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Avante Mining Corp. (TSXV: AVA) is a Canadian-based exploration company with a diversified portfolio of mineral projects in British Columbia and Labrador, Canada. With a primary focus on Battery Metals, the company has recently acquired The Voisey’s West Nickel Project just 50 km north of the Voisey’s Bay mine, which boasts nickel grades in excess of 1%. This project will be the primary focus in 2023. The company also owns the LMSL Copper Gold & Silver Project in the Nicola Mining Division of British Columbia and is surrounded by and along trend with three major mining operations. This project underwent a full suite data analysis by Earthlabs (formerly known as “GoldSpot”), with permits in hand, LMSL is ready to be drilled. The third project held by Avante is the Blackdome Gold Project, an early-stage gold and silver property located in the Clinton Mining Division of British Columbia. This asset has good upside potential based on results from the sampling that has been done at surface. All three assets are in mining-friendly jurisdictions and Avante is well-positioned to capture growth opportunities while building long-term shareholder value.
The Voisey’s West Nickel Project is located 50 kilometres northwest of Voisey’s Bay Ni-Cu-Co (nickel-copper-cobalt) mine and 70km west of the town of Nain, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The area is remote with the only access being by helicopter or float plane which regularly operate out of Nain, which also has daily air service and weekly coastal boat service.
Figure 1: Project Location
Physiographically, the property is mostly barren of trees consisting of rolling hills with moderate relief on an upland plateau with an average elevation of 500 metres. Numerous small ponds are abundant with some marshy areas, but the property has excellent outcrop exposure of up to 50 – 60 % in some places although large till blankets are common that can be upwards of 25 metres thick. (See Figure 2)
Figure 2 – Flying towards the Voisey’s West Project via Helicopter.
Following the discovery of The Voisey’s Bay deposit, increased regional prospecting led to the discovery of three pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pyrite showings located on the Property, namely, the Long Pond, All About-it, and No Baccy. Initial surface grab samples from the Long Pond and All About-it Showings returned up to 1.36% Ni & 0.58% Cu, and 1.05% Ni & 1.53% Cu respectively. Initial chip sampling at the No Baccy Showing returned up to 0.71% Ni & 0.85% Cu over 2.3 metres (Saunders & Scott, 2003).
Work continued on the Project through 1995-1996 and 2001-2008 which resulted in the identification of a primary mineralized corridor occurring over approximately 2 kilometres centered on the Property, and the drilling of a 14-meter intersection averaging 1.02% Nickel. (See figures 3 and 4 for cross sections of drilling on the All-About-It and Long Pond Zones.
Figure 3 – All-About_It Cross Section of Drilling
Figure 4 – Long Pond Cross Section of Drilling
An Airborne VTEM/MAG survey completed in 2008 outlined numerous EM conductors and coincident Magnetic anomalies giving better definition to current targets and identifying new ones which have not all been tested. It also has shown that the two mineralized trends (see Figure 5 below) can be traced for several km and leaving several high priority targets untested.
Geologically, The Voisey’s West Nickel property is located in the Paleoproterozoic Churchill Province of Labrador, slightly west of the regional suture which separates the Churchill Province and the Archean Nain Province to the east. The eastern Churchill Province consists predominately of quartofeldspathic and metasedimentary gneisses derived from a variety of plutonic and sedimentary rocks. The eastern Churchill Province rocks are intruded by the multi-phase, Mesoproterozoic Nain Plutonic Suite (NPS) composed primarily of anorthosite, troctolite, diorite and granitoids. The Tasisuak Lake Property is predominantly underlain by rocks of the Tasiuyak Paragneiss. These are intercalated with lesser orthogneiss and are intruded, presumably, by rocks of the NPS and later diabase.
Sulphide mineralization at the Tasisuak Lake showing consists of two types;
1) massive Pyrrhotite and Graphite within gneissic rocks with low nickel-copper-cobalt content and
2), disseminated, stringer and semimassive Pyrrhotite, Chalcopyrite and Pentlandite hosted within mafic intrusions. Thus far this style of mineralization contains up to 40% sulphides and returned individual assays up to 2.0% Ni, 0.85% Cu and 0.08% Co from chip sampling in 1996, 2.2% Ni, 1.1% Cu and 0.06% Co from drill core in 2005 and 2.15% Ni, 4.02% Cu, 0.04% Co and 1.01 g/t PGE+Au from drill core in 2008.
Figure 5 – Voisey’s West drill collar location map over TMI magnetics with EM anomalies
Historic drilling on the property was focused on at-surface, shallow-targets along two NNW-trending EM anomalies associated with steeply dipping mafic dykes. Minimal work has been done to understand the deeper-seated structural architecture or the potential of sulfide accumulations within the feeder source such as that observed within the Voisey’s Bay Intrusive Suite.
