NISK
High-Grade Nickel, Copper, Cobalt and PGE
NISK is a high-grade nickel-copper sulphide deposit with mineralizations for multiple battery metals including Nickel, Copper, Cobalt, Palladium and Platinum.
Located in Quebec, Canada NISK benefits from:
- Generous tax credits that cover 50% of exploration costs
- Hydro-Quebec substation across the road supplying low-carbon inexpensive hydropower
- Stable political environment with strong government and first nation partners
- Located beside major highway and nearby town
- Shallow mineral depth
Click here to see recent data from our assays, surveys and collars
NISK Property Description
The Nisk property is composed of two blocks totaling 90 claims covering an area of 45.9 km2 and a length of over 20 km. The Route du Nord from Chibougamau runs inside the south border of the Property. Nisk-1 is also traversed in a NE direction by a Hydro-Québec power line and a road that heads north to the Eastmain River and beyond to the La Grande River area.
The Nisk project offers strong nickel potential in a well-established area. The Nisk property covers a large part of the regional volcano-sedimentary unit, a favourable unit that hosts Nemaska Lithium's Wabouchi lithium deposit and the Lemarre showing.
Located in the northeastern part of the Superior geological province, and more specifically in the northeastern part of the Lac des Montagnes Formation, the Lac des Montagnes volcano-sedimentary belt is a sequence of aluminous metasediments and amphibolites containing basalts and ultramafic sills.
These rocks are highly sheared and cut by 20% late granitoids (leucogranite and biotite pegmatite).
Geology
The Lac des Montagnes volcano-sedimentary formation crosses the property in a NE direction. The geology covered by the property is mainly composed of biotite, sillimanite, staurotide and garnet-bearing gneisses and granites, pegmatites, amphibolites and ultramafic intrusive rocks. Geophysical surveys show the signature and extent of ultramafic intrusions, some of which have been historically confirmed by drilling. The North of the Lac des Montagnes formation is mainly composed by orthogneisses intruded by granites, while the South area of this formation is composed principally of paragneisses, also intruded by granites.
Mineralization
The property is currently known for its magmatic nickel-copper sulphide deposits associated with ultramafic intrusion potential. Along with high-grade intercepts for Nickel and Copper, there are significant mineralizations for other battery metals including Cobalt, Palladium and Platinum.
Regional Magnetics
Pods of Nickel
Nisk has four distinct target areas covering over 7 Kilometres of strike length. Our focus has been on the Nisk Main target. Historically, we know that nickel sulphide deposits typically have multiple pods and we believe NISK is no exception. We are encouraged by what we see on Nisk Main and feel we can continue to build commercial tonnage there but we are also looking forward to exploring Nisk West and the two wildcat targets in subsequent drilling.
Nisk-1 Ni-Cu-Co-PGE deposit
The Nisk-1 deposit is located at UTM coordinates 459,950 mE / 5,728,500 mN. It is hosted in an elongated body of serpentinized ultramafic rocks that intrude the Lac des Montagnes paragneiss and amphibolite sequence. The ultramafic rock intrusion is a sill bordered by paragneisses and amphibolites. Quite similar on either side of the ultramafic sill, they still can be subdivided into a lower paragneiss sequence ("LPS") to the NW of the sill (stratigraphically older) and an upper paragneiss sequence ("UPS") to the SE of the sill (stratigraphically younger).
The ultramafic sill is not a single intrusion. At least two distinct lithological units can be identified. The first, a grey serpentinized peridotite with magnetite veinlets, does not contain any sulphide minerals. The second is a black serpentinized peridotite with chrysotile veinlets. The Ni-Cu-Co-Fe sulphide mineralization is invariably associated with this black serpentinite.
sIn summary and on average, the sequence intersected by drilling, (striking N164°E with a 50° to 70° plunge to the SE) in the ultramafic body is as follows: (i) 35 meters of unmineralized grey serpentinite; (ii) 4 meters of unmineralized black serpentinite; (iii) 12 meters of massive to disseminated sulphides in black serpentinite; and (iv) 27 meters of unmineralized black serpentinite, sometimes alternating with the grey serpentinite, also unmineralized.
The Nisk-1 deposit is the only mineralized zone with estimated resources on the property.
Historical Resources
The existing resource estimates at the Nisk project are of historic nature and therefore caution is appropriate since these historic estimates cannot, and should not be relied upon.
Power Nickel's recent drilling program was designed to confirm these historic resources and the company's geology team is working to complete an updated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource that reflects the recent drill program. Expect to see this in the months ahead.
The information contained in the table above is derived from the technical report titled Resource Estimate for the NISK-1 Deposit, Lac Levac Property, Nemiscau, Québec dated December 2009. The key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the mineral resource estimates are set out in the linked technical report.
