The Orca property, staked in November 2011, covers 65 square kilometres centred on a 15-kilometre-long package of ultramafic rocks of the Cache Creek Formation, the same belt of rocks that hosts awaruite mineralization at the neighbouring Wale property and at the Decar Nickel District in central B.C. The Orca property is located 35 kilometres east of Dease Lake and 9 kilometres from the Eagle target at the adjoining Wale property.
Detailed mapping and sampling in 2012 delineated a target measuring 1,400 by 750 metres as defined by awaruite grain size and 118 rock samples. The surface samples range in value from 0.06% to 0.211% nickel-in-alloy and contain common-to-abundant, fine-to-coarse grains of disseminated nickel-iron alloy ranging from less than 50 to more than 300 microns (0.05 to 0.3 mm) in size.
The mineralized zone is exposed along the top and northeast flank of a northwest-southeast trending ridge, which reaches 2,020 metres in elevation.
Davis Tube magnetic separation analysis was conducted on 62 of the Orca rock samples, with results suggesting portions of the target area are amenable to magnetic recovery, including an irregular-shaped, coarser-grained area measuring 1,300 metres long and 150 to 700 metres wide. Thirty-four of the samples reported grades better than 0.08% DTR nickel, with an 80% recovery of the nickel alloy relative to the partial extraction analysis. The difference between DTR and partial extraction nickel analysis values may be caused by the presence of very fine-grained awaruite, which may not be recoverable using Davis Tube magnetic separation methods.
Orca Target
In the northern part of the target area, there are two separate outcropping exposures along creek beds that show strong DTR nickel values, but extensive overburden blankets bedrock in the surrounding region.
A ground-based magnetic geophysical survey was carried out on the Orca property in 2012, on 800-metre line spacing. The survey defined a moderate to strong magnetic high response over the target area. The same response was encountered both to the northwest and to the southeast of the northern target area where overburden masks the bedrock in each direction. Exploration work in 2013 will include detailed magnetic geophysical surveys and follow-up mapping and sampling in the key target area, including detailed sampling to further define potential coarse-grained mineralized targets for future drill programs.
Cautionary Note
Investors are cautioned that the exploration target at Orca is an early-stage exploration prospect, conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
The above technical information and all the other technical information on this website pertaining to geology and drill hole data was prepared under the supervision of FPX Nickel’s Chairman Dr. Peter Bradshaw, P. Eng., a Qualified Person as defined in National Instruments 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.