Victory Nickel Increases Minago Pit-Constrained Measured & Indicated Resource by 24% 2010 Drill Program Exceeds Expectations With Respect to Impact on Tonnes, Grade and Nickel Content
2010 Drill Program Exceeds Expectations With Respect to Impact on Tonnes, Grade and Nickel Content
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/02/11 -- Victory Nickel Inc. (the 'Company') (TSX: NI)
Highlights:
-- The 2010 winter drill program was very successful at expanding the pit-
constrained nickel resources at Minago. This is ultimately anticipated
to have a positive impact on project economics.
-- The measured and indicated NI-43-101 pit-constrained resource is now
302.3 million pounds of sulphide nickel (NiS), up 23.9% from the 243.9
million pounds estimated in the Minago feasibility study (FS).
-- Tonnage in the measured and indicated pit-constrained NiS resource has
increased by 20.6% to 31 million tonnes from 25.7 million tonnes.
-- The average grade of the measured and indicated pit-constrained NiS
resource has increased to 0.443%, from 0.430%.
-- As expected, inferred pit-constrained NiS resources have decreased by
85.7% to 200,000 tonnes due to successful upgrading to measured and
indicated.
-- The updated pit-constrained resource represents a potential open pit
mine life of 8.6 years, an increase of 1.5 years of mine life based on a
10,000 tonne per day mining rate.
Victory Nickel Inc. (the 'Company') (TSX: NI) (www.victorynickel.ca) today announced a 24% increase in the NI 43-101-compliant measured and indicated, pit-constrained, sulphide nickel resource at its 100%-owned Minago nickel project in Manitoba. This 24% increase over the pit-constrained resource used in the Minago FS (announced in December 2009) came from the inclusion of results from diamond drilling conducted during 2010.
'The results of the 2010 drill program exceeded our expectations,' said Steve Harapiak, President and COO. 'We have added resources in the pit that were considered waste in the FS, we have more metal per tonne of ore and we have improved our understanding of the deposit's geology allowing a more refined interpretation of the resource which will help us to better plan for mining. All of these factors are expected to extend the mine life and ultimately have a positive impact on the economics at Minago. The resource is expected to increase further when drill results from the 2011 program are incorporated. We will then use the increased resource and other enhancements to produce a revised economic model for Minago.'
The updated NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate was prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. using approximately 68,000 metres of diamond drill-hole data that includes all of the drilling done within the FS pit shell during 2010. The same economic parameters used in the 2009 FS (filed on SEDAR on March 10, 2010) were used to create the constraining resource shell used in the April 2011 resource. A comparison of the updated NiS resource to the 2009 NiS resource, both using a cutoff grade of 0.2% NiS, is as follows:
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Increase
April 2011 Pit- March 2010 Pit- (Decrease) in
Constrained Resource(1) Constrained Resource(2) Contained Metal
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Ni Ni Ni
Tonnes Grade Content Tonnes Grade Content Content Change
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NiS M Lb NiS M Lb M Lb
Category Millions % NiS Millions % NiS NiS %
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Measured 8.2 0.473 85.0 6.6 0.488 71.4 13.7 19.2
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Indicated 22.8 0.432 217.2 19.1 0.410 172.6 44.6 25.9
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M&I 31.0 0.443 302.3 25.7 0.430 243.9 58.3 23.9
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Inferred 0.2 0.380 1.4 1.4 0.402 12.2 (10.8) (88.4)
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Rounding of tonnes as required by reporting guidelines may result in
apparent differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal.
(1) Lerch-Grossman pit optimization shell
(2) Whittle pit optimization shell
'This outcome, combined with drill results from areas below and outside of the pit footprint, provides further confirmation of both the extraordinary and widespread nickel endowment at Minago and the fact that the resource and reserve estimates used in the FS significantly under-represent the magnitude of the Minago deposit. We fully expect the drilling done this year will provide further evidence of this, along with a clear indication of the wider potential on the property. Additional pit design and planning are needed to produce a final, optimized, pit configuration,' said Vice-President, Exploration Paul Jones. 'Our expectation is that a mine at Minago will have a very positive impact for many years on the both the surrounding communities and the economy of the province of Manitoba.'
