Canada Nickel (TSXV: CNC) reported on Thursday positive results from infill drilling at its Crawford nickel-cobalt sulphide project in Ontario.
The company has received results for the final three holes from the western end of the Main zone, which remains open, yielding core lengths of 121 to 188 metres of 0.34% nickel.
One of the drill holes collared in higher-grade mineralization and yielded true width of 78 metres of 0.34% nickel. It also returned one of the best PGM zone intersections to date — a core length of 9 metres of 1.5 g/t PGM, which deepened mineralization by more than 250 metres.
The company said it anticipates receiving assays from the final three infill holes on the eastern end of the Main zone within the next week and plans to deliver an updated resource during the first half of October.
It is also expecting assays from the three follow-up holes on the previously reported PGM results, which yielded three separate intersections including 2.6 g/t PGM over 7.5 metres, during the next few weeks, as well as a steady series of assay results from drilling now underway on prospective geophysical nickel targets on the several kilometres of the Crawford structure.
With these results, Canada Nickel remains “on track to deliver a preliminary economic assessment by year-end,” said chairman and CEO Mark Selby in a press release. Following that, it will move into a feasibility study.
The Crawford project is located the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp, adjacent to existing infrastructure. With an estimated 600.4mt of measured and indicated resources at 0.25% Ni for 1,524.5kt contained nickel, it ranks as one of the 12 largest nickel sulphide resources globally, based on metrics used by Wood Mackenzie.
Earlier this week, Canada Nickel kicked off airborne magnetic and gravity surveys on nearby optioned properties that were acquired through earn-in agreements with Noble Mineral Exploration earlier in the year.
To advance its nickel-cobalt sulphide discovery, Canada Nickel said it is committed to extract and process the mineral in an environmentally friendly way.
Its subsidiary NetZero Metals was launched for the purpose of developing zero-carbon production of nickel, cobalt and iron, using a mining process that would allow the capture of carbon dioxide by waste rock and tailings.
Shares of Canada Nickel advanced 3.7% by noon EDT Thursday on the latest drill results. The battery metals miner has a market capitalization of C$112.7 million.