Partners soar on Levack discovery

Some impressive drill intersections from behind the Levack no.2 nickel-copper mine shaft, 40 km north of Sudbury, Ont., sent shares FNX Mining (FNX-T) and Dynatec soaring in Toronto on Feb. 28.

Highlighting hole 6010 is a 3.1-metre core section (beginning 1,634 metres below surface) grading 26.2% copper, 3% nickel, plus 4.2 grams platinum, 9.8 grams palladium, and 0.45 gram gold per tonne. Lower in eth hole was a 5-metre core length (from 1645.5 metres) running 26.2% copper, 3.7% nickel, plus 5.1 grams platinum, 10 grams palladium, and 0.35 gram gold.

“It has been the company’s policy not to release data from a single borehole, but the mineralogy, high-grade metal values, strong borehole geophysical anomalies, location, and significant potential of the intersected mineralization and surrounding rocks warrant its release at this time,” said FNX CEO Terry MacGibbon in a prepared statement.

The new discovery is situated around 460 metres from both the Levack 3600 level and previously-mined No.7 ore body infrastructure, including the 1,350-metre vertical Levack No. 2 shaft currently being reconditioned by the partners.

The hole was drilled to the southeast and sub-parallel to the Sudbury Igneous Complex. The true widths of the intersection have not been estimated owing to limited drill data. The partners are bringing in a larger drill rig to send the hole to a depth of around 2,150 metres.

The hole encountered two massive sulfide veins containing chalcopyrite, cubanite, pentlandite and millerite at a depth of around 1,190 metres, immediately behind and below the Levack mine, which produced some 60 million tons of 1.8% nickel and 1% copper between 1937 and 1999.

The partners say the newly discovered mineralized system and massive sulphide veins occur at the same stratigraphic location, and have a similar character to those at Inco‘s (N-T) McCreedy East 153 (1.8 km away) and Falconbridge‘s (FL-T) Fraser-Strathcona Deep Copper ore deposits (3.7 km away).

The partners are also encouraged by the presence of Mineralized Sudbury breccia throughout most of the hole. Such breccia is the host to most Sudbury Basin footwall deposits.

Downhole geophysical surveying of the hole to a depth of about 1,662 metres has outlined a large, complex series of in-hole and off-hole anomalies that remain open at depth. The area includes a 70-metre-by-115-metre highly conductive core contained within a more variably conductive area measuring 200 metres by 300 metres. Initial interpretations suggest that most of the anomaly lies west of the borehole. Future drilling and surveying is planned for the area, once four other drill rigs complete drilling on other footwall targets on the property.

Levack is one of five formerly producing mining properties acquired by the Sudbury joint venture in 2003 from Inco. FNX, with 75% of the joint venture, and Dynatec with 25% recently reopened the McCreedy West mine, which was also included in the land package (T.N.M., Sep. 27 – Oct 04).

Shares in FNX ended 95, or 16.2%, higher at $6.80, while Dynatec added 12, or 12.6%, to make $1.07.