Spruce Ridge Resources acquiring Shamrock property, Oregon

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Spruce Ridge Resources Ltd. [TSXV-SHL] signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) with Northwest Nickel Corp. to acquire the Shamrock nickel sulphide property, located near Medford in southwest Oregon, United States.

Steve Balch, president and CEO, stated: “Spruce is increasing its presence in the U.S. critical minerals market with the acquisition of an interesting nickel sulphide property, where the grades of nickel and copper are both over 1.0%, and where the mineralization is open along strike and at depth. We do not yet know the extent of the mineralization and there is no record of exploration since the 1950s. We believe there are significant platinum group metals present as well.”

The Shamrock property consists of 40 unpatented lode claims, accessible by paved road, covering approximately 758 acres and located 20 miles northwest of Medford, Oregon.

The area was first prospected in the early 1900s, when a 60 ft-deep inclined shaft was excavated to intersect the main Shamrock showing containing nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), and platinum (Pt). Underground development occurred during 1949-50 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM). USBM completed eleven diamond drillholes totaling 3,419 ft and outlined a lens of nickel-copper sulphide 325 ft long, 200 ft deep and 3-25 ft thick. A 200-lb composite sample was submitted for metallurgy and assayed 1.3% Ni, 1.1% Cu, 0.07% Co and 0.03 oz/t Pt. In 1952-53 USBM removed 101.5 tons of manganese- (Mn) and iron-rich (Fe) material from previously discovered pods for metallurgical sampling with assays returning 23.1-32.3% Mn and 2.06-3.70% Fe.

Nickel-copper mineralization can be traced along strike for 1,500 ft north-south, 500 ft east-west and contains two mineralized lenses. Ultramafic rocks were intersected in drilling and consist predominantly of peridotite and related serpentinite, as well as norite and diorite. The best mineralization is present in a coarse-grained norite. Sulphide mineralization includes pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrite. A bulk flotation program recovered 92.3% of the Ni, 89.4% of the Cu and 51.3% of the Pt.

Under the terms of acquisition, Spruce will acquire a 100% interest in the property upon closing by transferring to Northwest Nickel 100,000 common shares in the capital of Canada Nickel Company Inc. held by Spruce; making a $10,000 cash payment to Northwest Nickel, issuing to Northwest Nickel an aggregate of 2,500,000 common shares in the capital of Spruce and granting to Northwest Nickel a 2.0% net smelter return royalty (NSR) with the option to repurchase 50% of the NSR for consideration of $1,000,000.

Spruce Ridge is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company focused on critical metal resources with nickel projects in Oregon, United States and copper projects in Newfoundland, Canada. The company also holds a significant portfolio of mining securities including 3.6 million shares of Canada Nickel Company Inc. [TSXV-CNC], 10.0 million shares of Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. [TSXV-NOB], 15.0 million shares of Benton Resources Inc. [TSXV-BEX] and 2.5 million shares of Magna Terra Minerals Inc. [TSXV-MTT].


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