Transition Metals Hits Thick Layered Intrusion with Anomalous Mineralization at Saturday Night Project, Thunder Bay
Transition Metals Corp. has shared results from its 2025 drilling program at the 100%-owned Saturday Night Project, 25 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The program included two drill holes totaling 1,417 metres, targeting the basal contact of the mineralized Saturday Night layered intrusion.
CEO Scott McLean commented, "The thick sequence of differentiated rift intrusion encountered at Saturday Night is highly encouraging. The geology, mineralization style, and geophysical characteristics are strikingly similar to those observed at the Sunday Lake and Thunder Bay North Ni-Cu-PGM deposits. With the platinum market facing a significant deficit for the third consecutive year and strong investment interest driving demand, the potential for thicker, concentrated Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization at depth becomes even more compelling. The presence of a thick layered intrusive sequence and basal cumulate phases intersected in these three holes further supports this potential. We look forward to resuming drilling, following up on deeper mineralization intersections in hole SN-25-03 once funding is secured."
Discussion of Results
The 2025 drill program at Saturday Night (Figure 1) consisted of two holes, totaling 1,417 metres (Figure 2). Hole SN-25-02 was collared at 319,903mE, 5,390,396mN, near the site of Transition's discovery hole SN-16-01, and drilled to a depth of 587m. It intersected a 14.00m mineralized interval grading 1.04 g/t PGEs (Au + Pt + Pd) with 0.19% Cu, including 1.86m grading 2.55 g/t PGEs with 0.46% Cu (see news release dated February 28, 2025). The Company had previously completed hole SN-16-01, the discovery hole, which intersected 6.25m at 1.07 g/t PGEs, including a 0.30m section grading 4.0 g/t PGEs and 0.56% Cu (see news release dated January 23, 2017).
Hole SN-25-03, collared 400-metres south of the discovery hole, located at 319,730mE, 5,390,082mN, intersected over 450-metre-thick rift-related intrusion, representing significantly thicker sequence than had previously been observed. It was oriented southwest (azimuth 201°, dip -70°) and reached a depth of 830-metres. The hanging wall consists of a brecciated, strongly hematite-altered, and magnetic granitic unit identified as the Trout Lake Granite. The alteration intensity increased downhole, beneath which the Saturday Night Intrusion ("SNI") was encountered. The SNI consisted of a fractionated and altered leucogabbro to monzogabbro, identified as the upper gabbroic series, which transitioned into a more primitive monzogabbro to melagabbro, referred to as the lower gabbroic series. Notably, both the upper and lower gabbroic series intersected within this hole were significantly thicker than those intersected in both SN-16-01 and SN-25-02.
Near the end of the hole, drilling intersected a sub-unit within the lower gabbroic series, characterized by an exceptionally magnetic, magnetite-plagioclase-phyric monzogabbro. This section within the lower gabbroic series contains Cu and Ni concentrations an order of magnitude higher than surrounding intervals, further suggesting a reef-like feature. Sequential sampling from 790.00 metres to 805.02 metres defines a 15.02-metre interval of sulphur-saturated monzogabbro, grading 472 ppm Cu and 142 ppm Ni, with copper values ranging from 190 ppm to 755 ppm and nickel values from 62 ppm to 220 ppm.
Due to the thicker stratigraphic sequence of the Upper and Lower Gabbroic Sequence encountered within SN-25-03, and to stay within budget, the hole was terminated at a depth of 830-metres, before being able to reach the ultramafic series and basal contact, where mineralization was anticipated. Multi-element geochemistry samples were collected at 10-metre intervals throughout the intrusion, confirming a differentiated layered intrusion with striking similarities to the Company's Sunday Lake Intrusion. At Sunday Lake, a similar reef-like feature was commonly intersected within the lower gabbroic series, above the basal contact hosting Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization (see news release dated May 5, 2020).
Figure 1: Saturday Night Property Location Map on Regional Total Field Magnetics
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Overall, these observations and results confirm that the Saturday Night Intrusion exhibits key characteristics associated with prospective magmatic Ni-Cu-PGM systems. The combination of thick, layered intrusive sequences, favorable structural settings, and mineralized basal contacts enhances the project's exploration potential and warrants further investigation.
Figure 1 Illustrates the location of the Saturday Night Project relative to the Sunday Lake Project and the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Figure 2 Illustrates an idealized geological cross-section of the Saturday Night Intrusion, depicting the mineralized intervals encountered to date. Note: 3E-PGEs are represented as (Au + Pt + Pd). Coordinates are in UTMs, NAD 83, Zone 16N in metres.
Figure 2: Saturday Night Project cross-section, looking west, with interpreted geology and mineralization intersected
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Next Steps
The deepening of drill hole SN-25-03 remains a key priority for further exploration at Saturday Night, with Ni-Cu-PGM mineralization expected at the basal contact. The Company plans to complete the hole in the coming weeks as it advances its understanding of the mineralized system.
CEO Scott McLean will present an overview of the Company and the Saturday Night Project at the Ontario Prospectors Association's (OPA) Symposium in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The event will take place at the Valhalla Hotel & Conference Centre (Valhalla Inn) on April 15-16, 2025.
About the Saturday Night Project
The Saturday Night Project, wholly owned by Transition Metals, comprises 63 staked mining claims situated in Fowler Township, that is located approximately 30 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ontario within the Robinson Superior Treaty area. The project has year-round road access to a main highway and is close to infrastructure. The exploration work to date has confirmed that a magnetic anomaly found on Property is linked to an underlying mafic-ultramafic intrusion (SNI), which is interpreted to have originated during the Proterozoic era and is associated with the renowned Midcontinental Rift (MCR).
The MCR is a geological feature that extends over 2,000 kilometres across the heart of North America. It formed around 1.1 billion years ago as the North American craton began to rift. Notably, the early stages of this rift (referred to as 'early-rift') are associated with the presence of mafic to ultramafic intrusive rocks that contain significant quantities of platinum group metals (PGMs). Nearby MCR related deposits include the Thunder Bay North and Sunday Lake deposit. The Sunday Lake deposit was discovered by Transition in partnership with Impala Platinum in 2013. Other rift related Ni-Cu and PGM bearing systems include the Eagle deposit located in Michigan, and the Tamarack and Duluth deposits located in Minnesota. The Saturday Night Project is currently in the early exploration phase, with ongoing assessments aimed at determining the potential of the Property to host PGM mineralization of interest.
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