Magna wraps 2021 drilling at Shakespeare with long, strong nickel and copper

Magna Mining (TSXV: NICU) has wrapped up 2021 drilling at its Shakespeare nickel-copper project 70 km southwest of the Sudbury Basin in Ontario. The most recent assays point toward long and strong intersections of both nickel and copper in the Gap Zone.

Highlights from the drill program include the following:

• Hole MMC-21-27 in the East Zone returned 47.7 metres grading 0.25% nickel, 0.03% copper and 0.02% cobalt, including 33 metres at 0.3% nickel, 0.36% copper and 0.02% cobalt;
• Hole MMC-21-29 in the West Zone returned 64.2 metres grading 0.35% nickel, 0.41% copper and 0.02% cobalt; and
• Hole MMC-21-34 in the Gap Zone returned 11.5 metres grading 0.2% nickel, 0.25% copper and 0.01% cobalt.

These holes also contained platinum, palladium and gold. Assays are pending from two additional holes. The deposit is open along the east-west strike and at depth.

Magna CEO Jason Jessup said in a release that the company is pleased with the results, which support the team’s belief that they can add significant open pit resources at the project.

The Shakespeare property contains a past producing mine, which produced 2,959 oz. of gold from 1905 to 1948. It was later mined for its nickel-copper ore until suspension in 2012.

A National Instrument 43-101 compliant report was released for Shakespeare a year ago. It outlined an open pit indicated resource of 14.4 million tonnes grading 0.34% nickel, 0.37% copper and 0.02% cobalt (0.63% nickel-equivalent) and an inferred pit resource of 1.7 million tonnes at 0.29% nickel, 0.31% copper and 0.02% cobalt (0.54% nickel-equivalent). The underground indicated resource is 2.5 million tonnes at 0.33% nickel, 0.38% copper and 0.02% cobalt (0.62% nickel-equivalent) and an inferred resource of 2.9 million tonnes at 0.34% nickel, 0.39% copper and 0.02% cobalt (0.64% nickel-equivalent). The nickel-equivalent grades include palladium-platinum-gold content.

Magna notes that the Shakespeare project is permitted, and that the feasibility study will be released in the first quarter this year. Additional drilling is to begin this month.