The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Mining Explorers 2024 - January 15, 2025
A drill tests Odie, one of the three prospects tested during Alaska Energy Metals' 2024 drilling on the Canwell block of claims at Nikolai.
Alaska Energy Metals Nikolai project claims outlined in orange, and KoBold Metals' adjacent nickel exploration properties in purple.
Alaska Energy Metals tested three of the 10 nickel targets identified so far on the Canwell claims.
Alaska Energy Metals Corp. kicked off 2024 with a mineral resource encompassing more than 8 billion pounds of nickel in the Eureka Zone on its Nikolai project and compelling evidence that this bulk tonnage deposit is substantially larger than what was outlined during the company's inaugural drill program at this project about 80 miles southeast of Delta Junction, Alaska.
Alaska Energy Metals Nikolai project claims outlined in orange, and KoBold Metals' adjacent nickel exploration properties in purple.
Nikolai is comprised of two blocks of claims – Eureka and Canwell – that each host compelling nickel targets. Alaska Energy Metal's inaugural drill program in 2023 focused primarily on establishing a world-class deposit at Eureka, which hosts a very large and thick body of disseminated nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group metals mineralization.
Results from the 2023 and previous drilling outlined a deposit at Eureka Zone that hosts 813 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.22% (3.88 billion lb) nickel, 0.07% (1.28 billion lb) copper, 0.02% (303 million lb) cobalt, and 0.15 grams per metric ton (4.03 million oz) palladium-platinum-gold; plus 896 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.21% (4.23 billion lb) nickel, 0.05% (1.04 billion lb) copper, 0.02% (327 million lb) cobalt, and 0.12 g/t (1.34 million oz) palladium-platinum-gold.
"In less than a year, we have taken an exploration concept to a substantial deposit of nickel and other critical metals," said Alaska Energy Metals President and CEO Greg Beischer.
While geological and geophysical evidence clearly shows critical metals enriched disseminated sulfide mineralization at Eureka remains open along strike and to depth, Alaska Energy Metals began its 2024 drill program by testing high-grade targets on the Canwell block of claims.
Lying on the east side of the Richardson Highway, approximately 12 miles northwest of Eureka, Canwell hosts at least 10 exploration targets with high-grade nickel in outcropping massive sulfides.
Alaska Energy Metals tested three of the 10 nickel targets identified so far on the Canwell claims.
Based on mapping, sampling, and geophysical surveys carried out in 2023, Alaska Energy Metals drilled one hole to test each of the Emerick, Odie, and Upper Canwell targets.
Highlights from the 1,048 meter of exploration drilling at Canwell in 2024 include:
• 56.5 meters averaging 0.26% nickel, 0.62% chromium, 7% iron, 0.01% cobalt, 0.01% copper, 0.02 g/t palladium, and 0.03 g/t platinum in hole CAN-24-001 (Emerick).
• 193.6 meters averaging 0.26% nickel, 0.69% chromium, 8.58% iron, 0.01% cobalt, 0.01% copper, 0.04 g/t palladium, and 0.04 g/t platinum in hole CAN-24-00 (Odie).
• 429.3 meters averaging 0.24% nickel, 0.64% chromium, 8.12% iron, 0.01% cobalt, 0.01% copper, 0.03 g/t palladium, and 0.04 g/t platinum.
Considering that the distance between the northwesternmost hole at Emerick and the southeasternmost hole at Upper Canwell is roughly five miles, the remarkable consistency of the grade of mineralization between these three holes is intriguing.
"After 20 years of limited exploration on the Canwell property, the information collected from these drill holes will aid our understanding of the mineralized ultramafic systems within the Wrangellia Terrane of Interior Alaska," said Alaska Energy Metals Chief Geologist Gabe Graf. "We look forward to getting back into these areas in the next exploration season."
After wrapping up its initial round of drilling at Canwell, Alaska Energy Metals drilled four holes that extended the Eureka Zone to the southeast.
Highlights from the 2024 holes at Eureka include:
• 308.2 meters averaging 0.21% nickel, 0.08% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.09 g/t palladium, 0.04 g/t platinum, and 0.02 g/t gold from a depth of 53.9 meters in hole EZ-24-009.
• 337.4 meters averaging 0.22% nickel, 0.07% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.1 g/t palladium, 0.04 g/t platinum, and 0.01 g/t gold from a depth of 45.7 meters in hole EZ-24-010.
• 330.9 meters averaging 0.2% nickel, 0.07% copper, 0.02% cobalt, 0.09 g/t palladium, 0.04 g/t platinum, and 0.01 g/t gold from a depth of 18.1 meters in hole EZ-24-012.
With all four holes cutting mineralization with grades remarkabley similar to the resource, Alaska Energy Metals anticipates that the 2024 Eureka Zone expansion drilling completed will add significant tonnage and metals to an updated resource slated for completion early this year.
The Eureka Zone extends for at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) along strike and the deposit outlined so far remains open to the northwest, southeast, and to depth.
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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