 m downhole. All holes intersected higher grade intervals as well.

The MacDiarmid Property contains a large ultramafic intrusion that is approximately 3 km long and 150 – 600 m wide with the primary target a stronger magnetic anomaly of 1.8 km long and up to 400 m wide. Three holes were collared on the eastern side of the intrusion spaced 200 m apart and were designed to intersect dunite-peridotite in this region. The 2021 drill programme has now defined mineralisation across a strike length of 400 m to a depth of 290 m and widths of 140 – 180 m. All holes were drilled to the south (205° azimuth) at -50° inclination.

Crawford Project update

The company continues to aggressively advance Crawford and expects to deliver a feasibility study by 4Q22 based on a resource update provided in 2Q22. The company also expects to file the initial project description which will formally begin the permitting process for Crawford during 1Q22. The feasibility study is expected to be delivered just over three years from when Canada Nickel was formed and began drilling the fifth hole on the property.

As the company expects to complete the feasibility study for Crawford this year and intends to continue to advance the project towards production, the company has continued to build the team to ensure we are successful in meeting our objectives for 2022 and beyond. The company has promoted Christian Brousseau to the position of Vice President, Capital Projects and has appointed Desmond Tranquilla as Project Director. Brousseau will be responsible for completion of the Crawford feasibility study and leading the execution team to develop the project through to production. Mathieu Boucher has also been appointed as Manager, Environment.

Management appointments

Brousseau joined Canada Nickel in 2020 as Project Director to lead the preliminary economic assessment for Crawford Project, which was completed in July 2021. He has 30 years’ experience in engineering, design and construction in the Canadian mining industry, including over six years as Project Director for the Dumont Project, a shovel-ready nickel project located in the Abitibi Region of Quebec. At Dumont, he led the engineering and construction plans and was instrumental in completing the revised Dumont feasibility study in 2019. Prior to Dumont, Brousseau held the position of Engineering and Construction Manager on the US$1.2 billion CAPEX Detour Lake opencast mine, located in the Timmins-Cochrane mining district. He also held a number of construction management positions at Canadian Malartic Mine in Quebec, and Newmont's Éléonore Mine, in northern Quebec. Brousseau spent eight years at Falconbridge supervising and managing capital projects in Sudbury and at Glencore Canada’s Raglan Mine and Horne Smelter in Quebec and Kidd Creek Mine north of Timmins, Ontario.

Tranquilla has over 30 years’ experience in the management of major capital projects involving large mines and processing plants in Canada and the US, as well as transportation infrastructure projects, hydroelectricity and aggregate processing plants. Prior to joining Canada Nickel, Tranquilla held the position of Director of Construction for SNC-Lavalin North America, and was responsible for project execution, construction planning, procurement and contract agreements for Coeur Mining’s Rochester POA11 Merrill Crowe Heap Leach Project in Nevada. Tranquilla also acted as Senior Project Manager overseeing engineering, procurement, construction and management for the CAN$1.6 billion Vale Atmospheric Emission Reduction project in Sudbury, Canada. As Project Director at Ausenco Canada Limited, Tranquilla developed the construction plan for Hudbay Minerals’ US$1.9 billion Rosemont Copper Project in Arizona, US. Tranquilla also managed execution of mining projects for the Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and Detour Lake Gold Mine Development in Northern Ontario.

Boucher has over 10 years of experience working in environment and engineering. Prior to joining Canada Nickel, Boucher was employed at Glencore’s Horne Copper Smelter and North America Copper Assets, where he held positions as Environment and Sustainability specialist, supervisor, and superintendent. Throughout his time with Glencore, Boucher acted as a technical advisor or lead for the development of key characterisation and improvement projects related to water treatment and water management from tailings facilities and industrial operations. Boucher started his career with Golder Associates, where he contributed to environmental site assessment, site remediation, and water treatment projects for industrial and mining clients, and was involved in the development of modern, innovative approaches to ensuring the protection of sensitive natural environments. Boucher holds a Bachelor of Water Engineering from Laval University.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/exploration-development/27012022/canada-nickel-announces-drill-results-from-deloro-target/

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