Tartisan encounters nickel-copper at Ontario project

Tartisan Nickel (CSE: TN; US-OTC: TTSRF) says drilling at its flagship Kenbridge nickel‑copper‑cobalt project in Ontario encountered a broad mineralized zone as crews test the deposit’s depth potential.

Hole KB26-210 cut about 25 metres grading 0.71% nickel and 0.56% copper from 762 metres depth, Tartisan said Thursday in a statement. This included 6.1 metres of 1.17% nickel and 1.45% copper, also from 762 metres downhole.

Drilling also intersected a second zone of 5.8 metres grading 0.27% nickel and 0.24% copper from 800 metres depth, Tartisan said.

“These results will strengthen our ability and confidence in upgrading our resource and in the project’s overall potential,” CEO Mark Appleby said in the statement. “We look forward to drilling below the existing shaft bottom to test for the depth extension to the deposit shortly.”

High grade

The results come as Tartisan works to expand Kenbridge’s resource, convert inferred resources to indicated and prepare baseline environmental studies before starting a pre-feasibility study this year. Following earlier drill results that confirmed the presence of high-grade nickel-copper mineralization, some $9 million has been budgeted for Kenbridge this year.

Tartisan shares rose 8.3% to 32.5¢ Thursday morning in Toronto, boosting the company’s market value to about $49 million. The stock has traded between 7¢ and 42¢ in the past year.

Located in northwestern Ontario, about 70 km east-southeast of Kenora, Kenbridge sits in an emerging nickel district close to several advanced-stage deposits. The company’s land package covers 47 sq. km.

Kenbridge hosts historic underground development, including a shaft extending to 622 metres depth, with multiple levels established below surface.

Crews have completed 3,191 metres of drilling at Kenbridge as part of a first wave of exploration. The next phase of work will target potential extensions of mineralization below the existing shaft bottom, where the company believes the deposit could continue at depth.

Nine-year mine

Kenbridge holds 3.45 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.97% nickel, 0.52% copper and 0.013% cobalt for 74 million lb. of contained nickel, according to a 2022 resource. It also holds 1 million inferred tonnes grading 1.47% nickel, 0.67% copper and 0.011% cobalt for 32.7 million lb. of contained nickel.

A 2022 preliminary economic assessment envisaged an underground nickel mine capable of processing about 1,500 tonnes per day over nine years, with the potential to increase daily throughput to 2,000 tonnes.

At a 5% discount rate, the project has a post-tax net present value of $109 million and a post-tax internal rate of return of 20%, with a payback period of 3.5 years after production begins.

Capital costs are pegged at $227 million, including about $134 million in initial construction costs. Mine-life revenues are projected at $837 million, while operating costs are estimated at $292 million. 

Toronto-based Tartisan is focused on advancing critical minerals assets in Ontario. Besides Kenbridge, the company also holds the Sill Lake silver project near Sault Ste. Marie and the Night Danger Turtle Pond project near Dryden.