Magna Mining Inc (TSX-V:NICU) told investors that further drilling at the 109 Footwall Zone (FW) at its Crean Hill Mine in Sudbury, Ontario, has identified the high-grade platinum group metal (PGM) zone as a potential site for an exploration bulk sample in late 2023.
Releasing additional assets from a series of short, near-surface drill holds immediately beneath the surface of the zone, the company highlighted hole MCB-23-018, which revealed 0.2% nickel (Ni), 0.1% copper (Cu), 5.4 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum, palladium and gold (Pt + Pd + Au) over 27 metres (m), while hole MCB-23-021 showed 0.2% Ni, 0.5 % Cu, 7.3 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 16.9m.
The company said activities at Crean Hill are progressing on schedule, noting that the additional 109 FW Zone assay results are part of a definition drilling program to improve its understanding of the near-surface mineralization in this area.
“The near-surface location of this high-grade mineralization, along with the proximity to third-party mills in Sudbury, will allow for a low-cost bulk sampling program and we expect to be able to fund the surface bulk sample from our existing cash balance,” commented Magna CEO Jason Jessup.
“The surface bulk sample is expected to be completed before the end of the year, and it will be a significant step towards our goal of producing from near surface underground zones of the Crean Hill deposit via ramp access in early 2024.”
Drilling continues to intersect near surface, high-grade precious metal mineralization, and improve the understanding of the distribution of mineralization within the footwall breccia, the company added.
PEA update
Magna also announced that the ongoing Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Crean Hill Mine is nearing completion, and expected to be released in late July.
It said the PEA base case will consider the mine as a stand-alone operation, with mineralization processed through one of the third-party mills in Sudbury.
In Section 24 of the PEA, an alternative processing scenario will be evaluated, where Crean Hill material is processed through a future mill at the company’s Shakespeare Project.
"The drilling that Magna has completed since releasing the Mineral Resource Estimate for Crean Hill has been quite positive and has greatly enhanced our understanding of the footwall zones at the deposit,” Dave King, Magna’s senior vice president of technical services added.
“We now believe that with more detailed wireframing and block modeling, there may be improvements to the grade of both the 101 and 109 FW Zones. After internal discussions, the decision has been made to not include any of Magna's drilling in the PEA, in order to have the PEA completed and released in Q3. These results, along with the remaining 7,000-8,000 metres of drilling yet to be completed in 2023, will be included in the next technical study."
Magna Mining is an exploration and development company focused on nickel, copper and PGM projects in the Sudbury Region of Ontario, Canada. The company's flagship assets are the past-producing Shakespeare and Crean Hill Mines.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com