Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 13, 2024) - Mink Ventures Corporation (TSXV: MINK) ("Mink" or the "Company") today announced it has received all assay results for its recently completed six hole, 507-meter drill program at its Warren Nickel Copper Cobalt Project, located approximately 35 km west of Timmins, Ontario. The drilling confirmed the geophysical data and intersected broad zones of sulphide mineralization in all six holes with anomalous nickel, copper and cobalt values associated with disseminated and net textured sulphides. Drill hole W-24-01 was drilled to a depth of 60 meters, and intersected 0.48% Nickel (Ni), 0.12% Copper (Cu), and 0.07% Cobalt (Co) over 0.9 meters in semi massive sulphides typical of those found in the "A" Zone surface trenches.
Surface sampling on the "A" Zone and the recent drill program has shown that the best values to date are associated with massive to semi massive sulphides. The current interpretation is that the initial "A" Zone massive sulphide may have formed as a typical sulphide lense, then been broken apart by a later pulse of gabbro. This is based on a number of features seen in the drill core as well as the extent of massive and semi massive sulphides and Ni Cu Co values seen in the "A" Zone trenches. Further drilling is required to ascertain the extent of potential massive sulphide zones down plunge and along strike, as the "A" Zone has only been tested by very shallow drilling (65 meters vertical) over a short strike length. The "A" Zone geophysics suggests a strike length of approximately 700 meters.
"This initial drill program enabled us to confirm our understanding of the geometry and geology of the "A" Zone, and fortuitously we clipped the edge of the "B" Zone in several holes, which enhanced our understanding of how the zones sit relative to one another. Given the extent of surface nickel, copper, cobalt mineralization on the property, over seven historical mineralized zones, with significant untested strike lengths, the data is compelling and more drilling is warranted," said Natasha Dixon, President and CEO. "We look forward to continuing the exploration work at Warren and remain grateful that half of the cost of this initial drill program was offset with the non-dilutive capital provided through the OJEP grant," she added.
The Warren project contains numerous historical, trenched surface zones, with significant Cu and Ni values which are associated with coincident geophysical responses including magnetics, electromagnetic (EM) and induced polarization (IP) anomalies over long strike lengths. (See Figure 3.) The majority of these occurrences have had little or no drilling. At this time, it is thought that the "Shaft Area", along with the "D" Zone, and "SW" Zone are extensions of the "C" Zone. This system has had very minimal exploration along a strike length of approximately 1.5 km from geophysical data. (See Figure 3 & Table 3.) Mink plans to evaluate a number of these high priority zones in order to outline a follow up drill program. The initial prospecting work will be conducted in the early spring/summer in order to prioritize targets for future drill testing in 2024.
DRILL PROGRAM DISCUSSION:
The "A" Zone (see Figures 1, 2, & 3) was the focus of Mink's initial drill program. It was selected as a high priority target for drill testing as a result of geological data review, a field examination, and a confirmation sampling program conducted by company geologists during the summer of 2023. The "A" Zone is exposed in historical trenches over a strike length of 120 meters. Mink's grab samples on the "A" Zone returned assay values ranging from 1.075% to 2.08% Cu. Nickel values ranged from 0.313% to 0.348% Ni. Cobalt values ranged from 0.0389% to 0.0498% Co and silver values of interest ranged from 10.3 ppm to 23.8 ppm Ag. (See press releases: February 5, 2024, September 20, 2023.)
The "A" Zone has had very limited drilling at depth or along its projected strike length. Mink's recent drilling demonstrated the presence of anomalous copper and nickel sulphide mineralization on the "A" Zone and confirmed the geophysics. (See Table 1&2.)
