First Point Minerals Corp. ("First Point" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2014 exploration activities and plans to advance its 100%-owned Mich nickel-iron alloy ("awaruite") property, located 50 kilometres southeast of Whitehorse in the southern Yukon Territory.
Preparations are being made to conduct a helicopter-supported drilling program this month at Mich, consisting of approximately 1,000 metres. The 2014 fall program is designed to test the central portion of the key target area, with two angled holes drilled in opposite directions from the same set-up.
"We have defined a very promising, sizable drill target at Mich that exhibits coarse awaruite grains, Davis Tube magnetically-recovered ("DTR") nickel grades in excess of 0.1% and strong favourable structural controls," said Dr. Ron Britten, First Point's Vice-President of Exploration. The objective of this limited drilling program is to conduct a preliminary test of subsurface continuity of the nickel-iron alloy mineralization.
The Mich claims cover 1,932 hectares and are underlain by serpentinized ultramafic rocks of the Cache Creek Terrane, the same belt of rocks that host the awaruite mineralization at First Point's 40%-owned Decar project in central British Columbia. "We see a lot of striking similarities between Mich and our Decar project in terms of recoverable nickel grade, high temperature environment of emplacement and structural controls," explained Britten.
The Mich property lies just 15 kilometres off the Alaska Highway and 200 kilometres by road from the port of Skagway, Alaska. It is accessible by an all terrain vehicle trail. The Mich property was staked after discovery of a large anomalous zone of disseminated awaruite mineralization, based on a first pass of wide-spaced reconnaissance sampling during the summer 2011 regional exploration program.
Geological mapping and rock sampling to date have defined a 2-kilometre-long northwest-southeast trending zone of disseminated awaruite mineralization marked by a number of strong rock anomalies grading better than 0.08% DTR nickel. The key target is located on the southeastern end of a low ridge and measures 540 metres long and 290 to 570 metres wide, remaining open to the southeast towards the valley floor where overburden masks the bedrock. DTR nickel values for 75 rock samples collected in 2012 and 2013 from the key target area range from 0.046% to 0.143%.
A well-defined magnetic geophysical feature associated with the key target mineralization, measures 3.4 kilometres long and extends along strike to the southeast where it is covered by glacial till and alluvial overburden. The overburden is interpreted to be less than 25 metres thick.
Additional detailed mapping and channel rock sampling were completed last month. This work has focused on a 750-metre-long, 140 to 450-metre-wide, northwestern extension of the key target area, based on promising structural controls, alteration and nickel grades. Assay results from last month's sampling are pending.
The target at Mich exhibits disseminated coarse-grained awaruite that range from 200 to 500 microns (0.2 to 0.5 mm) in maximum size in individual rock samples. First Point believes that surface sample assay results of greater than 0.08% DTR nickel, and alloy grain sizes larger than 50 microns (0.05 mm) are significant parameters to evaluate early-stage awaruite prospects; it is the percentage of coarse awaruite grains that will improve the recovery in both magnetic and gravity processing.
Analytical Methods
Davis Tube magnetically-recovered ("DTR") nickel is the nickel content recovered by magnetic separation using a Davis Tube, followed by standard assaying procedures to determine the nickel assay of the concentrate; in effect a mini-scale metallurgical test. The Davis Tube method is used to provide a more accurate measure of variability in recoverable nickel. The Davis Tube method is the global, industry standard geometallurgical test for magnetic recovery operations and exploration projects.
Dr. Ron Britten, P. Eng., a First Point Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
About First Point
First Point Minerals Corp. is a Canadian base metal exploration company operating worldwide.
Jim Gilbert, President and CEO