Nuinsco readying estimate at Lac Rocher (September 22, 2006)

A 2,087-metre drill program at the Lac Rocher nickel prospect in northwestern Quebec should allow Nuinsco Resources (NWI-T) to put together a resource figure for the zone it discovered in 1998.

The program consisted of a series of 16 vertical holes to test the gabbro body that is host to the nickel mineralization at Lac Rocher. Earlier drill holes had found a high-grade zone near the base of the gabbro; the new holes indicate a larger zone of lower-grade mineralization — still over 1% nickel — enveloping the massive sulphides.

Because of the shape of the intrusion, the mineralized lengths in vertical holes varied widely, from 2 metres to 56.2 metres. Grades over the whole mineralized zone were mostly 1% to 1.5%, though the shorter holes intersected some higher-grade intervals, including 3.14% over 10.9 metres, 3.02% over 2 metres, and 2.72% over 3.7 metres.

Similarly, higher-grade massive zones were common at the bottom of the longer holes, the better ones being a 1.1-metre interval that graded 6.03% nickel and a 2.8-metre interval that ran 4.28%.

The mineralization outlined so far at Lac Rocher is near surface, with the deepest intersections around 125 metres vertical depth, and Nuinsco is assessing ramp-access mining for the zone. The company expects to have a resource estimate based on the recent drilling shortly.

Nuinsco is also in the midst of a scoping study on its Minago nickel deposit in the Thompson nickel belt of northern Manitoba. Recent metallurgical tests produced concentrates grading 25% to 30% nickel.