Third critical metal zone at Nikolai

Millrock Resources Inc. Sept. 26 reported that resampling of historical core has identified a third zone of nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum group metals in the Eureka Zone on the company’s Nikolai project about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Delta Junction, Alaska.

Discovered by INCO in the 1990s and explored by Pure Nickel Inc. (now Galleon Gold Corp.) from 2007 through 2014, the Nikolai project hosts a roughly 10-mile- (16 kilometers) long trend of nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM mineralization.

Highlights from drilling completed by Pure Nickel in the Eureka Zone of what was then referred to as the Man project include:

• 224.6 meters averaging 0.23% nickel, 0.06% copper, 0.017% cobalt, 39 parts per billion platinum, 81 ppb palladium, and 8 ppb gold in hole PNI-10-0035.

• 319.7 meters averaging 0.25% nickel, 0.09% copper, 0.018% cobalt, 54 ppb platinum, 117 ppb palladium, and 13 ppb gold in hole PNI-10-036.

• 205.2 meters averaging 0.24% nickel, 0.09% copper, 0.017% cobalt, 61 ppb platinum, 122 ppb palladium, and 19 ppb gold in hole PNI-13-069.

In February, Millrock announced that it had staked 104 state mining claims covering Eureka Zone and entered into an option agreement for Canwell, a block of 42 state mining claims about 11 miles (18 kilometers) to the northeast, where historical surface rock sampling and drilling has identified higher-grade nickel, copper, and PGEs.

Based on historical drill results, Millrock has identified a roughly 1,200-by-400-by-300-meter area of mineralization at Eureka Zone that contains low-grade but potentially economic concentrations of nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold.

The previous drilling identified two layers of mineralization along this nearly one-mile trend – Core Eureka Zone (CEZ) and Upper Eureka Zone (UEZ).

Upon further review of historical core stored at the Geologic Materials Center in Anchorage, Alaska, Millrock geologists noticed that incomplete and discontinuous sampling was completed on rocks intersected below the CEZ in hole FL-003, which was drilled by INCO in 1997.

To evaluate what appeared to be a third zone of mineralization, Millrock had 100 samples assayed from 273.4 to 412.1 meters in hole FL-003.

This sampling returned 135.6 meters averaging 0.2% nickel, 0.05% copper, 0.016% cobalt, 0.062 ppm palladium, 0.026 ppm platinum, and 0.014 ppm gold.

Based on the newly received results, along with historical assays from INCO holes FL-003 and FL-006, Millrock now interprets there is a Lower Eureka Zone below the previously identified CEZ.

Adding in the new assays, FL-003 cut 346 meters of nickel mineralization, which represents a true thickness of roughly 275 meters at the location of the hole.

“From historical drilling, it is clear that a large volume of mineralized rock is present in the Eureka Zone,” said Millrock Resources President and CEO Gregory Beischer. “We believe the demand for nickel, cobalt, and other Critical and Strategic Metals will be exceptionally strong in the coming decades, making low-grade mineralization such as at Eureka of interest.”

To determine the deportment of the nickel, copper, cobalt, and precious metals, Millrock has submitted samples for laboratory analysis to identify which minerals are host to the valuable metals. From this information, an idea of metal recoverability can be gleaned. The company says this will be very important information to have for a project of this type and scale.