Prophecy Platinum surges on drill results

Shares of Prophecy Platinum (NKL-V, PNIKD-O) shot up 10.2%, or 43¢, to $4.63 on drill results from its flagship Wellgreen deposit in the Yukon Territory, about 317 km northwest of Whitehorse. 

The most recent drill results from drill hole 11-184, on the eastern extent of the platinum group metals (PGM)-copper-nickel project and 150 metres south of previous drilling along the section, demonstrate that mineralization continuity from surface to the footwall contact exceeds the 0.4% nickel-equivalent cut-off that was used in the July resource announcement.  

Hole 11-184 encountered 473 metres of 0.29% nickel, 0.13% copper, 0.46 gram PGM-plus-gold per tonne, or 0.43% nickel equivalent from surface to footwall, including 50 metres of 1.27 grams PGM-plus-gold per tonne, 0.71% nickel, 0.45% copper and 1.12% nickel equivalent. 

The hole “expands the width of the mineralized zone to approximately 500 metres while exhibiting an increase of grade toward the footwall, as well as showing continuity along strike away from historic mine development going eastward,” Prophecy Platinum outlined in a press release. “[Hole] 11-184 also marks the first appearance of massive sulphide at this far eastern locale, indicating potential existence of a new massive sulphide system in this direction where a 2.3-km strike of the Wellgreen intrusion east of 11-184 has not been adequately tested by diamond drilling throughout the history of the property.”

According to a July 21 technical report, at a 0.4% nickel equivalent cut-off grade, Wellgreen’s indicated resources add up to 14.3 million tonnes grading 0.69% nickel, 0.62% copper and 2.25 grams platinum, palladium and gold per tonne. Inferred resources add 289.3 million tonnes at grades of 0.38% nickel, 0.35% copper and 1.18 grams platinum, palladium and gold per tonne.

Previous mining operations and production at an underground operation that ran between 1972 and 1973 by Hudson-Yukon Mining Company, a subsidiary of Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, concentrated on the gabbroic footwall of the ultramafic body for semi-massive nickel sulphides, the technical report states. But recent exploration has concentrated “on the evaluation of the potential of the property to host larger, but lower- grade, tonnages of PGM-enriched nickel-copper mineralization for potential open-pit extraction.”

“Higher-grade pockets of semi-massive sulphides greater than 1% copper and nickel and greater than 2 grams platinum, as historically mined by Hudson-Yukon, are expected to continue to be located through exploration efforts,” the technical report continued. “These higher-grade pockets, although not continuous, could be targeted in a potential open-pit operation in order to accelerate the project’s payback.”

So far the company has outlined two main zones of mineralization on the property – the East and West zones. The highest grades in the East Zone are found in massive sulphide pods and lenses along the base of the ultramafic body, while the best grades in the West zone are found in interdigitated gabbro and clinopyroxenite. The company believes the East and West zones may join in an area called the
Central zone.

Wellgreen is contained within the Kluane ultramafic belt, which is part of the Wrangellia Terrane that extends from Vancouver Island to central Alaska. According to the technical report, “the ultramafic intrusives of the Wrangellia Terrane represents one of the largest tracts of nickel-copper-platinum group elements mineralization, second in size in North America to the Proterozoic Circum-Superior belt.”

Prophecy Platinum was spun off from Prophecy Resource (PCY-V) in June. Prophecy Coal owns 22.5 million shares, or about 45% of the company.

During presstime, Prophecy Platinum traded at $4.65 within a 52-week band of 30¢-$5.63.