Québec Nickel Corp revealed impressive new assay results from step-out drilling completed at the Fortin Sill Zone, at the Ducros Project, located 80 kilometres (km) northeast of Val-d’Or, Québec.
In addition, the Vancouver-based mineral exploration company also reported assay results from the Fortin Sill discovery outcrop channel sampling program that was completed earlier this summer.
Québec Nickel has a 100% interest in the Ducros property, consisting of 280 contiguous mining claims covering 15,147 hectares within the eastern portion of the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Québec.
To follow-up to the strong assays results returned from drill holes QDG-22-09 through QDG-22-11 at the Fortin Sill target earlier this year, the company said holes QDG-22-28 and QDG-22-29 were collared approximately 35 metres (m) to the east-southeast of QDG-22-09 and 25m to the southeast of the Fortin Sill discovery outcrop.
The company highlighted the following step-out drilling highlights:
- Magmatic nickel-copper- platinum-group elements (Ni-Cu-PGE) sulphides were encountered in two new holes collared to the southeast of the Fortin Sill Zone discovery outcrop
- Hole QDG-22-28 cored through a 29.90m interval averaging 0.30% Ni, 0.31% Cu, 167 parts per million (ppm) cobalt (Co), and 0.45 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum-palladium-gold (Pt-Pd-Au), which includes a higher-grade subinterval containing 0.46% Ni, 0.64% Cu, 209 ppm Co and 0.72 g/t Pt-Pd-Au over 3.24m
- Hole QDG-22-29 intersected a 11.80m interval containing 1.44% Ni, 1.49% Cu, 461 ppm Co and 2.79 g/t Pt-Pd-Au which includes a higher-grade subinterval assaying 1.85% Ni, 1.65% Cu (3.50% Ni + Cu), 576 ppm Co and 3.27 g/t Pt-Pd-Au over 8.43m
Moreover, the company said that a new permit application has been submitted to the Québec government that will allow for the creation of multiple new access trails and drilling pads adjacent to and along the interpreted strike of the Fortin Sill Zone and additional expansion drilling at the Fortin Sill nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE-gold zone.
Fortin Sill Zone channel sampling assay program
The firm said results have been received for channel samples collected at the Fortin Sill discovery outcrop in June. The work was completed to verify the results from the limited channel sampling program completed at the Fortin Sill showing by Golden Valley Mines in 2007.
The company highlighted the results returned from Channel 2, where a 13m interval returned 1.30% Ni and Cu, 179 ppm Co, and 1.39 g/t Pt-Pd-Au and Channel 5, which assayed 1.08% Ni and Cu, 207 ppm Co, 1.26 g/t Pt-Pd-Au over 14.45m.
The north half of Channel 4 was cut within a few metres to the historical Golden Valley channel and returned results comparable to those published by Golden Valley, added the company.
In an update, Quebec Nickel said a total of 9,000m in 36 drill holes have been completed at the Ducros project, all of which have been drilled at the eastern part of the property. Of these totals, approximately 800m have been allocated to drill testing the Fortin Gold Showing, which occurs less than 100m away from the Fortin Sill Ni-Cu-PGE Zone. Assay results are still pending for this series of holes and will be released once received.
In addition to diamond drilling and channel sampling, a property-wide biogeochemistry survey is being completed which will be used to refine future drill targets. To date, over 800 black spruce bark samples have been collected and submitted to ALS Global’s analytical laboratory in Vancouver.
Separately, the firm highlighted the appointment of mining industry veteran Christine Petch to the company’s board, as formalized at its annual general meeting of shareholders on August 3, 2022.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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