Falconbridge eager to plug away at Espedalen

Vancouver – Despite not replicating the high-grade nickel found in its first set of drillholes at the Espedalen project in Norway, Falconbridge (FL-T) is keen to continue exploration on the property this winter. The exploration is being funded by Blackstone Ventures (BLV-T).

A large mafic intrusion occurs in the middle of the 60-sq.-km property which encompasses several showings and is situated in a historic mining area.

In September, high-grade nickel was intersected in two holes spaced 200 metres apart at the new Stormyra discovery. Hole ES-04-09 intersected 6.91% nickel with 2.05% copper over 1.9 metres within a 14.6 metres intercept of 1.73% nickel and 0.77% copper from a downhole depth of 80.4 metres. Hole ES04-08 hit 2.07% nickel over 2.7 metres at 56.3 metre depth.

The drilling was testing an electromagnetic anomaly lying in a swamp in the southwestern part of the property.

The final set of drill results on other EM conductors managed to intersect sulphides, however only subeconomic grades of nickel, copoer and cobalt were found; the most significant being 4.95 metres of 0.44% nickel with 0.22% copper and 0.04% cobalt.

Falconbridge wants to focus its efforts at Stormya this winter. It has proposed a UTEM geophysical survey to cover 90 line-km of the discovery area to be followed by 2,000 metres of diamond drilling in 17 holes.

The conductor at the Stormyra discovery was extended southwards over 1.2 km by a recent EM survey that has revealed several more anomalies in the southern part of the property.

Falconbridge is also keen to follow-up areas such as the Dalen area, where drill-testing the edge of a conductor turned up 34.4 metres of 0.45% nickel. Here the UTEM conductor coincides with a magnetic anomaly that trends underneath Espedalen Lake.

Blackstone will have met is exploration commitment of $2.25 million early, and vested a 60% interest in the property following completion of the proposed program.

Falconbridge has back-in rights that allow it to earn another 20% interest by spending some $5 million.