TORONTO, April 25, 2018 /CNW/ - Nickel Creek Platinum
Corp. ("Nickel Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to report
that its Phase II metallurgical testwork program ("Phase II
Metallurgical Program") on the Nickel Shäw Project (the "Project")
located in the Yukon, Canada is
advancing into Mini Pilot Plant ("MPP") testing. The Phase II
Metallurgical Program is the most in-depth and comprehensive
analytical undertaking that has ever been applied to the Nickel
Shäw Project.
Diane Garrett, President and CEO
of the Company commented "During 2017 we produced a quality,
marketable bulk Ni-Cu-PGM concentrate (see press release dated
March 1, 2017). Prior to finalizing
the mine plan, we decided to test the viability of separating the
nickel and copper concentrates. Producing two separate concentrates
is expected to result in enhanced economics for the Project and
provide us with requisite flexibility in marketing the
concentrates. Our recently completed work has demonstrated that
there are no barriers to the technical process of separating nickel
and copper. We will now begin a mini pilot plant test program which
enables the production of separate nickel and copper concentrates
and quantifies the grades and recoveries of those concentrates.
Precious metals (PGMs and gold) and cobalt will be measured in the
concentrates.
"The commencement of MPP testing is the final stage of the
metallurgical testing at the Nickel Shäw Project. Over the past 18
months the Company has focused on de-risking Nickel Shäw through a
series of detailed and scientifically based studies including a new
geologic model, the Phase I Metallurgical program, which
demonstrated viability of producing a saleable bulk concentrate, a
foundation for an optimized mine plan and process flow sheet, and a
new NI 43-101 resource estimate. By the end of the current
and final stage of metallurgical testwork, the Company should be
well positioned to continue moving the Project up the value chain
towards the goal of advancing the Project to become Canada's next large scale
nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM sulfide producer."
Metallurgical Program Update
The Company commenced its Phase II Metallurgical Program in
September 2017 with an initial focus
on flowsheet optimization and batch scale testing to determine the
viability of split concentrate production prior to advancing to MPP
steady state testing (see news release dated January 22nd, 2018). This
program has been conducted in partnership with XPS Expert Process
Solutions, a Sudbury based
technical consultancy firm that is conducting the metallurgical
testwork on behalf of Nickel Creek and has extensive experience in
flowsheet development and nickel-copper separation. The MPP is the
property of XPS and replicates, at a small scale, a commercial
processing flowsheet. Over the last six months the metallurgical
program has achieved numerous milestones, including:
- Reassess and confirm primary grind: As part of the
flowsheet optimization, there has been success with using a coarser
grind than required in previous testing. A coarser grind has the
potential to provide several economic advantages to the ultimate
flowsheet design.
- Reduce reagent and retention time: There have been
positive results using less reagents under a low pH environment and
migrating to higher flotation density in the rougher circuits –
resulting in lower potential operating costs associated with
reagents and projected size of flotation circuit capital
expenditures.
- Demonstrate copper/nickel separation: As outlined in the
January 2018 news release referenced
above, we were able to demonstrate from open circuit tests and
mineralogical evaluation that there were no barriers to achieving
separate copper and nickel concentrates.
- Prepare for MPP testing using representative Run-of-Mine
(ROM) samples: The MPP metallurgical program will be conducted
on composites generated from the ~4,000 kg of material obtained
from the 2017 drill program. The composites have been selected and
blended to ensure they are representative of Nickel Shäw production
material and were tested to validate grade, geological and spatial
representivity of the deposit.
The MPP testing will commence shortly with production runs
operating on a 24-hour schedule. The Company expects to report on
the results from this program early in the third quarter of this
year. Upon completion of the Phase II Metallurgical Program, Nickel
Creek should be in a position to incorporate the results into a new
mine plan and economic model to serve as a basis for a Preliminary
Economic Assessment ("PEA"), which will also incorporate the
complete findings from the last 18 months of technical studies on
the Project. Results from the PEA are expected to be released
in the fall of 2018.
Exploration Program For 2018
Looking ahead, the Company is planning an exploration program to
examine the endowment potential within the Nickel Shäw Project
area. The current resource area spans over 2.2 km in strike length
along an 18 km trend within the land package held by the
Company. Historic and current high-level mapping, geophysics,
and limited previous drilling provide us with confidence that
additional mineralization beyond the known resource may be
identified.
Following up on the 2017 mapping program, the Company is
planning to conduct a geophysics program this year to test several
of the underexplored targets, including: the western extension of
the deposit, as well as Arch, North Arm, Trove and Quill. The
program will incorporate a comprehensive pole/dipole induced
polarization ("IP") survey to potentially locate additional
disseminated sulphides. Through this work, the Company aims to
identify additional drill targets along the strike length of the
system to determine whether the already large resource is part of
an even larger, district scale system.
"Nickel Creek Platinum is committed to working diligently to
increase shareholder value and maintaining the highest level of
commitment to our Project's many stakeholders." Noted Diane Garrett "We appreciate the support from
our shareholders who understand this work is a necessary and
critically important step in a project's development. We
believe we are uniquely positioned for the current market which has
an ever-growing demand for commodities related to electric vehicles
and grid storage."
About Nickel Creek Platinum Corp.
Nickel Creek
Platinum Corp. (TSX: NCP; OTCQX: NCPCF) is a Canadian mining
exploration and development company focused on advancing its
100%-owned Nickel Shäw Project with a view to creating Canada's next world-class nickel sulphide
mine. The Project has exceptional access to infrastructure, located
three hours west of Whitehorse via
the paved Alaska Highway, which
further offers year-round access to deep-sea shipping ports in
southern Alaska.
The Company is led by a management team with a proven track
record of successful discovery, development, financing and
operation of large-scale projects. Our vision is to create value
for our stakeholders through development of the Nickel Shäw Project
into a leading North American nickel, copper and PGM producer.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical
information disclosed in this news release in relation to
metallurgical testing, including with respect to the Phase II
Metallurgical Program, was reviewed and approved by Gordon Marrs, P. Eng., who is a "Qualified
Person" as defined in NI 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for
Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and an independent consultant
to the Company. All other scientific and technical
information disclosed in this news release was reviewed and
approved by James Berry, Nickel
Creek's Chief Geologist and a "Qualified Person" as defined in NI
43-101. Please see the technical report dated June 26, 2017, filed under the Company's profile
at www.sedar.com, for a description of the Company's data
verification and QA/QC procedures.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information:
This news release includes certain information that may be
deemed "forward-looking information". Forward-looking information
can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "believe",
"continue", "plans" or similar terminology, or negative
connotations thereof. All information in this release, other than
information of historical facts, including, without limitation,
regarding the results or expected results of the Phase II
Metallurgical Program, MPP and other technical test work, the
potential to produce separate saleable copper and nickel
concentrates, the potential for favourable impacts to Project
capital requirements and operating costs, the potential to advance
the Project to production, the potential to identify additional
mineralization beyond the known resource, timing of releasing test
results as well as results of a PEA, and general future plans and
objectives for the Company and the Nickel Shäw Project, are
forward-looking information that involve various risks and
uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations
expressed in such forward-looking information are based on
reasonable assumptions, such expectations are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking information. For more
information on the Company and the key assumptions, risks and
challenges with respect to the forward-looking information
discussed herein, and about our business in general, investors
should review the Company's most recently filed annual information
form, and other continuous disclosure filings which are available
at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to
update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with
applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Nickel Creek Platinum Corp.