Noble acquires claims in Mann, Hanna, Duff and Reaume Twps in Timmins

Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. has entered into Letters of Intent with a number of parties to option or acquire 307 mining claims  in Mann, Hanna, Duff, and Reaume Townships, covering an area totaling approximately 6,539 hectares. The company has also staked an additional 256 mining claims in Mann, Hanna, Duff and Reaume Townships totaling approximately 5,453 hectares. 

When these acquisitions and earn-ins are completed, Noble will control contiguous boundaries over an area ~30km by ~10km. 

The Claims cover volcanic rocks of the Kidd Munro assemblage that have been periodically intruded by Ni-Cu bearing mafic to ultramafic intrusions. This assemblage hosts one of the world’s largest VMS deposits at Kidd Creek, approximately 20 km to the east, and the Ni-Cu deposit at Enid Creek in Loveland Twp., as well as the Crawford Ni-Co-Pd deposit in Crawford Township. The area is thus felt by Noble’s management to be highly prospective for both Ni-Cu and VMS deposits. Like other prospects in the Timmins region, the area is covered by thick glacial till and conductive clays (up to 50 m) that hampered earlier exploration efforts. 

There are over 20 km of mapped ultramafic rocks in Mann Township. The ultramafics consist mainly of mafic sheets, sills and dikes that have intruded into and differentiated within volcanogenic sediments. The differentiated intrusions are composed of basal peridotite, usually serpentinized with a transition to pyroxenite, and then gabbro. The peridotite, and the better mineralized dunite, are the host rocks for the nickel-cobalt sulphide. 

Exploration for nickel in Mann Township dates to 1948 when International Nickel drilled eight holes into serpentinized peridotite. In 1950 and 1951, Canadian Johns Manville drilled an additional eight holes intersecting serpentinized peridotite. Drilling has been widespread, with numerous holes covering over 2 kilometers of delineated serpentinized peridotite with individual sections up to 450 feet containing 0.25% nickel and averaging 120ppm cobalt. There are numerous higher values up to 0.5% nickel. No data was found showing PGM numbers as the elements were likely not assayed for. There are various elevated copper sections up to 0.2% Cu. At a different part of the complex, numerous previous drill holes show nickel values of 1.1% nickel in net textured pyrrhotite over 4 feet of length in interlayered mafic-ultramafic-interflow rocks, and copper values. 

Historic work has disclosed a clinopyroxenite reef with encouraging Pd values. The last work completed in 2008 gave repeatable values in drill core that showed up to 600ppb Pd over 15 meters with a higher value section of 1.0 g/t Pd over 4.2 meters. Channel samples showed 600ppb Pd over 22 meters including 927ppb over 6 meters. 

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