North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Palladium One Mining Inc. June 13 announced the acquisition of Canalask, a nickel-copper-platinum group elements project near Beaver Creek in the Yukon, from Victoria Gold Corp.

The 3,400-hectare (8,402 acres) Canalask property lies alongside the Alaska Highway about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Whitehorse and near the Alaska border.

Exploration on the project dates back to the 1950s when the Canalask footwall zone was originally discovered, drilled, and partially developed. A historical resource estimate on the Main zone is quoted at 400,000 metric tons averaging 1.35% nickel by Discovery Mines Ltd. in 1968, and early metallurgical floatation test work returned concentrate grades as high as 19.7% nickel.

Exploration continued on the project up to the early 2000s through a series of surface programs including geochemical surveys, geological mapping, and geophysics. During these campaigns, numerous high-grade nickel-copper-PGM showings – such as 4.7% nickel, 0.6% copper and 6.82 grams per metric ton PGM in grade samples at the Discovery zone – were discovered along the length of the ultramafic-mafic body.

In 2006, a top nickel producer, Falconbridge Ltd., initiated exploration activities at Canalask. However, exploration was curtailed following Xstrata plc's acquisition of Falconbridge. The work by Falconbridge did result in the completion of an NI-43-101 technical report for Xstrata and StrataGold Corp., which had optioned the property to Falconbridge.

Victoria Gold, which obtained the Canalask project through the 2009 acquisition of StrataGold, set aside the nickel-copper-PGM project as it focused efforts on successfully bringing its Eagle Gold mine into production, hence, little to no exploration has been conducted in the region for over a decade.

A subsidiary of Palladium One acquired Canalask from Victoria for C$25,000 in cash and C$200,000 worth of Palladium One shares on closing.

Victoria retains a 2% net smelter return royalty, with Palladium One having the right to buy back half the NSR at an undisclosed price.

Palladium One has also agreed to pay Victoria an additional C$2 million upon the publication of a feasibility study or the start of commercial production at Canalask, whichever comes first; plus C$5 million on the start of commercial production.

The Canalask property covers the lateral extent of the northwest-southeast striking, deeply dipping "White River Intrusive Complex" (WRIC), which is part of the larger Kluane mafic-ultramafic belt. Part of the larger Wrangellia Terrane, the Kluane belt extends from northern British Columbia, through southeastern Yukon, and into Alaska.

This belt is host to numerous nickel-copper-PGM deposits and prospects, most notably the past-producing Wellgreen deposit, now held by Nickel Creek Platinum Corp., approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) to the south.

WRIC occurs as a sill-like body of ultramafic and mafic rocks 100 to 150 meters thick and dipping roughly 50 degrees to the southwest. The northern margin of the WRIC represents a basal footwall contact zone while the southern margin delineates the upper hanging wall intrusive contact.

As evidence by the abundance of magmatic nickel-copper-PGM showings at the base of the WRIC, and the discovery of the nickel-rich Canalask footwall deposit, the project hosts strong potential for both "magmatic feeder-type" basal deposits and "epigenetic footwall-type" footwall deposits.

Click photo to see larger image.

The geological setting draws comparison to the world-class Norilsk nickel-copper-PGM camp.

Palladium One says its geological team of experts in sulfide nickel-copper-PGM deposits see significant potential in this overlooked and underexplored prospect.

"The Palladium One team recognizes that the area explored represents a small portion of what is clearly an extensive and highly prospective system capable of hosting a major deposit," said Palladium One President and CEO Derrick Weyrauch. "Canalask complements the massive sulphide Tyko project in Ontario, where exploration is currently underway. With $14 million of cash on hand as at March 31, 2022 the company remains well-funded to add value to its projects."