For what had been a flavour-of-the-month commodity, nickel has held up unusually well. Its sustained price strength has brought a number of juniors into prospective areas in Manitoba, some with a history of nickel production.
In the Thompson belt, Nuinsco Resources (NWI-T, NUIRF-O) is advancing the Minago nickel deposit about 70 km south of Wabowden (see story, page B1), but another at the development stage is nearer town. The Bucko nickel project, now in the hands of Crowflight Minerals (CML-V, CMLGF-O), is in the permitting stage after a feasibility study concluded that a 1,000-tonne-per-day underground mine would produce nickel at US$3,835 per tonne (US$1.74 per lb.). A mine would cost $21 million to build and a mill $35 million, and production could begin in 2007 (T.N.M., Dec. 23/05).
Crowflight recently came to an agreement with optionor Falconbridge (FAL.LV-T. FAL-N) to revise the earn-in agreement governing Bucko, the surrounding Thompson Nickel Belt South project area east of Wabowden, and the Thompson North area, which covers properties mainly west and north of Thompson.
The new agreement reschedules Crowflight’s spending obligations on the regional programs in the two larger land packages, and lets Crowflight earn an initial 33% interest in the mining lease surrounding Bucko. The 33% earn-in on the lease requires Crowflight to spend $1.5 million on exploration and provide funding for a final feasibility study on Bucko. Crowflight goes to a 50% holding by providing the feasibility study before year-end and by spending $6 million on exploration by the end of April 2009. Bringing Bucko to commercial production earns the remaining 50%, at which point Falconbridge retains a 2.5% net smelter return.
Falconbridge’s recent drilling, funded by Crowflight, has intersected new mineralization immediately south of the Wabowden townsite at the M11A prospect. The discovery hole, announced in late March, cut three zones of nickel mineralization which, over a 15.5-metre composite length, ran 0.97% nickel, with minor copper. Follow-up drilling 75 metres along the strike returned 30.3 metres at 1.02% nickel and 0.19% copper, and both holes returned some platinum and palladium credits.
Two more holes have been drilled on a second target, Apex, west of the townsite. Assay results have only been released for the first hole, which intersected 11.4 metres grading 0.91% nickel and 0.04% copper.
Lynn Lake
In the Lynn Lake area, the most active of the nickel explorers is Sudbury, Ont.-based Seymour Exploration (SEZ-V, SEZOF-O). The company recently added a second drill to its program at the old Fox nickel mine near Lynn Lake. Working from a database of old exploration holes drilled by Sherritt Gordon Mines, Seymour geologists picked out 15 targets underground at Fox. A time-domain electromagnetic survey, started in January, is ongoing and has already picked up previously untested conductors.
In April, Seymour had a single hole being drilled to the Golf target, at the 3,000-ft. (915-metre) level of the mine. Sherritt drill holes had intersected a 22.9-metre mineralized zone grading 1.22% nickel and 0.52% copper, and a 16.6-metre zone grading 1.72% nickel and 0.62% copper.
Remnant resources at Lynn Lake have been calculated at 5.7 million tonnes at average grades of 0.85% nickel and 0.39% copper.
Also in Lynn Lake, North American Palladium (PDL-T, PAL-X) and Rare Earth Metals (REM-V, RREMF-O) have a grassroots program under way to test anomalies found by an airborne geophysical survey. A winter induced-polarization survey is to provide drill targets for a summer field program.
North American Palladium dropped its participation in another Manitoba nickel property in March, the Bird River project northeast of Lac du Bonnet, which it had optioned from Gossan Resources (GSS-V, GSSRF-O). North American had contracted a helicopter-borne magnetic and electromagnetic survey and a large-loop ground electromagnetic survey, and drilled 18 holes during its option.
North American’s last drill program tested targets on the base of the Bird River sill, where five drill holes intersected significant nickel mineralization, at grades from 0.42% to 1.64% nickel over intervals ranging from 5 to 13 metres. Gossan Resources is awaiting the results of a reinterpretation of the geophysical work.
Meanwhile, Mustang Minerals (MUM-V, MSMGF-O) is finishing a drilling program at its M2 Zone prospect, also in the Bird River belt. More drilling is planned on exploration targets around M2.
Less well explored and much more remote, northeastern Manitoba has not had the same attention from nickel juniors. But Callinan Mines (CAA-V, CCNMF-O) and Bell Resources (BL-V, BZRSF-O) hold a 1,011-sq.-km land package covering part of the Fox River ultramafic sill. The companies have had horizontal-loop and pulse electromagnetic surveys done over the area. Drilling is planned for later in the season.
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