Nexcel Metals mobilizes drill for seven holes at Burnt Hill tungsten project
The initial program will test strike extensions and infill the main zone under a permit for approximately 5,000 metres.
Theo Marchetti
Nexcel Metals Corp. CNSXNEXX OTCMKTSNXXCF FRA2OH, listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, said on Tuesday a diamond drill had mobilized for seven initial holes at its Burnt Hill tungsten project in New Brunswick. The province has authorized approximately 5,000 metres of drilling from up to 15 pads to investigate the historically mineralized deposit.
The Canadian mineral explorer secured surface access through an exploration licence agreement with the landowner and its land manager. The drilling aims to generate modern data for a current mineral resource estimate, although Nexcel cautioned there is no certainty the program will delineate one.
Nexcel described the planned campaign as funded in its June 23 release, but the Oct. 27 update gives no drilling budget, cash balance or separate metre total for the seven-hole opening phase. The June release targeted August mobilization and a September drilling start; Tuesday's announcement gives no exact date for drilling to begin.
Nexcel shares CNSXNEXX closed at C$0.55 on the Canadian Securities Exchange on Oct. 26 at 4:00 p.m. EDT, before Tuesday's announcement.
Six Step-Out Holes Will Test Strike Extensions
The first six holes are designed as step-outs at approximately 100-metre offsets along strike from the Burnt Hill deposit. They will test the continuity and extent of tungsten mineralization beyond the historically drilled area, while the seventh hole will pass through the main zone as an infill hole.
The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development issued the drill permit on June 19. Surface access is now in place, and the rig has mobilized to the project near Boiestown in central New Brunswick.
"Combined with the ongoing relog of historical core, this program is designed to build the dataset needed to work toward a current NI 43-101 mineral resource," chief executive Hugh Rogers said in the Oct. 27 release.
The company is also relogging and resampling 10 high-priority historical holes drilled in 1979. Samples are being submitted for analysis in Moncton, and the results will be integrated with the new drilling data for geological modelling.
Access Agreement Preceded Rig Mobilization
Nexcel had already disclosed the exploration licence agreement in its Oct. 22 update, when it was still preparing to mobilize. The new operational development is the rig's mobilization, rather than a new drilling permit or a completed resource estimate.
The Oct. 22 release said the planned drilling would help validate selected historical results, test extensions and improve the geological model. Those are exploration objectives; the Oct. 27 announcement reports no new drill assays or completed resource calculation.
Read more: TinOne Resources plans November tin and tungsten drilling in Tasmania
Nexcel's next results will depend on the new drilling and historical-core analyses. Its Oct. 27 release gives no completion date, assay timetable or deadline for a current mineral resource estimate.