Table 1: Historical Results
The Company gained access to the core storage facility in Happy Valley – Goose Bay, NL, managed by the Province of Newfoundland & Labrador where all the historical core for the Property is stored. The primary focus was to do a detailed review of diamond drill core samples from the Long Pond and All-About-It zones to identify geological controls on mineralization and gain important information from intervals lacking complete assays for critical elements such as cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold.
Historic Grade Highlights being investigated in further detail:
Other Drilling Highlights with existing complete assays include:
Avante’s staff laid out the historic diamond drill holes and compared the original drill logs to the core. Where a minimum of half-core existed, samples were collected through mineralized zones including shoulder samples into the regional sedimentary and mafic gneisses that host the mineralized mafic intrusive zones. From the historic drilling, a total of 32 samples were collected from three holes drilled in 1995 and 1996, and samples were submitted to Eastern Analytical, an ISO 17025 certified lab.
The pre-emptive resampling allowed the company to gain valuable insight into the geology controlling the distribution of mineralization within the system. It not only aids in verifying historic grades but also helps to gain a better understanding of the distribution of these overlooked critical elements. This work represents a small but important step and will be incorporated into the company’s geological modeling and targeting for the planned 2023 field work and drilling program.
Assays from this program were announced on July 6th and they included high grade values up to 1.85% Nickel (Ni) over 0.9 metres from one of the high-grade intervals with a weighted average of 1.28% Ni over 4.4 metres.
Table 2: New assay results from historic core which confirm high grades of Nickel and Copper.
The presence of nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphide mineralization within structurally controlled mafic intrusive rock suggests a similarity to the Voisey’s Bay and other sulphide-bearing mafic intrusives within the Nain Plutonic Suite. The imminent drilling program at the Voisey’s West project aims to help elucidate the nature of this system, its structural controls and source of mineralization.
Using this data, the Company has now verified the grades from historic reports, adding a more complete image of the different zones of mineralization on the project. The PGE+Au grades are consistent with 2008 drilling conducted by Nortec Ventures Corp in the Long Pond and All-About-It zones which show up to 1.02% Ni, 0.51% Cu, 0.03% Co, and 0.35 g/t PGE+Au over 14 metres (see press release dated May 31, 2023). Strengthened confidence can now be found in historic assays, which highlight approximately 1km of explored strike length inside of a 2.5km long section of geophysical anomaly located within the Company’s claim blocks.
Preliminary targets were identified from new geophysical modeling (see figure 6 below) and are planned to test VTEM conductors that have not been tested or exist beneath the historic drilling with 8 planned dill holes. Along with potential extensions of the No Baccy zone, the Company has also identified a jog, or bend in the main nickel bearing horizon located south of the All-About-It zone. This structure intersects the horizon that has shown nickel values of greater than 1% Nickel, up to 1.85% Nickel, as verified by the Company in the recent sampling program (see news release dated July 6, 2023).
Figure 6: 3D view of conductor plates (red) from VTEM survey over Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) with proposed drill holes. The modeled image is approximately a 650 x 650 metre area including the All-About-It area and its southern extension6
On August 1st, 2023, Avante announced the mobilization of the drill rig to the Voisey’s West Project.
Initial drilling will focus on the areas with correlating VTEM conductors, magnetic and gravity anomalies located at the south of the All-About-It zone (see figure 6 above) and to the north of the No Baccy zone. These areas have not been properly tested and could represent locations where the flow of magma may have slowed during emplacement allowing gravitational settling of nickel and sulphides.
August 21, 2023, Avante announced a 24-metre interval with visible sulfides in the first phase of drilling. highlights of the release are as follows:
Highlights
The new drill hole (VW-23-03) discovered a new zone of mineralization 30 metres north of the No Baccy zone. The hole was drilled away from previous holes NB-08-64 and NB-08-65 which intersected 1 meter of 1.47% Nickel, 0.28% Copper, 0.03% Cobalt, and 1 metre of 1.2% Nickel, 1.04% Copper, 0.03% Cobalt respectively. The hole was designed to test a VTEM conductor and is the furthest north drillhole on the Project to identify significant sulfides mineralization in drilling to date.
The newly discovered zone in hole VW-23-03 was collared into shallow till cover targeting a VTEM anomaly intersected a mottled gabbro intrusive with pervasive sulfides beginning at the bedrock contact. Company geologists have visually identified the sulfides as pyrrhotite with interspersed chalcopyrite and pentlandite. These sulfides occur as fine-grained disseminations to semi-massive net-textured aggregates.