Methodology
The resource estimate database includes 68,092 metres of diamond drilling completed by Victory Nickel, Amax, Granges and Black Hawk. A total of 18,165 total nickel (TNi) assays exist in the database with 6,610 of those also assayed for NiS (36.4%). All drill holes used in the resource are diamond drill core, and were either partially or fully sampled and assayed from collar to toe. Currently, Victory Nickel fully samples all holes for TNi and resubmits only high-grade TNi intervals to be analysed for NiS.
-- Missing NiS assays were calculated in the database using a NiS:TNi ratio
model interpolated with an inverse distance square methodology.
-- The sample interval is typically between 1.0 and 1.5 m. A thorough QA/QC
program was in place during the drill program, which included the
insertion of standards, duplicates and blanks at regular intervals.
-- Densities were determined for a representative number of rock and
mineralization types, using industry-standard methods. A total of 5,954
determinations exist in the database and density has little to no
relation to the nickel grade. A lithologically derived approach was used
to assign the density to the model.
-- The composite intervals selected were 2.0 metres. Composites were
generated from the top of holes toward the toe, re-setting the
compositing intervals at the boundaries between the various domains.
-- A three-dimensional geological and block model was generated using
GEMS© software. The block model matrix size for Minago was 6 X 6 X 6,
determined through consultation with AGP's engineering team, and remains
unchanged since the FS.
-- Ordinary kriging was used for all domains. The interpolation was carried
out in multiple passes, with increasing search ellipsoid dimensions.
-- The Gemcom model was transferred to MineSight to utilize the Lerch-
Grossman routine.
-- A Lerch-Grossman pit shell using measured, indicated and inferred
material and the FS parameters was created to constrain the resource.
-- Resources within this pit shell at a 0.2% NiS cutoff were reported as
the resource.
Qualified Person
The updated resource estimate was prepared by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. under the supervision of Pierre Desautels, P.Geo and Gordon Zurowski P.Eng, the Independent 'Qualified Persons.' Paul Jones, Vice-President, Exploration for Victory Nickel, acts as QP under NI 43-101 for Victory Nickel. Mr. Desautels, Mr. Zurowski and Mr. Jones have reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
About Victory Nickel
Victory Nickel Inc. is a Canadian company with four sulphide nickel deposits containing significant NI 43-101-compliant nickel resources. Victory Nickel is focused on becoming a mid-tier nickel producer by developing its existing properties, Minago, Mel and Lynn Lake in Manitoba, and Lac Rocher in northwestern Quebec, and by evaluating opportunities to expand its nickel asset base. Victory Nickel also owns shares in Prophecy Resource Corp. (TSX VENTURE: PCY) and Wallbridge Mining Company Limited (TSX: WM), the third largest landholder in the Sudbury Basin, which in turn owns approximately 9% of Duluth Metals Limited.
Please visit the Company's website at www.victorynickel.ca. Should you wish to receive Company news via email, please email nadine@chfir.com and specify 'Victory Nickel' in the subject line.
Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements of historic fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production estimates and estimated economic return; the possibility that actual circumstances will differ from estimates and assumptions; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; failure to establish estimated mineral resources; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; inflation; recoveries being less than those indicated by the testwork carried out to date (there can be no assurance that recoveries in small scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in large tests under on-site conditions or during production); changes in equity markets; operating performance of facilities; environmental and safety risks; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; unavailability of plant, equipment or labour; inability to retain key management and personnel; changes to regulations or policies affecting the Company's activities; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; and the other risks disclosed under the heading 'Risk Factors' and elsewhere in the Company's annual information form dated March 31, 2011 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Contacts:
Victory Nickel Inc.
Steve Harapiak or Sean Stokes
416.363.8527
416.626.0890 (FAX)
admin@victorynickel.ca
www.victorynickel.ca
CHF Investor Relations
Cathy Hume
416.868.1079
416.868.6198 (FAX)
cathy@chfir.com