McVicar, BHP option Pigeon River (May 04, 2001)

Partners McVicar Minerals (MVR-V) and BHP (BHP-N) have optioned Falconbridge‘s (FL-T) Pigeon River copper-nickel-platinum-group-element (Cu-Ni-PGE) property in Ontario.

The property lies about 40 km southwest of Thunder Bay and consists of 52 claims, including 48 Pigeon River claims and four Trout Bay claims.

Under the deal, the partners can earn a 50% interest in the property by paying $700,000 over a three-year period. The minimum expenditure in the first year is $150,000. The partners are also obliged to keep the property in good standing during the option period. McVicar will act as operator for the exploration work.

The property covers the eastern extension of the Crystal Lake gabbroic intrusion and a cluster of the Keweenawan mafic intrusions. The Crystal Lake intrusion is host to a Cu-Ni-PGE deposit with resources of 40 million tons grading 0.38% copper, 0.21% nickel, 0.7 gram palladium and 0.2 gram platinum per tonne.

During in the late 1970s and early 1980s, exploration found disseminated sulphides in the western part of the intrusion.

McVicar and BHP plan an extensive geophysical and geological mapping program along the eastern part of the intrusion for the summer. They believe this region may represent a deeper conduit with the potential to host high-grade PGE-rich nickel-copper sulphides.

Drilling will follow positive results.