CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. has provided an update on the ongoing 10,000 metre drill program at the high-grade nickel and copper-cobalt Manibridge project in the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba. The current drill program is focused along the northern extension of the past-producing Manibridge Nickel Mine. The mine produced 1.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.55% nickel and 0.27% copper from 1971 to 1977. CanAlaska currently holds a 30% interest in the project, with the remaining 70% held by the current operator, Metal Energy Corp.
Drill program is planned for 10,000 metres of diamond drilling in approximately 33 drill holes. During the first half of the program, operated between June 6 and July 28, 2022, a total of 5,331 metres were completed in 16 drill holes with 3 abandoned drill holes. The completed drill hole collar locations were within 300 to 600 metres of the historic mine workings. All sixteen drill holes that successfully intersected the bedrock also intersected Ni-Cu-Co sulphide mineralization, confirmed with a portable Niton XL5 XRF (pXRF). The Ni-Cu-Co sulphides occur as either disseminations within the mafic to ultramafic host rocks, remobilizations along foliation and shears, vein-hosted, net-textured, or brecciated.
The remaining planned drill holes will focus within 150 to 300 metres of the historic mine workings. The average planned drill hole depths are between 225 and 400 metres and all drill holes will be inclined between -45˚ and -85˚. Figure 2 shows the completed and planned drill hole locations with respect to the historic Manibridge Mine.
Geochemical assays for the completed drill holes are still being processed, but will be released as they become available from the laboratory, and after QA/QC by the Company’s Technical team.
CanAlaska CEO, Cory Belyk, comments, “It is good to have Metal Energy drilling again on this high-grade nickel project in the prolific Thompson Nickel Belt, the fifth largest of its kind on the planet. The results to date support the exploration thesis of CanAlaska’s project generator team for the nearby and 100% CanAlaska-owned Resting Lake and Halfway nickel projects. CanAlaska’s shareholders are well exposed to the battery metals space through our low-cost generative investment in the Thompson Nickel Belt.“