The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
2023 drilling will likely double resource estimate for Nikolai North of 60 Mining News - December 20, 2023
Alaska Energy Metals is incorporating the eight holes drilled during the 2023 season at Nikolai into an expanded resource estimate for the Eureka Zone.
Click on image for larger 2023 Eureka Zone drill map.
Alaska Energy Metals Corp. Dec. 19 reported assays from the final two holes from a 2023 drill program that has confirmed the outstanding consistency of nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group metals mineralization along a 1,200-meter stretch of the 10-mile- (16 kilometers) long Eureka Zone on the company's Nikolai project in Alaska.
According to a calculation based entirely on historical drilling, two small pits located about 1,800 meters apart host 319.6 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.22% (1.55 billion lb) nickel, 0.02% (115 million lb) cobalt, 0.05% (372 million lb) copper, and 0.13 grams per metric ton (1.34 million ounces) palladium-platinum-gold.
The eight holes drilled by Alaska Energy this year are expected to expand the southeasternmost of the two resource pits by about 1,000 meters to the northwest and 200 meters to the southeast.
Previously reported assays from the 2023 Eureka Zone drilling include:
• 341.6 meters averaging 0.23% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.107 g/t palladium, 0.051 g/t platinum, and 0.011 g/t gold in hole EZ-23-001.
• 296.6 meters averaging 0.23% nickel, 0.09% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.115 g/t palladium, 0.052 g/t platinum, and 0.013 g/t gold in hole EZ-23-002.
• 324.6 meters averaging 0.23% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.119 g/t palladium, 0.053 g/t platinum, and 0.011 g/t gold in hole EZ-23-003.
• 317.2 meters averaging 0.23% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.109 g/t palladium, 0.049 g/t platinum, and 0.012 g/t gold in EZ-23-004.
• 356.2 meters averaging 0.22% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.122 g/t palladium, 0.057 g/t platinum, and 0.014 g/t gold in hole EZ-23-005.
• 192.5 meters averaging 0.21% nickel, 0.05% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.078 g/t palladium, 0.039 g/t platinum, and 0.012 g/t gold in EZ-23-006.
The final assays are from the two northwesternmost holes drilled this year. Highlights include:
• 310.4 meters averaging 0.21% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.106 g/t palladium, 0.052 g/t platinum, and 0.013 g/t gold in EZ-23-007.
• 318.6 meters averaging 0.21% nickel, 0.1% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.117 g/t palladium, 0.057 g/t platinum, and 0.013 g/t gold in EZ-23-008.
"With these final 2023 drilling program assay results in hand, we can now work to calculate an update to our mineral resource inventory. We anticipate producing this update in the first quarter of 2024," said Alaska Energy Metals President and CEO Gregory Beischer.
It is anticipated that the inclusion of the 2023 drilling will double the quantities of nickel, copper, cobalt, and PGMs reporting to the expanded Eureka Zone resource.
Looking ahead to 2024, Alaska Energy is planning an aggressive program to extend the resource to cover a more than 5,000-meter stretch of the Eureka Zone that encompasses both current resource pits.
"With a strong foundation and increased confidence in the exploration pipeline, based on the highly positive results received from this year's drilling program, we anticipate an ambitious, expanded program for the summer of 2024," said Beischer. "We remain dedicated to responsible resource development and will continue to work towards uncovering a domestic supply of nickel, which is essential to a growing number of industries and critical for America's energy future."
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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