Deep sea mining puts $560 billion in land extraction at risk — report
Even in optimal scenarios, the activity would generate only $6.25 million in tax revenue for countries involved, says Planet Tracker.
Pancontinental Resources (TSXV: PUC) has started exploring its newly acquired nickel-copper-cobalt St. Laurent project, located in St. Laurent Township, northern Ontario.
In a press release, the Toronto-based miner said that past shallow drilling at the property identified disseminated multi-element sulphide mineralization across notable widths trending towards a large gabbro-hosted magnetic feature. However, drilling to date has not yet intersected massive sulphides.
Pancon said the Ni-Cu-Co-Au-Pt-Pd zone is open along strike and at depth. This mineralized zone is coincident with a strong 600-metre long EM anomaly
“A recently completed geological compilation and a re-interpretation of past work indicate the presence of an intrusive gabbro body containing widespread anomalous Ni-Cu-Co mineralization,” Pancon’s president and CEO, Layton Croft, said in the media brief.
“Mineralization consists of disseminations, blebs and stringers, which represent a body up to 80 metres thick. Historic diamond drilling was limited along 205 metres of strike extent, with the deepest hole at a 160-metre vertical depth. It appears from our ongoing interpretation that several of the previous drill holes were terminated while still in the mineralized gabbro body. An unexplained robust airborne electromagnetic conductor, 600 metres in length, is coincident with the mineralized body. Our ongoing evaluation indicates these important exploration features together represent a classic Ni-Cu-Co massive sulphide target.”
Croft recounted that the first phase of historic diamond drilling was completed in 1965-1966 when 7 holes totalling 1,081 metres were completed.
“Pancon has located a sufficient number of the drill casings in the field in order to re-establish and incorporate this work into the current interpretation. Drill logs from the 7 holes were preserved and incorporated, although assay results were not preserved,” the executive said.
Pancon’s president indicated that in 2008, a 3-hole, 604-metre diamond drill program was also completed. Drill logs and assay results were preserved from this phase of exploration and, in the company’s view, they support the presence of a wide zone of low-grade Ni-Cu-Co sulphide mineralization.