During the course of drilling the "A" Zone, a sulphide zone was intersected in the upper portion of Holes W-24-02, to W-24-04 inclusive. This mineralization is interpreted to be the extension of the "B" Zone (See Figure 1 & 2). "B" Zone mineralization is now known to extend for approximately 75 meters beyond the historical trenches for a total interpreted strike length of 200 meters. The "B" Zone intercepts support the continuity of mineralization along strike in general as interpreted by geophysical surveys. The geophysical signature for both the "A" and "B" Zones have a projected strike length of approximately 700 meters. (See Figure 3.) Minimal drilling has been conducted on the "B" Zone. Two historical bulk samples on the "B" Zone returned 0.21% Cu, 0.96% Ni, 0.11% Co and 0.10% Zinc (Zn), and a second bulk sample returned 2.83% Cu, 0.58% Ni, 0.10 Co and 0.13 Zn. Reference: Technical Report for Western Troy Capital Resources on the Warren Property (W. Hawkins P. Eng, 2021)
Table 1: Drill Hole Co-Ordinates
| Drill Hole | UTM East | UTM North | Elevation(m) | Dip | Azimuth | Length |
| W-24-01 | 439348 | 5364484 | 320 | -45 | 80 | 60 |
| W-24-02 | 439324 | 5364479 | 320 | -45 | 80 | 87 |
| W-24-03 | 439312 | 5364478 | 322 | -45 | 80 | 108 |
| W-24-04 | 439312 | 5364478 | 322 | -70 | 80 | 111 |
| W-24-05 | 439349 | 5364406 | 320 | -45 | 80 | 75 |
| W-24-06 | 439373 | 5364371 | 320 | -45 | 80 | 66 |
Table 2: Drill Hole Assay Table
| DDH # | From (m) | To (m) | Meters (m) | Ni ppm | Ni % | Cu ppm | Cu % | Co ppm | Co % | S % | Comment |
| W-24-01 | 17.3 | 24.5 | 7.2 | 1774 | 0.18 | 2014 | 0.20 | 271 | 0.03 | 4.4 | Zone A |
| W-24-01 | 21.5 | 22.4 | 0.9 | 4780 | 0.48 | 1230 | 0.12 | 704 | 0.07 | 7.49 | Zone A |
| W-24-01 | 39.0 | 49.5 | 10.5 | 1260 | 0.13 | 633 | 0.06 | 80 | 0.01 | 0.9 | Zone A |
| W-24-02 | 18.5 | 21.0 | 2.5 | 1263 | 0.13 | 1326 | 0.13 | 95 | 0.01 | 1.9 | Zone B |
| W-24-02 | 44.5 | 53.0 | 8.5 | 631 | 0.06 | 1049 | 0.10 | 109 | 0.01 | 1.9 | Zone A |
| W-24-02 | 60.5 | 68.0 | 7.5 | 1220 | 0.12 | 807 | 0.08 | 86 | 0.01 | 1.1 | Zone A |
| W-24-03 | 36.0 | 40.5 | 4.5 | 1476 | 0.15 | 1289 | 0.13 | 136 | 0.01 | 2.0 | Zone B |
| W-24-03 | 64.0 | 70.5 | 6.5 | 740 | 0.07 | 1019 | 0.10 | 123 | 0.01 | 2.3 | Zone A |
| W-24-04 | 56.5 | 60.0 | 3.5 | 1631 | 0.16 | 1363 | 0.14 | 149 | 0.01 | 2.4 | Zone B |
| W-24-05 | 30.9 | 42.0 | 11.1 | 873 | 0.09 | 1841 | 0.18 | 140 | 0.01 | 3.0 | Zone A |
| W-24-05 | 48.2 | 51.0 | 2.8 | 1262 | 0.13 | 740 | 0.07 | 77 | 0.01 | 0.9 | Zone A |
| W-24-06 | 11.0 | 14.0 | 3.0 | 932 | 0.09 | 1513 | 0.15 | 151 | 0.02 | 3.4 | Zone A |
All intervals shown are core lengths as true width of the zone is not known at this time.
WARREN PROPERTY GEOLOGY:
Mink's Warren Project is hosted within the Kamiskotia Gabbro Complex (KGC) and is thought to be broadly equivalent to the Montcalm Gabbro Complex (MGC) but separated by a granitic arch. The MGC hosts the former Montcalm Mine which produced approximately 3.93 million tonnes grading 1.25% Ni, 0.67% Cu and 0.05% Co (OGS, Atkinson, B., 2010).
