The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Mining Explorers 2009: Hard Creek Nickel Corp.

HNC: TSX

President and CEO: Mark Jarvis

Executive Vice President: Neil Froc

Manager of Geology: Tony Hitchins

Hard Creek Nickel Corp., organized 26 years ago in British Columbia, is developing its core asset, the Turnagain Project, a giant disseminated nickel-sulphide deposit in

the Liard Mining Division of northern British Columbia, about 70 kilometers, or 43 miles, east of Dease Lake.

The claims are contiguous, and cover more than 33,220 hectares, or 80,060 acres.

A 2008 NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate for Turnagain calculated measured and indicated resources at 576 million metric tons grading 0.219 percent total nickel and 0.010 percent cobalt, plus an inferred resource of 545 million metric tons grading 0.204 percent total nickel and 0.011 percent cobalt.

A 2007 preliminary assessment envisions a 50,000-metric-ton-per-day mill throughput and a strip ratio of 0.44 to 1.

The project would produce an average of 20,397 metric tons per year of nickel and 1,301 tpa of cobalt in hydroxide for 29 years.

Current work programs include metallurgical and engineering studies and baseline environmental studies.

During 2008, Hard Creek drilled 15 holes for a total of 4,105 meters in a C$4.5 million exploration program.

The drilling was designed to provide infill holes to increase the confidence level of the nickel resource in the projected starter pit areas of the Horsetrail deposit and to explore the potential of the Cliff zone to add a platinum-palladium component to the mine development plan.

During the first half of 2009, Hard Creek focused on a relational drill-hole database for Turnagain, geological and mineralization model refinement, metallurgical test work and First Nation discussions.

No additional drilling is required on the property, though the deposit has potential for expansion.

Hard Creek also holds, by staking, several additional areas of interest in the Liard Mining Division including the Bobner Creek, Lime 1, Lime 2 and the Dease Lime claims.

The junior did some prospecting on these claims in 2008 and 2009 and assessment work was filed to keep them in good standing until March 1, 2012.

Cash and short-term deposits: C$2.7 million (at June 30, 2009)

Working capital: C$4,627,715 (at June 30, 2009)

Market capitalization: C$13.3 million

Suite 1060 - 1090 W. Georgia St.

Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 3V7

Tel: 604-681-2300 • Fax: 604-681-2310

http://www.hardcreek.com

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 12/09/2024 00:45