Figure 7: New drill core from VW-23-03 showing partial section from 15 metres to 24 metres. Interval of visual sulfides with pyrrhotite and visually identified interstitial chalcopyrite and pentlandite within the pyrrhotite showing disseminated to blotchy and net-texture. Bottom contact at 45 degrees.
Figure 8: Drill hole VW-23-03 section from 1 to 4 meters downhole showing disseminated coarse patches of pyrrhotite with visually identified interspersed chalcopyrite and pentlandite within pyrrhotite.
Figure 9: Close up core photo from VW-23-03 at 23.4 metres down hole showing sulfide matrix net-texture.
The bottom contact of the mineralized interval in hole VW-23-03 is at 45 degrees to core axis, however the true thickness or extent of the zone is not known, additional drilling will aim to better define the orientation and extent.
Additional holes
Drill hole VW-23-01 identified minor sulfide mineralization and is being processed and sampled.
Drill hole VW-23-02 was lost due to weather delays causing the drill rods to be stuck and lost down hole prior to reaching the anticipated target depth.
On September 12th, 2023 the company announced two additional intervals with visually identified nickel sulphide including 22 metres and 16 metres containing disseminated to semi-massive sulfides.
Highlights
Figure 10: Core photo from VW-23-04 at 19.8 metres down hole (left) and 20.2 metres (right) showing net-texture, sulfide-matrix to massive texture.
Figure 12: Drill hole VW-23-04 drill core showing net texture and sulfide-matrix breccia textures from 14 to 14.5 (top) from 20.5 to 21.5 (middle) and from 19.5 to 20 (bottom).
Figure 13: Close up of core from hole VW-23-04 at 14 metres down hole showing bleb of visually identified nickel sulfide (pentlandite) within sulfide-matrix breccia.
Figure 14: Hole VW-23-05 from 12 and 14 metres downhole showing net-textured and blebby massive sulphides with higher concentration of visible copper (chalcopyrite) with visually identified nickel sulfide and pyrrhotite.
Adrian Smith continues, “The evidence from drilling is clear, there is a magmatic sulfide system hosted on Voisey’s West; the same system type responsible for the nearby world class Voisey’s Bay mine and occurring in the same geological setting. The new drilling has been key to understanding the controls on the mineralization and shows the classic vertical settling of sulfides giving us a clear objective to follow the system to where there are potentially more massive sulfides with higher grades.”
The first round of assays were announced on September 27th, 2023. Featuring 2.74 metres grading 1.68% NiEq within a broader interval of 0.78% NiEq over 22.74 metres in drill hole VW23-03
Highlights:
Hole VW23-03 was collared into shallow till cover targeting a VTEM anomaly and intersected a mottled gabbro intrusive with pervasive sulfides beginning at the bedrock contact. The sulfides occur as fine-grained disseminations to semi-massive net-textured aggregates. The hole was drilled at 350 degrees and 45-degree dip with the bottom contact of the mineralized interval at 45 degrees to core axis, however the true thickness or extent of the zone is not known, additional drilling will aim to better define the orientation and extent.
The results from VW-23-03 confirm the reported discovery of a new zone previously unidentified containing nickel sulfide mineralization 30 metres north of the furthest north hole at the No Baccy zone. This represents the furthest north intersection containing over 1% Nickel on the property. Evidence also suggests that the mineralization is open and continues to the north and potentially to depth.
Table 3: Assay results from hole VW-23-03 (additional assays pending)
| from (m) | to (m) | Int. (m) | Ni (%) | Cu (%) | Co (%) | Au (g/t) | Pt (g/t) | Pd (g/t) | PGE+ Au (g/t) | NiEq (%)* | |
| VW23-03 | 1.26 | 24.00 | 22.74 | 0.62 | 0.16 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.12 | 0.21 | 0.78 |
| incl. | 1.26 | 4.00 | 2.74 | 1.45 | 0.23 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.00 | 0.25 | 0.30 | 1.68 |
| and incl. | 16.00 | 18.00 | 2.00 | 1.23 | 0.22 | 0.03 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.27 | 0.37 | 1.46 |
| and incl. | 23.00 | 24.00 | 1.00 | 1.21 | 0.15 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.17 | 0.20 | 1.37 |
Figure 15: Core photo from VW-23-04 (dry core) at 21 to 22 metres down hole showing net-texture, sulfide-matrix texture. Assays from VW-23-04 are pending.
Figure 16: Close up of core from hole VW-23-04 at 20 metres down hole showing net to semi-massive (assays pending).
