Mansa Exploration Commences VTEM™ Airborne Geophysical Survey on Wheeler Property, Newfoundland and Labrador
TORONTO, Aug. 5, 2021 /CNW/ - Mansa Exploration Inc. ("Mansa" or the "Company") (CSE: MANS) is pleased to announce it has now commenced a 726 line-km VTEM™ airborne geophysical survey on its 100% owned Wheeler Ni-Cu-PGE Property located in southwestern Newfoundland ("Wheeler" or the "Property"). The survey is being flown by Geotech Ltd. on northeast-southwest oriented lines spaced 200m apart, targeting nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE mineralization hosted within a large mafic/ultramafic complex located at tidewater. The survey will collect both magnetic and time-domain electromagnetic data across the Property, targeting potential bodies of massive sulphide mineralization associated with anomalous conductivity and magnetic susceptibility.
The Company expects to receive preliminary results in the coming weeks and plans to use the data to design a Phase II program on the Property, consisting of geological mapping, prospecting and potentially the flying of infill lines. The goal of Phase I and II work is to generate targets that will allow the Company to design an inaugural diamond-drilling program on the Property, which will test geophysical anomalies detected by the VTEM™ system.
About the Wheeler Property
The Wheeler Property is approximately 30 kilometres north-northeast of the town of Stephenville, near the southern extent of the Bay of Islands ophiolite complex. It covers layered ultramafic and mafic intrusions that are prospective for magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE (nickel-copper-platinum-group-element) mineralization, as well as chromite mineralization occurring as discrete layers within the ultramafic complex.
Lenses of magmatic sulphide Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization were first discovered on the Wheeler Property in the 1930s by J.R. Cooper1. A Geological Survey of Canada mapping program conducted in 1962 located additional layered magmatic sulphide occurrences as well as multiple chromite-rich lenses located near the southern part of the Wheeler Property boundary2.
In 2010, an exploration alliance between Cliffs Natural Resource Exploration Inc. and Altius Resources Inc., carried out extensive stream-sediment sampling on a multitude of ultramafic ophiolite complexes throughout the island of Newfoundland, specifically in search of a rare Ni-Fe (nickel-iron) alloy called awaruite, which can form during the serpentinization of nickel-rich olivine in ultramafic rocks. Altius collected 367 stream-sediment samples by helicopter within the current Wheeler Property boundary. Strongly anomalous nickel, copper, cobalt and chromium values were returned in the northeastern portion of the Wheeler Property, but high sulphur values deterred further exploration3. The presence of sulphur reduces the likelihood of awaruite forming but enhances the potential for the presence of magmatic nickel-sulphide mineralization on the Wheeler Property.
In addition to the Altius-Cliffs sampling, the Wheeler Property also contains the locations of extremely anomalous lake-sediment samples collected as part of the Newfoundland and Labrador government's reconnaissance lake-sediment sampling program (a 17,228 sample database) including the four highest nickel values in the province with values of 4,980, 4,750, 4,390 and 4,230 parts per million (ppm) Ni (nickel). Three lake-sediment results on the Property are in the 99.93-percentile for copper at 324, 312 and 296ppm Cu (copper), five are in the 99.88- percentile for cobalt at 347, 301, 392, 556 and 333 ppm Co (cobalt), and six are in the 99.94-percentile for chromium at 5,770, 5,140, 4,560, 4,000, 3,610 and 3,560 ppm Cr (chromium)4. Additional details and QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) procedures for the survey can be found online.
The Wheeler Property covers the southern extent of the Bay of Islands ophiolite complex, which was obducted onto the Laurentian rifted margin during the mid-Ordovician and is composed of mafic and ultramafic assemblages dominated by gabbros, pyroxenites and peridotites. The target on the Wheeler Property is magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE (possibly accompanied by Co and Cr) mineralization hosted within a layered mafic intrusion, similar to Norilsk in Russia, Lynn Lake and Namew Lake in Manitoba, Nkomati in South Africa, and Voisey's Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador5. Historically documented occurrences on the Wheeler Property consist of both net-textured pentlandite (nickel sulphide) and PGE-rich chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) mineralization, indicating that the minerals formed within a magma chamber6.
CEO Robert Bresee, commented: "We are excited to be carrying out the first phase of work on our newly acquired Wheeler Property in Newfoundland and Labrador. The historic results on the Property demonstrate the excellent potential for nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum-group element mineralization, all of which are associated with electrical applications and new battery technologies, which the Company sees as increasingly important sectors on which to focus. We look forward to receiving and reporting the results of the current VTEM™ survey in the coming weeks along with announcing the Company's plans for the next phase of work as we generate and prioritize drill-ready targets on the Property."
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Stephen Amor, Ph.D., PGeo, who is a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Mansa Exploration
Mansa Exploration is a Canadian mineral exploration company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol MANS. Mansa currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the 1,900-hectare Skyfire property located in the Caribou mining area of central British Columbia, Canada. Mansa may earn 100% interest by incurring an aggregate of $1,250,000 in exploration expenditures on the property by December 31, 2022. Mansa is also exploring for Ni-Cu-PGE mineralization on its 100% owned, 19,750-hectare Wheeler Property located in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador.
Cautionary Statements
The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Wheeler Property that are believed by management to be reasonable in the circumstances, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including without limitation: the exploration or monetization potential of the Wheeler Property and the nature and style of mineralization at the Wheeler Property; challenges in identifying, structuring, and executing transactions on favourable terms or at all; risks inherent in mineral exploration activities; volatility in financial markets, economic conditions, and precious metals prices; and those other risks described in the Company's continuous disclosure documents. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements herein. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements herein except as required by applicable securities laws. We seek Safe Harbor.
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| 1 |
J.R. Cooper, 1936. Geology of the southern half of the Bay of Islands igneous complex. PhD thesis, Princeton University, Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources bulletin No. 04, 66 pages. |
| 2 |
F.Q. Barnes, G.C. Riley and C.H. Smith, 1962. Geology Stephenville, Nfld. Geological Survey of Canada, A Series map, No. 01117A. |
| 3 |
A. Devereaux, B. Patey, D. O'Reilly, L. Winter, R. Churchill and D. Wilton, 2012, Newfoundland and Labrador Geological Survey, Assessment File NFLD/3236, 598 pages. |
| 4 |
The reader is cautioned that the results highlighted are selective in nature and not necessarily representative of mineralization on the property. |
| 5 |
This news release contains information about properties on which Mansa has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on these properties are not necessarily indicative of mineral deposits on the company's properties. |
| 6 |
R. Butler Jr., 1996, Newfoundland and Labrador Geological Survey, Assessment File 12B/16/040133 pages |
SOURCE Mansa Exploration Inc
For further information: please contact: Clayton Fisher, Mansa Exploration Inc., Phone: (416) 227-4554, Email: [email protected]
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