SPC Nickel Corp. (TSX-V: SPC), is pleased to announce it has received the final assay results from its 2,596 metre, 36-hole drill campaign completed between June and September 2024 at the Company’s West Graham Project, part of the Company’s large-scale Ni-Cu property in the southwest corner of the Sudbury Basin, referred to as the Lockerby East Property.

SPC Nickel’s 2024 drill program, designed to further delineate and upgrade the near-surface mineralization, delivered consistently positive results with 30 of 36 holes (80%) returning length-weighted mineralized intersections that averaged 15% higher than the average grade of the larger in-pit indicated resource as stated in the January 17, 2024, maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) (See news release here). Given these higher-than-average grades, the Company intends to use the data from these results to continue advancing the Project with a focus on updating the MRE and the development plan.

Assay results from the final 12 holes (Figure 2, 3) are reported in Table 1. A complete list of previously released results may be found on the Company’s website site (see results here).

Highlights: 

• Hole WG-24-116, intersected 0.81% Ni and 0.77% Cu over 12.0 metres from 10.5 to 22.5 metres. This interval is part of a wider interval that returned 0.58% Ni and 0.45% Cu over 34.5 metres from 1.5 to 36.0 metres (Figure 1).
• Hole WG-24-112, intersected 0.93% Ni and 0.37% Cu over 7.5 metres from 84.0 to 91.5 metres.
• Hole WG-24-113, intersected 0.87% Ni and 0.32% Cu over 7.5 metres from 3.0 to 10.5 metres.

Grant Mourre, CEO and President of SPC Nickel commented, “Today’s assays represent the culmination of SPC Nickel’s successful 2024 West Graham drill program. After starting our year with the publication of a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate that quantified the promise and potential of the Project, I am pleased to finish 2024 having delivered a drill program that not only met all its objectives but also consistently returned grades exceeding the average in-pit resource of the MRE. The near-term production pathway founded on a low-cost starter pit remains well-supported by the assays we have released throughout the year. Beyond this, the exploration upside at depth, via the LKE Project, further enhances the Project’s long-term potential. These results not only validate our 2024 efforts but also lay a strong foundation for the next phase of West Graham’s development.” 

Assay Results

Table 1: New assay results from the 2024 drill program on the West Graham Project.

Notes: 1. Length refers to downhole length. Estimated True Width is expressed as a percentage of downhole length.

2024 Exploration Achievements 

• Released the maiden MRE for the West Graham Project (see news release dated January 17, 2024)
• Drilled a total of 36 holes for 2,596 metres of drill core at the West Graham Project – highlights announced from the 2024 drill program include:
  • WG-24-087: 1.05% Ni, 0.30% Cu over 16.0 metres from 32.0 metres (news release here)
  • WG-24-088: 1.41% Ni, 0.33% Cu over 20.0 metres from 20.0 metres (news release here)
  • WG-24-092: 1.15% Ni, 0.29% Cu over 12.0 metres from 15.0 metres (news release here)
  • WG-24-109: 1.46% Ni, 0.32% Cu over 10.5 metres from 85.5 metres (news release here)
• Further defined the high-grade eastern ore shoot at West Graham (see Figure 3) from surface down to 120 metres depth – remains open for expansion below this depth.
• Completed geotechnical survey on 15 drill holes to be used in future engineering studies.
• Completed baseline environmental studies including surface-water quality monitoring and ground water modeling to begin advancing the West Graham Project towards a permitting stage.

About the Lockerby East Property

The Lockerby East Property is located in the heart of the Sudbury Mining District where nine mines are currently in operation and two more are in the development phase. The region benefits from its proximity to well-developed transportation infrastructure including roads, railways, and electrical grid. In addition, the Lockerby East Property is situated close to processing, smelting and refining assets which include two mills, two smelters and one nickel refinery. Local operators include global mining corporations Vale, Glencore and KGHM.

The Lockerby East Property hosts two separate NI 43-101 mineral resources known as the West Graham and LKE projects. In January 2024, SPC Nickel announced the maiden MRE for the West Graham Project (see news release dated January 17, 2024). The MRE showed an In-Pit Resource (0.3% NiEq Cutoff Grade) of 19.3 Mt at 0.42% Ni, 0.28% Cu in the indicated category and 3.3 Mt at 0.37% Ni, 0.28% Cu in the inferred category. The Out-of-Pit Resource (0.7% NiEq Cutoff Grade) contained a further 3.2 Mt at 0.63% Ni, 0.47% Cu (0.92% NiEq) in the indicated category and 3.9 Mt at 0.69% Ni, 0.43% Cu (0.97% NiEq) in the inferred category.

