Searching for nickel near Timmins

Vancouver — Timmins and its environs may be known for their rich gold history but in Langmuir Twp., these days it’s all about nickel.

Langmuir lies some 25 km south of Timmins, Ont., and is home to two past-producing nickel mines. The region is ripe for nickel because in Langmuir, the Precambrian shield hosts the Shaw Dome, a structure wherein the Deloro assemblage rocks meet the younger Tisdale assemblage rocks. The meeting resulted in deposits of magmatic massive sulphide and nickel mineralization.

Rising nickel prices, starting in 2006, prompted two companies to take a second look at the Langmuir region. Inspiration Mining (ISM-T, IRMGF-o) is poking around the old Langmuir mines and Golden Chalice Resources (GCR-V, GCRIF-o) is testing ground to the east and south. Both are finding new nickel in an old area.

Inspiration’s Langmuir property is just over 10 sq. km and covers the old Langmuir No. 1 mine, as well as the majority of old Langmuir No. 2. Nickelmineralization was first identified at Langmuir in 1959. From 1970 to 1978, the first company to mine on the site sank a shaft to 445 metres depth on Langmuir No. 2 and produced from it some 1.25 million tons of ore averaging 1.45% nickel. Near the end of that operation a historic resource estimate, using data obtained by completing a ramp to 70 metres depth, pegged resources at 165,000 tons grading 2.1% nickel.

In the early 1990s, Timmins Nickel embarked on mining at Langmuir No. 1, completing a ramp to 120 metres depth with three levels of development. The company mined some 111,500 tons of ore at 1.74% nickel. At the end of its operation, the company estimated the remaining resources at Langmuir No. 2 (again, a historic estimate) to be 125,000 tons grading 2.21% nickel. Timmins Nickel filed for bankruptcy in 1991 due to falling nickel prices and abandoned the claims.

Before leaving, Timmins Nickel also delineated resources in two other deposits. Just north of Langmuir No. 2 sits the Langmuir North deposit, which hosts a historical resource of 450,000 inferred tons grading 1.2% nickel. Southeast of the old mine is Langmuir South, home to another historical resource: 180,000 inferred tons grading 1.5% nickel.

Inspiration consolidated control of the area in 2005 and focused its exploration program on three factors. First, even though the site has seen considerable production, significant portions of the property had not been explored. Second, historical exploration did not assay for platinum group elements (PGEs), which are now known to be present in the Shaw Dome. And third, historical testing and extraction work was primarily limited to depths less than 100 metres.

Inspiration’s plan is to delineate the deep extensions of mineralization from the past-producing zones at Langmuir No. 1 and explore the wide zones of mineralization extending from the Langmuir No. 2 deposit that could be exploited via an open-pit operation.

At Langmuir No. 1, Inspiration is testing mineralization below 90 metres, to depths of almost 300 metres. Characteristic drill results include those from hole 108, which returned several intercepts: 2 metres grading 1.15% nickel, 6.6 metres of 0.4% nickel, 7.6 metres averaging 1.39% nickel, and 1 metre of 0.7% nickel. Similarly, hole 109 cut 4.3 metres of 0.33% nickel followed by 28.5 metres of 0.58% nickel and 2.3 metres of 1.34% nickel.

But recent work has focused on Langmuir No. 2, and in particular on the North zone.

From the southern portion of the North zone, hole 111 cut 14 metres grading 0.32% nickel from 101 metres depth, followed closely by 4.5 metres of 0.21% nickel and 3.4 metres of 0.21% nickel. From 30 metres east, hole 113 returned 5.9 metres of 0.22% nickel from 158 metres down-hole, 1.3 metres of 0.22% nickel from 171 metres depth, and 1.5 metres of 0.53% nickel from 224 metres.

Another 100 metres to the east, hole 115hit 33.3 metres grading 0.28% nickel from 312 metres depth. Nearby, hole 117 returned 5.6 metres grading 0.24% nickel from 466 metres, 2 metres grading 0.44% nickel from 501 metres, and 1.8 metres of 0.56% nickel from 520 metres.

Farther north, hole 118 cut 9.4 metres grading 0.69% nickel, among other intercepts, and hole 119 returned 4.9 metres of 0.43% nickel. And hole 90 returned a long hit: 97.6 metres grading 0.31% nickel. All widths are true widths.

In May, the company commissioned a resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for the Langmuir site. The first phase of the work will see a resource estimate for Langmuir No. 1, then a bulk sample and resource estimate for Langmuir No. 2. Then an economic analysis will investigate the feasibility of an underground operation at No. 1 and an open-pit operation at No. 2. Inspiration has not released a target completion date for either phase.

Inspiration describes mineralization at Langmuir as komatiitehosted nickel, similar to that found in the Kambala region of Western Australia. In these deposits, nickel can occur as small but high-grade pods of massive sulphide situated in the keels of ultramafic volcanic flows and as large, low-grade, disseminated zones.

Since July, shares of Inspiration have traded between $1.25 and $1.75. The company has a 52-week range of up to $5.30 and has 68 million shares issued.

The other junior exploring the Langmuir area is Golden Chalice. Unlike Inspiration Mining, Golden Chalice is not exploring for extensions of known deposits but is testing electromagnetic anomalies in order to find new ones.

In May 2007, the company had its first hit. Testing one of the 18 clusters of EM anomalies, a drill returned 1.14% nickel over 72.5 metres, including twowell-mineralized intervals: 2.23% nickel, 0.22% copper, 0.2 gram platinum per tonne and 0.5 gram palladium over 17.5 metres and 1.74% nickel, 0.12% copper, 0.2 gram platinum and 0.47 gram palladium over 13.1 metres.

Of late, shallow infill drilling on the Discovery zone is helping to define the zone’s continuity and grade. Hole 51 returned 3.13% nickel and 0.13 gram palladium over 10.6 metres from 130 metres down-hole and hole 48 averaged 1.74% nickel, 0.11% copper, 0.12 gram platinum and 0.29 gram palladium over 14 metres from 126 metres depth.

Closer to the discovery hole, hole 20 returned 2.37% nickel, 0.1% copper, 0.2 gram platinum and 0.38 gram palladium over 10.7 metres. Nearby, hole 21 averaged 1.1% nickel, 0.11% copper, 0.15 gram platinum and 0.38 gram palladium over 8.3 metres.

Drilling has traced the zone of mineralization for 200 metres along strike and to 250 metres depth, with good continuity between sections. The eastern downplunge extension reaches 375 metres depth.

Golden Chalice is also testing newly modelled deep conductivity targets. Modelling of the company’s geophysical survey data detected several large conductive bodies with signatures similar to the Discovery zone. The bodies occur at more than 300 metres below surface and can be traced for over 2 km along strike.

The first drill hole into one of these deep targets penetrated rocks of the same type that host the Discovery zone mineralization, which are accumulate peridotitic komatiitic rocks with spinifex textures hosteing 2-3% interstitial disseminated sulphides. The intersection returned only anomalous nickel, copper, cobalt, and PGE grades but indicated that the flow horizon, previously intersected only near the Discovery zone, extends some 700 metres east and to 500 metres depth. The company will now test the flow horizon to determine if it hosts one or more additional nickel zones.