Jul 18 2014
Donner Metals Ltd., is pleased to announce the execution of an arm's length property acquisition agreement with Virginia Mines Inc. for the acquisition of 100% of the Preissac nickel-copper-PGE property.
This property comprises 55 claims with a surface area of about 26 km2 and is located about 25 km north-west of the town of Malartic, in the Abitibi region of Quebec. Under the terms of this agreement, Donner will acquire 100% of Virginia's interest by issuing the equivalent of approximately $100,000 of common shares of Donner at a price of $0.17 per common share (for a total of 588,235 common shares), subject to the approval by the applicable regulatory authorities. There are no cash payments and exploration expenditure commitments forming part of this transaction. Virginia will receive a 2% Net Smelter Return royalty. No finder's fee will be paid in connection with the transactions contemplated in the property acquisition agreement.
Approximately 1.5 km east of the property, the Marbridge underground nickel-copper mine produced 774,227 tonnes of ore grading 2.28% nickel and 0.1 % copper between 1962 and 1968, with four deposits being discovered by prospecting and surface drilling between 1957 and 1966. Marbridge has been the only nickel mine in the Abitibi region to date and represents the first nickel sulphide deposit in Quebec to be associated with komatiitic volcanics. The deposits were previously operated under a joint venture between Falconbridge Nickel Mines and Marchant Mining, and are now 100% owned by Royal Nickel Corporation ("RNC"). An airborne electromagnetic survey was conducted by RNC over the Marbridge property in January 2014. Results from this survey are being modeled in order to define potential drill targets (see RNC's Management's discussion and analysis for the period ending March 31, 2014).
The property covers a strike length of over 14 km and is comprised of Archean volcanic rocks (the Malartic and Louvicourt groups) and sedimentary rocks of the Kewagama group. This area represents the extension of volcanic units found in the Val d'Or area, which is well known for its many volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits and gold deposits. The property area includes a sequence of ultramafic rocks located south of Mainville South regional fault and wedged between the plutons of La Motte to the north, Preissac to the south and La Corne pluton to the east. The geology of the area is essentially composed of komatiites and peridotites, mafic and felsic volcanic rocks. A sedimentary unit is also observed in places. These lithologies belong to the La Motte-Vassan Formation, at the base of the Malartic Group. Lithogeochemistry data from historical drill holes indicate the presence of ultramafic sills. Data from historical airborne input electromagnetic surveys suggests the presence of several anomalies coinciding with magnetic sills, which have never been drill-tested and thus represent potential high-priority targets.
A few historical drill holes bordering the property yielded interesting nickel values such as 0.91% Ni over 2.4 m, 0.76% Ni over 6.3 m, and 0.61% Ni over 1.8 m (Source: Sigeom NTS sheet 32D08; GM15843, 13771 and 13186 respectively). The property is underexplored and has a strong exploration potential for nickel-copper-PGE deposits that could be mined by underground methods because of the presence of 1) a past nickel producer and mineralization intersected in historical drill holes near the property, 2) lithologies that typically hosts nickel-copper-PGE deposits, and 3) electromagnetic anomalies.