Lockerby East Project, Ontario, Canada

• Project Highlights

  • Potential for large tonnage open pit in Sudbury Basin
  • Agreement with Vale Canada to consolidate the near surface West Graham and Crean Hill 3 deposits
  • Historic resource highlights the potential of the combined property
  • Excellent potential for high-grade massive sulphide at depth
  • Ongoing drilling campaign continues to return positive results
  • WG-23-026: 2.48% Ni and 0.64% Cu over 7.9 metres

• Overview

  The Lockerby East Property is located ~20 km west of Sudbury, Ontario within the southwest corner of the Sudbury Basin. The property hosts 2 historic Ni-Cu deposits, the near surface West Graham Deposit and the partially mined Lockerby East Deposit at depth. With the recent addition of the Crean Hill 3 Property, the West Graham Deposit has the potential to become an economically significant near surface resource. SPC Nickel aims to advance the West Graham Deposit and become Sudbury’s newest Nickel producer.

• Current Program

  A total of 13,254 metres in 62 holes have so far been completed in 2023 on the West Graham Project since drilling commenced in March. The Phase 1 program consisted of 5,338 metres in 27 holes and was completed in late May while a total of 7,916 metres in 35 holes, including 16 short holes have been completed to date from the ongoing Phase 2 program. This work has demonstrated the potential for any future development at West Graham to be open-pit amenable.

  To view detailed sections across the West Graham Property, click here.

  To view 2023 Phase 1 and Phase 2 assay results to date in a PDF, click here.

  

  

  

• Project Presentation

  • Lockerby East - Q1 2023

    View PDF

• Project History

  The Lockerby Mine was put into production by Falconbridge in 1971. In 2004, Falconbridge decided to put the mine on care and maintenance. In 2005, First Nickel acquired the property and resumed production of the Lockerby Mine and Lockerby East deposits. In 2005, First Nickel entered into an Option Agreement with Landore Resources on the adjacent West Graham Property. In 2009 and 2010, First Nickel issued new update resource estimates for both the West Graham and Lockerby East Deposit. In 2015, First Nickel closed the Lockerby Mine and entered into receivership due to low metal prices and production issues. During a period of 44 years, from 1971 to 2015, the Lockerby Mine including Lockerby East produced an estimated 9.6Mt of ore grading 1.83% Ni and 1.08% Cu.

  In 2016, SPC Nickel announced the acquisition of the Lockerby East and West Graham properties. The Lockerby Mine itself was not acquired. In 2016, Bore Hole Electromagnetic surveys (BHEM) identified significant geophysical anomalies at depth below the Lockerby East Deposit. In 2022, a drill program was completed to expand and define the West Graham Deposit near surface. Additional work completed by SPC Nickel includes auditing the historical drillhole database, updating the coordinate systems to NAD83, confirming collar locations and patent boundaries, surface mapping and sampling, and updating the 3D model.

  On January 23, 2023, SPC Nickel announced the signing of an Agreement with Vale Canada (“Vale”) granting SPC Nickel the right to earn an 100% interest in Vale’s Crean Hill 3 Property that is located adjacent and contiguous to SPC Nickel’s West Graham Deposit. As an advanced project, the combination of the West Graham and Crean Hill 3 deposits is a transformational opportunity for SPC Nickel. The historical mineral resources on these properties form one contiguous near-surface deposit.

• Geology and Mineralization

  The West Graham Deposit is situated in the southwest portion of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) and straddles the contact between the Proterozoic aged Huronian Supergroup rocks to the south and the crystalline igneous rock of the SIC to the north. Locally the footwall rocks are dominated by mafic volcanics of the Elsie Mountain Fm. and granitic rocks of the Creighton Pluton. Localized zones of Sudbury Breccia occur throughout the footwall rocks.

  Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization on the property is directly associated with the basal contact of the SIC and is hosted in Norite and Sublayer layers along the contact. On the property the SIC contact dips 45° to the north at surface, but gradually steepens until it rolls over dipping to the south where the Lockerby East Deposit is located (~900-1000 metres depth). Several additional rollovers associated with mineralization are modeled below based on a few mineralized drill holes.

  Two distinct types of sulphide mineralization exist on the property. Disseminated blebs and net textured sulfides hosted in Norite make up most of the mineralization within the West Graham Deposit. Mineralization along the contact is in the form massive to semi-massive sulfide stringers and breccia veins. Although some contact mineralization is observed within the West Graham Deposit, the best mineralization of this type is observed further down within Lockerby East Deposit.

  In 2009, First Nickel disclosed a NI 43-101 indicated resource for the West Graham Deposit totaling 8.55Mt grading 0.45% Ni and 0.31% Cu, along with an inferred resource of 2.0Mt grading 0.38% Ni and 0.30% Cu. The resource extends from 40 metres below surface to a depth of approximately 475 metres. The modelled zone ranges in thickness from 1.7 to 66 metres and strikes for 375 metres with a dip extent of up to 533 metres. The resource did not include any of the mineralization underlying the Crean Hill 3 Property and the (delete) stopped at the property boundary. Historical drilling completed by Inco (now Vale Canada) in 1958 to 1960 suggests the mineralized zone extends at least 600m further to the west across the Crean Hill 3 Property. (Historic drill intersections include hole WG-26 that intersected 0.73% Ni and 0.28% Cu over 71.33m including 39.47m of 1.09% Ni and 0.41% Cu.)

  In 2010, First Nickel disclosed a NI 43-101 indicated resource for the Lockerby East Deposit totaling 0.18Mt grading 2.32% Ni and 0.87% Cu, along with an inferred resource of 0.04Mt grading 2.90% Ni and 0.80% Cu. The mineralization is predominately contact style, with narrow (<5 metre thick) semi-massive to massive sulphide breccia veins anastomosing proximal to the granite/SIC contact. The distribution of mineralization appears to be controlled primarily by the nose of the roll-over in the SIC contact at a depth of approximately 1,075 metre. Historic underground drill intersections reported by First Nickel include hole FNI3414 that intersected 5.60% Ni, 1.26% Cu and 0.10% Co over 10.0 metre.

• Maps and Figures

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Photo Gallery