NUINSCO, INCO EXPLORING 'MEL' PROPERTY ON THE THOMPSON NICKEL BELT
Tuesday, August 17, 1999, 1:48 PM EDT
Toronto, Ontario
Nuinsco Resources Limited (NWI) is pleased to announce that it
has entered into an option/joint venture agreement with Inco
Limited (Inco) to acquire a 100 percent interest in the Mel
Property (the Property) on the Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB)
located within 20 kms. of Inco's processing facilities at
Thompson, Manitoba.
The Property consists of two exploration and development
opportunities: a 10-claim block of leased claims (446 ha)
containing the Mel Deposit and an adjacent block of 91 staked
claims (21,657 ha).
The Mel Deposit, discovered by Inco in 1961, contains an
inferred resource of 7 million tonnes with an average grade of
1.25% nickel to a depth of 600 metres. The resource includes
620,000 tonnes of ramp-accessible material with an average
grade of approximately 1.8% nickel. This figure is based on a
wide drill spacing of 60 metres and more detailed drilling is
required to establish if the resource is mineable. Confirmation
drilling on the Mel Deposit is planned to start in September.
The staked claims were covered by airborne geophysical surveys
and shallow diamond drilling, to a depth of only 90 metres by
Inco. The best intersection included 2.43% nickel over 2.0
metres. The Mel area has not been considered part of the TNB
but Inco, through geophysics and reinterpretation of past
drilling, now considers the Mel area as a dislocated part of
the TNB. Until now such knowledge has remained proprietary to
Inco. After freeze-up, this winter, a modern, deep-penetrating
survey will be conducted with follow-up diamond drilling to
test significant targets.
To earn a 100 percent interest in the Property, NWI must spend
$6 million on the Property over the next 5 years starting with
$0.5 million in year one and $0.85 million in year two. Up to
20 percent of the expenditures can be spent on the Mel Deposit.
After NWI has earned a 100 percent interest in the Property,
Inco has the right to re-acquire a 51 percent interest by
spending $6 million on exploration over the next 4 years. NWI
has the right to be the operator of any mine developed on the
Property.
NWI may produce a positive feasibility study on the Mel Deposit
during the option period if NWI's total expenditure on the Mel
deposit exceeds $1.2 million and NWI commits to spend the
balance of the $6 million on the Property within five years.
Inco has the right to re-acquire a 51 percent interest in the
Mel Deposit by funding its portion of the development costs and
by committing to spend $6 million on exploration of the
Property over 4 years. Should either party elect not to
participate, after NWI has earned 100 percent interest, the
non-participant would be diluted to a 10 percent net profits
interest.
Nuinsco is an exploration company with wholly owned projects in
northwestern Ontario (Rainy River and Confederation Lake) and
northwestern Quebec (Lac Rocher). Shares of Nuinsco trade on
The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NWI. U.S. S.E.C.
exemption: 12g3-2(b)#82-1846.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Garry Hughes, President,
Nuinsco Resources Limited (416) 626-0470
Cathy Hume or Olav Svela,
Investor Relations, Hume, Kieran Inc. (416) 868-1079
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