Co. With 'High-Quality' Nickel Intercept Starts Drilling in Quebec

Source: Streetwise Reports 07/23/2024

Infinico Metals Corp. (INFM:TSX) announced it has started drilling operations at its Nicobi nickel, copper, and cobalt project about 160 kilometers northeast of Val d’Or, Quebec. A renowned geologist says this could turn into a “very exciting discovery story.”

Infinico Metals Corp. (INFM:TSX) announced it has started drilling operations at its Nicobi nickel, copper, and cobalt project about 160 kilometers northeast of Val d’Or, Quebec.

A minimum of 1,000 meters of diamond drilling and five boreholes are planned, to be carried out by Orbit Garant Drilling Services Inc. of Val d’Or.

The holes are designed to follow up on Infinico’s 1,167-meter Phase 1 drill program conducted in January 2024, which intersected 51.94 meters at 1.37% nickel (Ni), as well as targeting a highly conductive electromagnetic feature identified in a BHEM survey released in April.

The drill program will test the down plunge extent of mineralization, targeting extensions of mineralization at depth and to the north of existing drilling. The area being targeted has not seen any previous drill testing.

“This phase of drilling will look to build on the outstanding results identified in Infinico’s January 2024 drill program,” said Infinico Chief Executive Officer Sam Walding. “We have clear geological targets to test down plunge to the north of the known mineralization, and a highly conductive BHEM feature to drill test. The work program is targeting areas not previously drill tested, with the objective of extending and growing the known mineralization.”

Renowned geologist Quinton Hennigh told Streetwise Reports that such “high-quality magmatic nickel sulfide discoveries are quite rare lately.”

Abitibi Geophysics has been contracted to conduct the Borehole TDEM surveys, which will be conducted alongside the diamond drilling with the aim of identifying off-hole conductivity anomalies. The use of Borehole TDEM surveys will aid in the targeting and identification of new zones of mineralization.

Walding said the January intercept was “about the best nickel intercept in the Abitibi” this year.

Renowned geologist Quinton Hennigh told Streetwise Reports that such “high-quality magmatic nickel sulfide discoveries are quite rare lately.”

“Infinico has encountered 1.4% Ni over 52 meters in hole NBI-24-001 starting at grassroots at its Nicobi Project in Quebec,” he said. “This hole appears to have encountered mineralization in an area on the edge of a huge magnetic feature interpreted to be a mafic-ultramafic intrusive body. Recently collected EM data indicates the presence of multiple conductive zones potentially representing new, even larger, bodies of such sulfide mineralization. With drilling imminent, this could turn into a very exciting discovery story very quickly.”

Drill Program Fully Funded

Infinico is exploring two projects in Quebec, Nicobi and the Dalhousie Project.

Nicobi is a magmatic nickel sulfide project that saw drilling until the early 1990s, including a scout drilling campaign in 1991 that intersected 37.61 meters at 0.75% Cu and 0.89% Ni from the surface. Dalhousie is a newly identified lithium exploration area with a recently discovered spodumene-bearing pegmatite returning grades up to 4.45% Li2O.

With the new drilling program, “It is clear that the stock is certainly not lacking a catalyst or catalysts going forward,” Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote.

The drill program at Nicobi is designed to test the newly identified geophysical targets and the geological observations of the project. The drill program will be accompanied by BHEM to help refine current geophysical targets during the program and generate new drill targets. Infinico said the program is fully funded with about CA$1.1 million in its treasury.

“The project is host to a cluster of magmatic nickel sulfide occurrences within a mafic-ultramafic intrusive complex,” the company said in a release. “Drilling of a surface showing in the 1960s by Noranda revealed disseminated to massive nickel sulfide mineralization. Noranda went on to define a non-compliant resource on the project. Multiple drill campaigns have been carried out by six different operators.”

The ultimate goal is to make an economic discovery a major will buy and turn into a mine.

The Catalyst: In Position for a Bull Market?

*Technical Analyst Clive Maund rated the stock an Immediate Strong Buy, telling Streetwise Reports that the company’s charts showed it was in a position to “embark on a potentially major bull market as it has completed a very large base pattern.”

“Any exploration company with an intercept of 50 plus meters at over 1% nickel is trading at a minimum valuation of CA$20 million to CA$30 million, yet Infinico is currently valued at about CA$3–CA$4 million having hit an intercept of almost 52 meters at 1.63% with assays on the site turning upgrades as high as 8% and known mineralization proven to at least 80 meters depth,” Maund wrote.

With the new drilling program, “It is clear that the stock is certainly not lacking a catalyst or catalysts going forward,” he wrote.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the nickel market is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 4.8% from 2024 to 2029. The market was valued at more than 2.1 million tons in 2021, analysts said. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-11103]

The driving force over the medium term will be the demand for nickel in stainless steel alloys, Mordor noted, as well as for automobile batteries and energy storage systems in wind turbines or solar panels needed for the energy transition.

Like nickel, many other metals, such as copper and cobalt, are being valued for their use in the batteries that will power an expected energy surge for things like artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and EVs.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Infinico, about 3% is owned by insiders and management, and institutions own about 40%. The rest is retail.

The top shareholder is Plethora Private Equity Management with 31%, the company said. According to Reuters, Director Dan James owns 2.55%, Executive Chairman Tom Panoulias owns 0.07%, and Director Perry Ing owns 0.04%.

The company has 64.13 million shares outstanding. Its market cap is CA$3.85 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.11 and CA$0.03.

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Important Disclosures:

1. Infinico Metals Corp. has a consulting relationship with an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, and pays a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Infinico Metals Corp.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
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( Companies Mentioned: INFM:TSX, )