TORONTO, Sept. 7, 2017 /CNW/ - Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. ("Wellgreen" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its 2017 Drill Program at its 100%-owned Wellgreen Ni-PGM-Cu project in the Yukon Territory, Canada ("Wellgreen Project"). The drill program is utilizing two drill rigs and to date has completed approximately 1,400 metres (or 39%) of this year's projected 3,600 metre program.
The current drill program is focused on a combination of infill and infill/metallurgical holes, which are being drilled with the aim to improve confidence in mineralization, upgrade the current resource, and support the Phase II metallurgical program.
The infill/metallurgical program projects seven holes or 1,950 metres of HQ diamond core drilling. The primary objectives of these holes are to obtain samples that can be used for metallurgical testwork in order to support the Phase II metallurgical program, where we are testing to determine viability of producing separate Ni and Cu concentrates and/or further increase the quality of the bulk concentrate (see below for additional information on metallurgical program), and to return infill assay results to improve the confidence of the resource and potentially convert inferred material to measured and indicated. After core retrieval, one half of the core will be shipped to Sudbury, Ontario for metallurgical testing and the remaining half will be split in two – with one quarter of the core to be sampled and analyzed for metal content.
The infill portion of the program consists of seven holes and 1,650 meters of HQ drilling. These holes are targeting inferred material in the deposit with a view to potentially upgrade the resource material to the measured and indicated category. Holes that are at the edges of the mineralization (ex. WS17-288 and PDH-07-17-004, as well as infill/met holes PDH-07-17-009 and PDH-07-17-010) have the potential to expand the amount of the mineralization. The infill holes are being sampled like the infill/metallurgical holes in order to provide supplemental metallurgical samples.
Figure 1 – Illustration Drill Plan Map With Deposit Overlay
Phase II Metallurgical Program
On March 1, 2017, the Company announced the results of its Phase 1 Metallurgical Testwork program (see news release entitled, "Wellgreen Platinum Announces Results of Metallurgical Testwork", dated March 1, 2017). The Phase 1 Metallurgical Program achieved the production of a quality, marketable bulk Ni- PGM-Cu concentrate, grading 11.9% Ni + Cu for the Peridotite domain and 14.3% Ni + Cu for the Clinopyroxenite domain. Preliminary testing has also indicated that separate marketable nickel and copper concentrates could be viable, which, if proven to be true, could have the potential for improved concentrate terms from smelters and therefore improved project economics. The drill core earmarked for metallurgical testing in this year's drill campaign will be shipped to a mini pilot plant at XPS' laboratory in Sudbury to test and refine the process for production of separate nickel and copper concentrates. Metallurgical testing on split concentrates is expected to commence in Q4/17.
Table 1 – Scheduled Drill Program*
| Proposed Hole | Purpose | Easting | Northing | Elev (m) |
Az (degrees) |
Dip (degrees) |
Plan Depth (m) |
| WS17-288 | Infill | 577774 | 6815578 | 1600 | 0 | -88 | 360 m |
| WS17-290 | Infill/Met | 577469 | 6815678 | 1612 | 0 | -90 | 200 m |
| WS17-293 | Infill/Met | 577425 | 6815635 | 1612 | 0 | -90 | 220 m |
| PDH-07-17-010 | Infill/Met | 577575 | 6815458 | 1579 | 0 | -74 | 280 m |
| PDH-07-17-009 | Infill/Met | 577675 | 6815462 | 1591 | 0 | -68 | 300 m |
| PDH-07-17-011 | Infill | 577450 | 6815397 | 1528 | 0 | -56 | 260 m |
| PDH-07-17-013 | Infill | 577119 | 6815537 | 1450 | 10 | -74 | 150 m |
| WS17-289 | Infill | 577876 | 6815532 | 1549 | 312 | -80 | 180 m |
| WS17-291 | Infill/Met | 577625 | 6815623 | 1651 | 0 | -50 | 250 m |
| WS17-292 | Infill/Met | 577700 | 6815651 | 1658 | 0 | -65 | 280 m |
| PDH-07-17-005 | Infill/Met | 577945 | 6815631 | 1542 | 200 | -81 | 420 m |
| PDH-07-17-004 | Infill | 577980 | 6815410 | 1482 | 0 | -60 | 150 m |
| PDH-07-17-002 | Infill | 578365 | 6815337 | 1403 | 168 | -80 | 350 m |
| PDH-07-17-006 | Infill | 577876 | 6815532 | 1549 | 64 | -76 | 200 m |
| * Exact drill locations are subject to change depending on ground conditions and accessibility |
Qualified Person
This news release was reviewed and approved by James Berry, Wellgreen's Chief Geologist and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Please see technical report dated June 26, 2017, filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com, for a description of data verification and QA/QC procedures.
