EV Nickel drills 0.27% nickel over 298.7 metres at Shaw Dome, Ontario
EV Nickel Inc. [EVNI-TSXV] reported additional assay results, from 12 additional holes of the phase 3 drilling program completed over the large-scale nickel target in the northeast of its Shaw Dome project, 25 km southeast of Timmins, northeast Ontario, referred to as the Carman-Langmuir or CarLang area.
Based upon the assay analyses of the 23 holes reported and core logging of the remaining five holes, it is confirmed that every hole of the 28-hole diamond drill program intersected the targeted dunite unit and continue to confirm the new CarLang A zone as a potential large-scale nickel prospect.
Assay results from 12 additional holes, intersections included Hole EV22-33 with 203.4 metres grading 0.26% nickel, Hole EV22-43 returned 298.7 metres of 0.27% nickel. Hole EV22-32 returned 202.4 metres of 0.27% nickel.
The host unit has intersected in all drill holes completed so far on the CarLang A zone. EV Nickel drilled 1.4 km of the over 10 km of prospective strike this summer with 28 holes totalling 8,295 metres.
Assays are pending for the remaining five holes and will be used in a CarLang A zone preliminary resource, scheduled for this spring.
“CarLang is turning out to be exactly what we expected and I am excited to see the results of the upcoming preliminary resource estimate,” said Sean Samson, president and CEO. “The A zone will get us started but we know it’s only 1.4 km of the more than 10 km of prospective strike length across CarLang. This is one part of our two-track strategy of focusing on both this large-scale plus the high-grade potential of our Shaw Dome project.”
Assay results continue to confirm the thick intersections of large-scale, broad zones of nickel mineralization. Gaps observed in the mineralized sequence represent intersections of late, crosscutting diabase or intermediate dikes in an otherwise continuous sequence of dunite. Assays are pending on the remaining five holes and are scheduled to be completed by the end of January, 2023. Caracle Creek International Consulting (CCIC) has been contracted to complete the preliminary resource estimate for the CarLang A zone and results are anticipated in the spring of 2023.
“I am looking forward to working with the CCIC team to complete this preliminary resource estimate for the CarLang A zone,” said Paul Davis, vice-president, exploration. “I see a number of positive characteristics of our CarLang A zone, including, but not limited to, that it subcrops to surface and would have a very low strip ratio, it represents only about 15% of the total identified strike length of the favourable dunites in the CarLang area, and the potential of the area to contain nickel mineralization that could represent a source of multidecadal mining and development.”
The CarLang area has many favourable characteristics, including: easy accessibility by road with significant outcrop exposure of the dunitic rocks across the property; recent logging activity has exposed additional outcrop and developed a network of gravel access roads; and the interpreted thickness of the overburden covering the CarLang A zone is estimated to average less than five metres based upon the recent phase 3 drill hole program, with a significant portion subcropping to surface with less than one metre of overburden.
When these factors are combined, the company believes that the CarLang area is well positioned for any future development and will rise to the top of the areas of interest for large-scale nickel projects.
The Shaw Dome includes the W4 zone, the basis of a 2010 historical estimate of 677,000 tonnes at 1% nickel, approximately 15 million pounds of Class 1 nickel. EV Nickel has over 30,000 hectares to explore across the Shaw Dome and has identified over 100 km of additional favourable strike length. The company is focused on a two-track strategy with high-grade (starting with W4) and large-scale targets (starting with CarLang).