Prospector Metals Corp. (TSX-V:PPP, OTCQX:ETHOF) told investors that its maiden diamond drilling program has commenced at its 100%-owned district-scale Whitton nickel-copper-platinum group elements (Ni-Cu-PGE) project.
The company said the Whitton project, formerly known as the Heaven Lake project, is a 100%-owned district-scale project covering 4,400 hectares (44 square kilometres) located 20 kilometres (km) north of Impala Canada's Lac des Iles PGE-nickel-copper mine in Ontario.
“We are very excited to begin the first-ever drill campaign at our Whitton Ni-Cu-PGE project in Ontario,” Prospector president and CEO Alex Heath said in a statement. “Within the span of two years, Prospector has advanced Whitton from staking to drilling - demonstrating the company's ability to systematically advance projects in a cost-effective manner while providing significant discovery potential.”
Whitton Ni-Cu-PGE project highlights:
- Road-accessible project located within 20 km of Impala's operating Lac des Iles platinum-palladium-nickel-copper mine;
- Property has seen little historical exploration and no drilling to date;
- The presence of low-grade, yet significantly anomalous Ni-Cu-PGE values in rocks with less than 5% total sulphide (disseminated) suggests that rocks with massive sulphide concentrations could yield much higher metal values;
- Modeling of the VTEM survey conducted in 2021 defined strong, steeply dipping, linear conductors, including the Whitton conductor which measures 3.5 km in length;
- Subsequent 2021 prospecting and mapping successfully confirmed the presence of sulphidic mafic-ultramafic intrusive rocks, locally anomalous in Ni, Cu, and Pd-Pt;
- Maiden diamond drilling program of up to 1,000m will target the newly identified, never previously drilled, shallow, steeply dipping electromagnetic conductors (EM) to test for Ni-Cu magmatic sulphides; and
- A multi-year exploration permit was issued at the beginning of April 2022.
Whitton geology overview
Prospector explained that the property covers the Heaven Lake Greenstone Belt, accessed via a main provincial highway and an extensive network of forestry roads that cut through the claim block. There has been no recorded staking activity since the early 2000s with only sporadic work for Zn-Cu-Ag (1970s-1990s) and Ni-Cu-PGE (2000-2002), and no previously recorded gold exploration despite a favorable geological setting and nearby mine complex.
The company said Whitton represents a unique setting for VMS base metal, mafic magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE and lode gold within overlapping rock types and structural sites with multiple major zones along a northeast trend, that are favorable trends for syn-volcanic VMS mineralization, MUM intrusions with Ni-Cu-(PGE) sulfides, and development of shear zones hosting lode gold deposits. All three of these possibilities are evident from the mapped geology and aeromagnetics, the company added.
Robust geophysical targets from modelled 2021 VTEM conductors are ready to drill, for both MUM-hosted Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides at the Whitton target and for syn-volcanic VMS deposits in the Syncline target in the southwestern portion of the claim block.
Prospector Metals is a Discovery Group company focused on district-scale, early-stage exploration of gold and base metal prospects and creating shareholder value through new discoveries.
The company's focus is to identify underexplored or overlooked mineral districts which display important structural and mineralogical similarities with well-endowed mining camps.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com