Figure 17: Hole VW-23-05 from 12.5 to 13 metres and 14.5 to 15 metres downhole showing disseminated and stringy to net-textured and sulfide matrix breccia textures
The next round of results came on highest-grade intersection of nickel-copper mineralization at the Voisey’s West nickel project to date with 2.84% nickel (Ni) and 3.28% nickel equivalent (NiEq) over one metre within a heavily mineralized interval over 18 metres including 9 metres of 1.12% Ni.
Highlights:
Adrian Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Avante, commented, “We are excited to have drilled the highest grades at Voisey’s West to date, this discovery underscores the potential of Voisey’s West to host economically important nickel deposits. This high-grade intersection was discovered while testing the north extension of the 1-kilometre trend containing greater than 1% nickel in drilling within the overall 2.5-kilometre trend. We believe the new zone is host to continuous mineralization over 250 metres, of which the northern 150 metres remains completely untested. Having such an extensive area of continuous sulfides within the much larger corridor makes this new area a prime location to follow the magmatic nickel system to depth. Future targeting will include down hole geophysics to aid in tracking the system vertically for the planned phase two program which will continue to expand the zone near surface while also testing to depth.”
Hole VW-23-04 and VW-23-05 were collared into shallow till cover overtop of a VTEM anomaly and intersected a mottled gabbro intrusive with pervasive sulfides beginning at 3.9 metres and 1.2 metres respectively, at the bedrock contact. The sulfides occur as fine-grained disseminations to semi-massive net-textured aggregates. Hole VW-23-04 was drilled at 360 degrees and 60-degree dip with the bottom contact of the mineralized interval at 35 degrees to core axis. Hole VW-23-05 was drilled at 360 degrees and 45-degree dip. The true thickness or extent of the zone is not known, additional drilling will aim to better define the orientation and extent. The new zone is visible in areas daylighting through till cover over approximately 250m length within the overall 2.5-kilometre strike of the mineralized trend.
VW23-04 and VW23-05 are characterized by lightly disseminated to net-textured and semi-massive mineralization. Zones with accumulate semi-massive to massive sulphide veins are also observed throughout the mineralized intervals. VW23-05 contains a noticeable increase in chalcopyrite interspersed through the pyrrhotite. A relatively low abundance of visible pentlandite would suggest that pentlandite occurs as lamellae within pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite rather than “eyes” at the triple-junction boundary of pyrrhotite grains more common within massive ores. Detailed microscope and mineral chemistry will aid to determine mineralogical relationships.
Table 4: Significant assay results from hole VW-23-04 and VW-23-05
| Hole VW-23-04 | From (m) | To (m) | Int (m) | Ni (%) | Cu (%) | Co (%) | Au (g/t) | Pt (g/t) | Pd (g/t) | PEG + Au (g/t) | NiEq (%) | |
| 3.9 | 22.0 | 18.1 | 0.75 | 0.31 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.18 | 0.25 | 0.99 | ||
| incl. | 3.9 | 7.0 | 3.1 | 0.79 | 0.25 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.38 | 1.03 | |
| and incl. | 13.0 | 22.0 | 9.0 | 1.12 | 0.33 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.28 | 0.31 | 1.39 | |
| incl. | 13.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 | 2.84 | 0.20 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.91 | 0.94 | 3.28 | |
| incl. | 19.0 | 22.0 | 3.0 | 1.61 | 0.48 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.00 | 0.29 | 0.33 | 1.98 | |
| Hole VW-23-05 | 1.2 | 16.0 | 14.8 | 0.61 | 0.37 | 0.02 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.12 | 0.22 | 0.86 | |
| incl. | 1.2 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 0.89 | 0.29 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.20 | 0.24 | 1.12 | |
| and incl. | 12.0 | 15.0 | 3.0 | 1.20 | 0.94 | 0.03 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.16 | 0.32 | 1.75 | |
Figure 18: View from the bottom of Nickel Hill looking up towards a new drilling discovery. Thin glacial till obscures bedrock with bolder-train/subcrop indicating proximal source of continuous magmatic-nickel-sulfide zone. The Nickel Hill area continues under till cover for approximately 250 metres and largely remains untested.
Adrian Smith continues, “We are excited to continue working on the Voisey’s West project, we are in a prime location adjacent to one of the worlds most prolific nickel mines. We plan to conduct down hole geophysics as part of a phase 2 drilling program currently being designed to target the deeper extent of the high-grade nickel mineralization encountered. Our goal with downhole geophysics is to identify the areas where the sulfides settle into massive sulphide pools or pockets which should be part of the magmatic conduit system already identified at the Voisey’s West project. Our team is eager to advance to the next phase of the exploration and to continue working with local communities and stakeholders.”
Updates will be provided as they occur.
Disclosure
At the time of creation, Avante Mining is a client of Insidexploration Analytics Inc.
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