Lockerby East

 

The Lockerby East (LKE) Project is located ~20 km west of Sudbury, Ontario within the southwest corner of the Sudbury Basin, and consists of approximately 390 hectares of freehold patents. The property includes 100% of the Lockerby East and South Patents as well as a 70% interest in the West Graham Deposit (WGD) (30% owned by Landore Resources Canada Ltd.).

The property is adjacent to the past producing Lockerby Mine and hosts the past producing LKE Deposit that was accessed and mined via a 1.1 km access drift extending from the 3800 Level of the Lockerby Mine. In 2009, First Nickel Inc. (FNI) disclosed a NI 43-101 Indicated Resource for the WGD totaling 8.55Mt grading 0.45% Ni and 0.31% Cu, along with an Inferred Resource of 2.0 Mt grading 0.38% Ni and 0.30% Cu.

Adjacent to this resource at depth lies the LKE Deposit with an Indicated Resource of 0.18Mt grading 2.32% Ni, 0.78% Cu.

On May 5th, 2016 Sudbury Platinum Corp (SPC) announced the acquisition of the Lockerby East and West Graham Properties from Transition Metals Corp. (XTM) for costs totaling $220,081.

 

 

Geology and Mineralization

 

The LKE Property is situated in the southwest portion of the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC) which is estimated to contain in excess of 1.6 billion tons of Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization at an average grade of 1.2%Ni, 1.0% Cu and 0.8g/t Pt+Pd.

The property straddles the contact between the Proterozoic aged Huronian Supergroup rocks to the south and the crystalline igneous rock of the SIC to the north. Locally the footwall rocks are dominated by mafic volcanics of the Elsie Mountain Fm. and granitic rocks of the Creighton Pluton. Localized zones of Sudbury Breccia occur throughout the footwall rocks.

On the property the SIC contact near-surface initially dips 45° to 50° to the north but gradually steepens and is near vertical at the LKE Zone at 900m depth. At 1,075m vertical depth the SIC contact rolls over back towards the south at a dip of 70°. Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization on the LKE Property is directly associated with the basal contact of the SIC and is hosted within a discontinuous inclusion-bearing noritic unit called the Sublayer.

Two distinct zones of sulphide mineralization exist on the LKE Property, the West Graham Deposit and the Lockerby East Deposit.

In 2009, FNI disclosed a NI 43-101 Indicated Resource for the WGD totaling 8.55Mt grading 0.45% Ni and 0.31% Cu, along with an Inferred Resource of 2.0Mt grading 0.38% Ni and 0.30% Cu. The WGD extends from 40m below surface to a depth of approximately 475m. The modelled zone ranges in thickness from 1.7 to 66m and strikes for 375m with a dip extent of up to 533m. The WGD is composed primarily of high Ni-tenor (8-10%) disseminated and blebby sulphide mineralization within the Sublayer 30 to 100m above the basal contact.

Historic drill intersections reported by FNI include hole FNI2028 that intersected 0.51% Ni and 0.34% Cu over 71.50m including 4.80m of 1.04% Ni and 0.31% Cu. In 2010, FNI disclosed a NI 43-101 Indicated Resource for the LKE Deposit totaling 0.18Mt grading 2.32% Ni and 0.87% Cu, along with an Inferred Resource of 0.04Mt grading 2.90% Ni and 0.80% Cu.

The LKE mineralization is predominately contact style, with narrow (<5m thick) semi-massive to massive sulphide breccia veins anastomosing proximal to the granite/SIC contact. The distribution of mineralization is controlled primarily by the nose of the roll-over in the SIC contact at a depth of approximately 1,075m. The LKE deposit averages 1-2m thick and strikes for almost 200m and remains open and relatively untested down-dip.

Historic underground drill intersections reported by FNI include hole FNI3414 that intersected 5.60% Ni, 1.26% Cu and 0.10% Co over 10.0m.

In addition to contact related sulphide mineralization, the LKE Property also has the potential to host footwall mineralization related to either zones of Sudbury breccia or remobilized within footwall shear zones. In 2007, FNI reported intersecting up to 3.76g/t PGM over 1.35m within the footwall of the WGD.

 

 

History and Results

 

The Lockerby and Lockerby East Mines were put into production by Falconbridge Ltd in 1971. In 2004 Falconbridge Ltd decided to close the mine and it was put on care and maintenance.

In 2005, FNI acquired ownership of the property from Falconbridge Limited and resumed commercial production at the Lockerby and Lockerby East Mines. In June of 2015, FNI closed the Lockerby Mine due to low metal prices.

During a period of 44 years, from 1971 to 2015, the Lockerby and Lockerby East Mines produced a total of 9.6Mt grading 1.83% Ni and 1.08% Cu.

Since acquiring the LKE Property in 2016, SPC has completed a detailed review of all available historic data and integrated it into a detail 3D model of the LKE Property which will be used to identify potential exploration targets.

In November of 2016, SPC announced the completion of several borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) surveys in historic drill holes completed by previous owners Falconbridge and FNI. These results were combined with other historical BHEM models to produce a map highlighting the exploration potential of the property.

The results of the BHEM survey identified 9 very strong geophysical conductors (5,000-10,000 siemen) extending over a combined distance of 1,100m, extending down-dip from the known LKE to a vertical depth of 2,000m.