Ursa Major sizes up Shakespeare find

Ursa Major Minerals (UMJ-V) has tabled an initial resource estimate for the recently discovered, near-surface nickel-copper-platinum-group-metal (PGM) zone on the Shakespeare project, west of Sudbury, Ontario.

Based on more than 4,760 metres worth of drilling in 25 holes, Micon International pegs the new zone’s indicated resource at 4.9 million tonnes grading 0.4% nickel, 0.4% copper, 0.03% cobalt, 0.2 gram gold, 0.4 gram platinum and 0.45 gram palladium, based on a cutoff grade of $50 per tonne total in-situ metal value. Another 111,722 tonnes running 0.3% nickel, 0.3% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.15 gram gold, 0.3 gram platinum and 0.3 gram palladium are classified as inferred.

When the cutoff is doubled to $100 per tonne, the indicated resource shrinks to 1.6 million tonnes averaging 0.5% nickel, 0.5% copper, 0.03% cobalt, 0.3 gram gold, 0.5 gram platinum and 0.55 gram palladium. The inferred resources is 7,615 tonnes grading 0.5% nickel, 0.5% copper, 0.03% cobalt, 0.3 gram gold, 0.6 gram platinum and 0.6 gram palladium.

The cutoff grades are based on metal prices of US$3.73 per lb. of nickel, US74 per lb. copper, US$8.24 per lb. cobalt, US$653.04 per oz. of platinum, US$219.49 per oz. palladium, and US$346.40 per oz. gold.

The resource stretches to a depth of around 200 metres below surface and over a 300-metre strike length. The above-cutoff portion of the mineralized zone has true widths of about 30-50 metres, locally narrowing to 20 metres.

Ongoing drilling has already extended the mineralization at least 240 metres to the east. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth. The zone is situated about 600 metres along strike to the northeast of the Shakespeare deposit. Metallurgical studies are also under way; a preliminary economic evaluation will follow.

In its study, Micon concluded, ” the deposit has good continuity of mineralization and grade from hole to hole and section to section resulting in the confidence to classify most of the resource as indicated. The resource is suitable for use in an economic evaluation of a bulk-mining situation.”

Not included in the latest estimate are 1.9 million tonnes of near-surface inferred resource grading 0.4% nickel, 0.4% copper, 0.4 gram palladium, 0.4 gram platinum and 0.2 gram gold, elsewhere on the property.

Ursa recently earned a 51% interest in the Shakespeare property. Subject to certain back-in rights held by Falconbridge (FL-T), the company is exercising an option to earn up to a 75% interest.

Ursa currently has more than 11.1 million shares and 1 million special warrants outstanding. The company’s shares were trading a penny higher at 60 following the news on July 22.