Garibaldi nickel drilling results near Eskay Creek prompt comparison with Sudbury deposits
Geological crews land in the vicinity of Anomaly A at the E&L Project in the Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia. Source: Garibaldi Resources Corp.
Shares of Garibaldi Resources Corp. [GGI-TSXV, GGIFF-OTC] retreated Monday December 11 as investors continued to assess drilling results from its 100%-owned E&L Project at the Nickel Mountain property near Eskay Creek in the Golden Triangle region of northwest British Columbia.
On December 8, 2017, the company said Discovery Hole EL-17-14 returned a 40.4-metre mineralized zone, featuring a massive sulphide intersection with rich grades of nickel and copper over 16.75 metres. The company said Hole EL-17-14, was collared 200 metres east of the historic E&L deposit and drilled towards the west-southwest.
It returned 8.3% nickel, and 4.2% copper over 16.75 metres with a broader 40.4-metre section grading 3.9% nickel and 2.3% copper from 100.4 to 140.8 metres (approximate true width). The 16.75-metre massive sulphide intercept also included 6.4 g/t combined platinum-palladium, 0.19% cobalt, 1.1 g/t gold and 11.1 g/t silver.
The company said drill data so far indicates a sequence of widening intercepts and increasing grades toward the Discovery Zone to the east, which remains open for expansion in all directions, including at depth.
Garibaldi controls more than 200 km2 of exploration ground in the vicinity of the Eskay Creek mining camp, an area with an illustrious mining history dating back to gold discoveries that were funded in the late 1980s by promoter Murray Pezim, and later mined by Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, NYSE].
Commenting on the results, Dr. Peter Lightwood said, “In the context of Sudbury contact-type mineralization, there are very few zones within the mined or historic deposits that approach the values encountered in the massive sulphides of [drill hole] EL-17-14.” Lightwood is described in a Garibaldi press release as one of the world’s top nickel sulphide experts and a technical advisor to Garibaldi.
“Based on these comparisons and others, data for EL-17-14 point to a discovery of outstanding quality with a very pure style of sulphide mineralization that has optimal process technology characteristics,” he said.
The E&L deposit is the Eskay Camp’s only nickel-copper massive sulphide system, and is located just 11 miles southwest of Eskay Creek.
Having launched the latest round of drilling in August 2017, Garibaldi is targeting known nickel-copper-rich mineralized zones and a VTEM conductor estimated to begin within 20 to 40 metres below the deepest hole (122 metres) drilled in the 1960s by Silver Standard. All 12 Silver Standard holes drilled in the mid-1960s intersected nickel-copper mineralization highlighted by a 37.8-metre interval in DDH-4-1966 that returned 1.3% nickel and 0.79% copper, including 5.9% nickel and 1.7% copper over 2.74 metres near the bottom of the hole.
“We early anticipate providing additional Nickel Mountain updates in the near future, including drill results from holes 10 through 13 while interpretation of extensive geophysical data also continues,” said Garibaldi President and CEO Steve Regoci.
“The excitement level of our exploration team of geologists and geophysicists is understandable with these results,” he said. “Our group of renowned nickel industry specialists have high expectations of adding a new chapter to the illustrious exploration history of the Eskay Camp,” Regoci said.