Prophecy Platinum (CVE:NKL) said Tuesday it will start underground drilling at its Wellgreen platinum group metals (PGM)-nickel-copper project in the Yukon Territory in the third week of January.
The company said it has planned for about 9,000 metres of underground drilling, intended to target the infill areas of the existing resource, as well as the potential expansion of the resource to the south, where a pit area is being designed for the company's preliminary economic assessment (PEA), due for completion in the first quarter of 2012.
"This will be the biggest drill campaign in Wellgreen's history," said chairman, John Lee.
"Our project is merely 15 kilometres from the paved two-lane Alaska Highway with port access. The company will continue to make rapid strides toward de-risking this very unique, high-profile PGM project in North America."
Development and rehabilitation of the mine's underground workings started in November 2011, and will be ongoing throughout 2012, Prophecy said. The company has received drill permits and has mobilized a crew to the site to prepare drill stations. Drilling is expected to continue year-round, covering the one-kilometre strike of the Wellgreen East Zone.
Additionally, the results of the underground drilling will potentially upgrade the company's inferred resource to the measured and indicated category. In July 2011, the company reported 289 million tonnes grading 0.38 percent nickel, 0.35 percent copper, and 1.18 grams per tonne (g/t) PGM plus gold in the inferred category, and 14 million tonnes grading 0.69 percent nickel, 0.62 percent copper, and 2.25 g/t PGM plus gold in the indicated category.
Upgrading the resource estimate for Prophecy's NI 43-101 report will help it to move the Wellgreen project toward a prefeasibility study, following the completion of the PEA.
In other news, Prophecy said it has signed a contract for at least 10,000 metres of surface drilling, slated for start in the spring of 2012. It will dedicate between two and four drills to the program, which will run concurrently with the underground drill campaign.
The surface drilling will cover the proposed pit area, the West Zone, and the northernmost portions of the project, which host high-grade intrusions over 241 g/t PGM plus gold over 0.5 metres. Drilling will also continue exploration outside of the two-kilometre resource strike boundaries, so as to test the open areas at depth and to the east, as delineated by magnetic anomalies and known lithological contacts.
In addition to definition drilling, Prophecy said a separate exploration team is currently compiling historic data and planning an exploration program to cover the 17.5 kilometre Quill Creek area. Prophecy said details will follow in the first quarter.
The company is a Canadian nickel and platinum group metals exploration company with projects in Canada, Argentina and Uruguay. In Canada, it also holds the Lynn Lake project in Manitoba in addition to Wellgreen.
On the TSX Venture Exchange, Prophecy shares hiked 2.5 percent to $2.10, as of 9:47 am EDT. In 2011, the company's stock gained 6.84 percent.
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