Gabbro complexes such as MGC and KGC are known to be prospective for magmatic nickel copper sulphide deposition as demonstrated by the Montcalm Mine located within the MGC. The Warren property complements Mink's Montcalm property due to the distinctly similar prospective geological environments found in the MGC and the KGC, as well as the presence of significant Cu Ni zones on the Warren Property.
The Warren patents have had a sporadic exploration history since the late 1920's to present day and a number of promising historical mineralized Cu Ni zones were outlined. The majority of the exploration completed to date on the property was completed in an area representing a very minimal portion of the property and completed well over 60 years ago. More recent geophysical surveys from the early 1990's and 2008-2009 outlined a series of untested targets along strike from known mineralization and/or new targets proximal to known mineralization. These targets are particularly evident in the accompanying compilation map shown in Figure 3.
Quality Assurance / Quality Control Program:
Drill core samples selected had a maximum sample length of 1.5 meters. Each sample was split with a mechanical splitter; a representative sample was retained for reference purposes with a designated sample tag stapled in the core box. Samples were transported in sealed bags to the ALS Canada Ltd. facility in Timmins for preparation. Pulps were transported to Vancouver, B.C., for 35-element MEICP41 aqua regia inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy analysis, as well as PGM ICP23 analysis for gold-platinum-palladium analysis. For higher grade base metal samples, a second analysis was performed Cu OG46 analysis for over 10,000 ppm Cu and NiOG46 analysis for over 10,000 ppm Ni. Oreas standards and a blank sample were submitted by the corporation as an external check and numerous quality control samples and duplicates were completed as an internal check by ALS Canada Ltd. All standards and blanks submitted by the corporation were within an acceptable range for QA/QC purposes.
Qualified Person:
Mr. Kevin Filo, P. Geo. (Ontario), is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Filo approved the technical data disclosed in this release.
Figure 1: Trench and Drill Hole Location Map
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Figure 2: "A" Zone Drill Section: Drill Holes W-24-01, W-24-02, W-24-03 and W-24-04
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Figure 3: Compilation Map (IP & Mineralized Zones)
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Table 3: Select Historical Sample Data Accompanying Figure 3
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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8332/201540_minkventurestable3.jpg
Reference: Ontario Resident Geologists Office Timmins Ontario; Maxmin, Magnetometer and VLF Surveys Evaluation Report, Whitesides and Massey Twp. Claims (C. Mackenzie Consulting Geologist, 1990).
The reader is cautioned the sampling is historical in nature and may not be NI43-101 compliant with respect to QA/QC and/or sampling procedures at the time. The methods and parameters used during the course of sampling are unknown and sampling may not be representative of mineralization on the specific zones. It is not to be relied upon and is reported as a historical statement only.
About Mink Ventures Corporation:
Mink Ventures Corporation (TSXV: MINK) is a Canadian mineral exploration company exploring for critical minerals (nickel, copper, cobalt) at its Warren and Montcalm projects, in the Timmins, Ontario area. Mink's flagship Montcalm Project, covers 40 km2 adjacent to Glencore's former Montcalm Mine which had historical production of 3.93 million tonnes of ore grading 1.25% Ni, 0.67% Cu and 0.051% Co (Ontario Geological Survey, Atkinson, 2010). Its Warren Ni Cu Co Project is located 35 km away. Both projects have excellent access and infrastructure with an all-weather access road and power as well as its proximity to the skilled labour and facilities of the Timmins Mining Camp. The Company has 18,810,534 shares outstanding.
For further information about Mink Ventures Corporation please contact: Natasha Dixon, President & CEO, T: 250-882-5620 E: ndixon@minkventures.com or Kevin Filo, Director, T: 705-266-6818 or visit www.sedarplus.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain "forward-looking information", including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the Warren Project, the exploration work required to exercise the option, and the prospectivity of the Warren Project and the Montcalm Project. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Mink to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of exploration work; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the Warren Project and Montcalm Project; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, or delays in obtaining governmental and stock exchange approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Mink's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR+. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Mink disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or ac curacy of this release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/201540
SOURCE: Mink Ventures Corporation