In March 2024, SPC Nickel announced the update MRE for the LKE Project (see news release date March 4, 2024). The MRE showed a resource of 0.67 Mt at 1.17% Ni, 0.54% Cu in the indicated category (0.9% NiEq Cutoff Grade) and 0.12 Mt at 0.99% Ni, 0.42% Cu in the inferred category.

The technical report, titled “Mineral Resource Estimates for the West Graham and LKE Deposits, Lockerby East Ni-Cu-PGM Sulphide Property, Sudbury, Ontario Canada” can be found on the Company’s website at www.spcnickel.com and under the Company’s issuer profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The MRE, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is effective as of December 4, 2023.

Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Qualified Persons

The technical elements of this news release have been approved by Mr. Grant Mourre, P.Geo. (PGO), CEO and President of SPC Nickel Corp. and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

SPC Nickel follows rigorous sampling and analytical protocols that meet or exceed industry standards. Core samples are stored in a secured area until transport in batches to the ALS facility in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sample batches include certified reference materials, blank, and duplicate samples that are then processed under the control of ALS. All samples were analyzed in Vancouver by ALS Chemex. Platinum, palladium, and gold values were determined together using standard lead oxide collection fire assay and ICP-AES finish. Base metal values were determined using sodium peroxide fusion and ICP-AES finish. Silver values were determined using an aqua regia digestion and an AAS finish. A Certified Reference Material (CRM) standard, blank or duplicate is inserted on every 10th sample in the following order: CRM, blank, CRM, duplicate. The cycle repeats every 40 samples, thus ensuring that 10% of samples submitted are control samples.

NiEq grade used in figures 2,3,4 and 5 are calculated using the following formula: Ni (%) + [Cu (%) * 0.369] + [Co (%) * 2.318] + [Pt / 31.1 * 4.779] + [Pd / 31.1 * 8.602] + [Au / 31.1 * 8.124].

Figure 1: WG-24-116 mineralized drill intersections from 10.5 to 22.5 metres grading 0.81% Ni, 0.77% Cu. See Table 1 for results. (CNW Group/SPC Nickel Corp.)

Figure 2: Plan map of the current area of drilling on the West Graham Project showing the collar locations and drill traces of the completed holes. Assay results for the reported holes are shown in callouts (blue for new results and brown for previously released results). See Table 1 for assay intervals. (CNW Group/SPC Nickel Corp.)

Figure 3: Plan map of the current area of drilling on the West Graham Project showing the collar locations, drill traces, NiEq% grade isoshells and the eastern and western ore shoots. (CNW Group/SPC Nickel Corp.)

Figure 4: North-South section 476150mE. The section is orientated north-south, looking west and with a 50m clipping width. Composite (1.5m) NiEq% assays grades are displayed as downhole bar graphs. Mineralization isoshells, 0.3-0.5%, 0.5-0.7% and >0.7% NiEq% are also displayed. Refer to Figure 2 for section location. (CNW Group/SPC Nickel Corp.)

Figure 5: North-South section 476300mE. The section is orientated north-south, looking west and with a 50m clipping width. Composite (1.5m) NiEq% assays grades are displayed as downhole bar graphs. Mineralization isoshells, 0.3-0.5%, 0.5-0.7% and >0.7% NiEq% are also displayed. Refer to Figure 2 for section location. (CNW Group/SPC Nickel Corp.)

About SPC Nickel Corp. 

SPC Nickel Corp. is a Canadian public corporation focused on exploring for Ni-Cu-PGMs within the world class Sudbury Mining Camp and in Nunavut. SPC Nickel is currently exploring its key 100% owned exploration project Lockerby East located in the heart of the historic Sudbury Mining Camp that includes the West Graham Resource and the LKE Resource. SPC Nickel also holds three additional projects across Canada including the large camp-scale Muskox Project (located in Nunavut), the past producing Aer-Kidd Project (located in the Sudbury Mining Camp) and the Janes Project (located 50 km northwest of Sudbury). The corporate focus is on Sudbury, and SPC Nickel continues to look for new opportunities to add shareholder value.