Nickel showing in virgin area spurs staking

A recently discovered nickel- copper showing about 70 miles northwest of Chicoutimi, Que., has sparked a staking rush in the past four weeks. The showing is on the northeast corner of a large anorthositic intrusion about 60 miles across in the Grenville geological province.

Located about a mile north of Lac des Poissons Blancs in a numbered township, No 234, the showing and about 150 claims surrounding it, were staked by prospector Lionel Lefebvre. He and a group of associates have vended a 60% interest in the claims to a private company controlled by J. T. Flanagan and John McAdam, the principles behind Muscocho Explorations (TSE) and several other junior resource companies. The remaining 40% interest is reported to have been sought by several major mining companies.

Some 1,200 claims have been staked in the area in the past month. Prior to that there were virtually no claims staked at all. The area is accessible by logging roads, but it has only been in the past year that such access came to within a mile of the showing.

J. T. Flanagan said the option agreement regarding the claims surrounding the showing is a private deal and that it is premature to disclose any information regarding the property.

Quebec resident geologist Serge LaChance, who visited the property recently, says an area about 200×500 ft has been stripped and several massive sulphide lenses are visible. He describes it as a nickel- copper showing “probably with cobalt.” He says there have been no results returned to ascertain the content of platinum group metals or gold.

Unconfirmed reports indicate values of 2-3% nickel have been returned from the showing. Flanagan would not confirm or deny any values. He said some preliminary results have been obtained but “nothing well controlled enough to have confidence in.”

Staking has been done mainly in numbered townships 234 and 334, with some in Latrappe Twp. and a few in numbered townships 333 and 233. Recording the claims have been companies Flanagan McAdam Resources (TSE), Freewest Resources (ME), Achates Resources (ME), and two numbered companies with federal charters. The rest of the claims staked are recorded under the names of individuals.

The area is largely unexplored. A Quebec government geologist did map the area in 1961 and reported some showings of pyrite and phyrhotite.