Historic High Grade Nickel Intercepts
Nisk has historically had some very high-grade Nickel intercepts as shown below. The Grade-Thickness iso-contours are representative of the nickel distribution only
Analysis and QAQC Procedures
All samples were submitted to and analyzed at ALS Global ("ALS"), an independent commercial laboratory located in Val-d'Or, Québec for both the sample preparation and assaying. ALS is a commercial laboratory independent of Power Nickel with no interest in the Project. ALS is an ISO 9001 and 17025 certified and accredited laboratory. Samples submitted through ALS are run through standard preparation methods and analyzed using ME-ICP61a (33 element Suite; 0.4g sample; Intermediate Level Four Acid Digestion) and PGM-ICP27 (Pt, Pd, and Au; 30g fire assay and ICP-AES Finish) methods. ALS also undertakes its own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration.
Power Nickel's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks into the sample stream with a stringent review of all results. Historic holes were assayed by various accredited laboratories.
2021 Drilling Program
Results obtained during the 2021 drilling program are from 7 holes that were planned to either confirm or expand the historical resources reported in 2009. These results, presented below, successfully demonstrated the existence of the Nisk main mineralized lense, and appear to be representative of what was expected from the historical work.
* UTM NAD83, Zone 18N
** True widths are estimated to be 70 to 90% of core length
The table above and the illustration below detail the current results and location of drill holes covered in the releases dated March 1, March 14, and March 30, 2022.
2022 and 2023 Drilling Program
Recent assay results from the current drill program at the Nisk deposit continue to return high grade Ni-Cu-Co sulphide and PGE mineralization.
- Significant results from this batch of assays include:
- 10.25 metres of 1.4% Ni, 0.88% Cu, 0.09% Co, and 2.52 g/t Pd, 0.56 g/t Pt in PN-22-012
- 6.85 metres 1.93% Ni, 1.06% Cu, 0.12% Co, and 3.60 g/t Pd, 0.29 g/t Platinum in PN-22-012
- 5.2 metres 0.99% Ni, 0.68 Cu, 0.06% Co, and .99 g/t Pd, 0.52 g/t Pt in PN-22-011
- 3.5 metres of 1.23% Ni, 0.73% Cu, 0.07% Co and 3.17 g/t Pd, 0.36 Pt in hole PN-22-014
- 3.2 metres of 1.15% Ni, 0.39% Cu, 0.09% Co and .83 g/t Pd, 0.10 Pt in hole PN-22-017
Drilling is ongoing and expected to continue through to breakup in Late April/Early May 2023
These initial drill results confirm the presence of high-grade Ni-Cu-Co-PGE mineralization in the Nisk Main zone and extends mineralization by an additional 150 metres at depth and to the east and below to central portion.
Table 1 below presents the significant results received to date from drill holes PN-22-008 through to PN-22-021.
Table 1: Significant results from the 2022 drilling program.
- UTM NAD83, Zone 18N.
- True widths are estimated to be 60 to 70% of the Interval Length.
Fourteen (14) holes were completed in the fall of 2022 for the second phase of drilling at Nisk. An additional seven (7) holes have been completed in the winter 2023 drill program. This release comprises results covering the mineralized target for five (5) holes: PN-22-011, PN-22-012, PN-22-014, PN-22-017 and PN-22-018.
Figure 1 - Longitudinal view of the Nisk Main presenting the currently available assay results.
Significant results from PN-22-014 have confirmed the presence of nickel mineralization in the areas defined as targets. Such assay indicates that the mineralization extends to a minimum of 150 metres below the deepest known intercepts.
Figure 2 and 3 below present section views along the two of the reported drillholes.
Figure 2 - Cross section view presenting current assay results in hole PN-22-012
Figure 3 - Cross section view presenting current assay results in hole PN-22-014
The results in Holes PN-22-011 and PN-22-012 were significant, maintaining a very high NIEQ Flow that is continuing at depth. Peripheral holes PN-22-014, and PN-22-017 showed to be just outside the river of nickel but even so had some interesting kicker zones. Adding these holes to holes 22-009 from earlier in the campaign and PN-21-003A from the first drill program and we are seeing a very robust drill response.
Since our last release, we have also hired Fleet Technologies to utilize their cutting-edge Ambient Noise Technology to help us visualize our current deposit focusing on the one (1) square Kilometre main Nisk zone. These new assays will provide further data for Fleet to potentially generate a signature for the High NIEQ Zones within this prospective area that we can then use to more effectively and in a more environmentally beneficial way identify other target zones whether associated with the current area of interest or in our forty-five (45) Square Kilometre land package.
We have now reported on ten (10) of the fourteen (14) holes drilled in the Fall 2022 Campaign and have another ten (10) holes to come with perhaps another ten (10) completed by the end of the winter 2023 program. At that time, we will have the results of our new metallurgical report and would we expect be in a position to deliver a NI 43-101 technical report by end of June or early July.
The map shows the Fall and Winter drilling program with reported holes to date and the balance of the fall program.
Technical Analysis & Due Diligence
Open and Transparent Data
We strongly believe in empowering investors to dive deeper into all of our NISK data. We invite interested investors to visit the NISK data page to interactively explore all relevant data about NISK; or, if you prefer to explore the data in your own way you can simply download all the data for your own use.
