Drill Program On The Manibridge High-Grade Nickel Project
TORONTO - Metal Energy Corp. commenced its Phase 2 10,000 meter drill program on the high-grade nickel and copper Manibridge project in the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba. Drilling will focus within the shadow of the past-producing mine that produced 1.3 million tonnes at 2.55% nickel and 0.27% copper from 1971 to 1977.
"We're very excited to start this large drill program on Manibridge. There's a lot of underexplored potential within the shadow of the old mine workings and we intend to prove up the nickel and copper endowment. Our Phase 1 drill program within the same target area had a 100% drill hole intersection success, indicating that our model is accurate and hinting that a lot of nickel-copper sulphide mineralization remains to be discovered along this trend. Our current drill program will include a series of drill fans along twelve 50 meter-spaced drill setups. We believe this drill density will provide sufficient detail to accurately characterize the geology of the mineral system. We recently received permit approvals for up to 100,000 meters of diamond drilling on the Project; this is Phase 2 of a 2-year plan. We're committed to advancing Manibridge efficiently and effectively. There's potential for bulk tonnage mineralization within 300 meters of surface and we intend to start defining it with this drill program," said James Sykes, CEO.
The Program consists of diamond drilling 10,000 meters in approximately 33 drill holes. The drill hole collar locations will be within 150 to 600 meters of the old mine workings. The average drill hole depths are planned for between 225 and 400 meters. All drill holes will be inclined between -45 and -85.
Geochemical assays will be released as they become available from the lab and reviewed for QA/QC. Metal Energy is the operator of the Program, holds 49% of the Project, and is currently earning towards 70% ownership of the Project with a short-term objective for 100% ownership of Manibridge. CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. currently holds the remaining 51% of the Project.
Manibridge Phase 1 Drill Program Summary
All drill holes successfully intersected nickel-copper sulphide mineralization, confirmed with a handheld XRF*. Confirmation of sulphides ranged from 3.7 m thickness (MNB003) to 16.8 m thick (MNB001) including a couple of drill holes intersecting small occurrences of massive net-textured sulphides. Drill hole MNB004 intersected sulphides over three separate intervals. All drill holes had evidence of nickel-copper sulphides remobilized in foliations and shears. Intense serpentinization alteration of the sulphide bearing ultramafic rock types is interpreted to remobilize nickel-copper sulphides to other areas, therefore possibly providing higher-grade occurrences of nickel-copper sulphides at or near alteration margins.
Geochemical assay results from the Phase 1 drill program will be released once received from the lab and reviewed for QAQC. See Metal Energy news release dated May 2, 2022, for a detailed review of the Phase 1 drill program.
*Handheld XRF ("hXRF") results do not replace traditional laboratory-based analysis, however the results do provide an effective screening tool for the determination of nickel-copper sulphides for selecting samples for geochemical assay analysis. hXRF analyses were taken on every 10 cm of the surface of the core as spot analyses with a 1 cm view window wherever visible sulphides and/or ultramafic rock types were present. The reported widths of mineralization were calculated with a hXRF cut-off grade of 0.3% Ni with no greater than 1.0 m of consecutive internal dilution, and are subject to confirmation by chemical analyses from an independent laboratory. The hXRF model used was a Niton XL3 and operated by CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. The reader is cautioned that these width results might not reflect laboratory-quality width results and therefore should only be viewed as an initial screening for the presence of nickel-copper sulphides within the drill core.