Aims for 2,000 meters at Canalask nickel-copper project in Yukon.

GT Resources Inc. July 8 announced the commencement of diamond drilling at the company's Canalask nickel-copper project in western Alaska, targeting significant electromagnetic anomalies to explore the potential for high-grade nickel-copper sulfide deposits.

GT Resources Inc.

Maxwell plates modeled from the historic Falconbridge UTEM survey conducted in 2005, along with historic drill holes.

Formerly Palladium One Mining Inc., GT Resources underwent a rebranding to better reflect a new focus on metals critical to clean transportation, electrical grid infrastructure, and conventional internal combustion engines.

GT Resources said in a February announcement on the decision that this evolution signifies the company's emphasis on a portfolio targeting nickel and copper exploration, with secondary interests in platinum group metals (PGM).

Acquired from Victoria Gold Corp. in mid-2022, Canalask is a 3,400-hectare (8,402-acre) property located near Beaver Creek and the Alaska Highway, roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Whitehorse.

Known for its strong potential for massive nickel-copper-PGM sulfide mineralization that dates back to the 1950s, Canalask has been the target of intermittent exploration over the decades that has uncovered numerous high-grade showings such as 4.7% nickel, 0.6% copper, and 6.82 grams per metric ton PGM in surface samples.

Last year, GT Resources conducted a high-resolution, ground-based electromagnetic survey to further refine historical geophysical conductors for drilling.

This was preceded by a 392-line-kilometer drone-based magnetometer survey in 2022, which helped in refining exploration targets. Highlights from grab samples collected in 2022 included grades of 2.14% nickel, 1.06% copper, and 6.07% copper, along with significant PGM concentrations.

This year's work, which is already underway, includes a maiden drilling program of up to 2,000 meters, as well as downhole electromagnetic (EM) surveys to further refine drill targets and enhance the understanding of subsurface mineralization.

"The first drill hole is well underway and is targeting a approximately 1,000-meter by 400-meter EM Maxell plate in the feeder dyke, proximal to the historic resource estimate containing 1.35% nickel in 400,000 metric tons (while abundant, copper was not historically reported)," said GT Resources President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch. "Given the strong EM response that we have, our target is massive sulphide (copper-nickel) mineralization in the main body of the feeder dyke."