Nicola Provides Year in Review: 2022
Nicola Provides Year in Review: 2022
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 20, 2022) - Nicola Mining Inc. (
TSXV: NIM
)
(
FSE: HLI
) (
OTCQB: HUSIF
) (the "
Company
" or "
Nicola
") is providing "
Year in Review: 2022"
, with
the hope that it provides additional clarity on several key milestones that were achieved in 2022.
In
addition to highlighting the significance of noteworthy events, we are hopeful that this letter provides
insight into our plans for 2023.
The year began with the Company announcing that it had completed shipment of
196 tonnes (175 dry
metric tonnes)
of gold and silver concentrate via a Mining and Milling Partnership Agreement with Blue
Lagoon Resources Inc. (
CNSX: BLLG
).
Serendipitously, 2022 ended with the Company announcing
that it had, on December 2
nd
, signed a memorandum of understanding with
Osisko Development Corp
(
NYSE: ODV
) (
TSXV: ODV
).
However, the year is characterized by much more than Mining and Milling
Partnership Agreements and the processing of gold and silver concentrate.
On March 14, 2022, Nicola announced that it had entered into a Rock and Gravel Extraction and
Preferential Engagement Agreement (the "
Agreement
") with Lower Nicola Site Services Ltd. ("
LNSS
")
an indirectly majority-owned company. LNSS is a partnership between the Lower Nicola Indian Band
Development Corporation and Infracon Construction Inc. The Agreement highlights our commitment to
Environmental, Social, and Governance ("
ESG
") and desire to work closely with interested First Nations
groups. Additionally, it provided the opportunity for Nicola to step up as a "good citizen." Together with
LNSS, we were able to play a pivotal role in the rebuilding of key infrastructure required by several
nearby communities adversely affected by the
November 2021 floods
.
Since receipt of a
Notice of Departure
1
("
NoD
") and subsequent approval from the Ministry of
Forests
2
Nicola and LNSS have worked closely together to provide local communities with gravel and
riprap
, for which the Company receives a royalty.
Creativity in finding revenue streams to fund
reclamation and exploration can be attributed to the Company's C-Suite's ability to think "out of the box."
We remain steadfast in our environmental commitments and are currently in the process of hiring a full-
time Environmental Site Manager tasked with facilitating First Nation and community communications,
as well as implementing our environmental compliance initiatives.
Two noteworthy milestones were achieved at the New Craigmont Property (the "
Property
")
New Craigmont Copper Property:
Mine Permit M-68:
10,913 hectares of mineral claims
1.
ZTEM Survey:
On September 13, 2022, the Company announced the completion of a district-wide airborne
geophysical survey and related inversion modeling results carried out across the entire Property.
The Z-
axis Tipper Electromagnetic ("
ZTEM
") survey has imaged the electrical conductivity signature of known
mineral occurrences ("
MINFILEs
1
") in the province of British Columbia. ZTEM has produced similar
comparable signatures in other locations within the district of the Property.
Prior to exploring the
significance of the ZTEM Survey, it is important to highlight what makes the Craigmont Property
exceptional compared to most peers:
Aside from being one of
North America's highest grade historic copper mines
, (average grade of 1.3%
Cu) and it being adjacent to the
largest copper mine in Canada
, Highland Valley Copper, the brownfield
site maintains a mine permit (M-68) and is
largely unexplored
. Importantly, Nicola Mining Inc. became the
first consolidated owner of the Property after it consolidated the shareholder structure in November
2015, for the first time in decades.
Despite the historic grades and location, prior to Nicola garnering
ownership there was a void of exploration over the Property.
The significant difference between
maintaining a mine permit vs. "exploration project" cannot be underemphasized. For reference, it takes
approximately 13 years
3
in British Columbia to graduate from discovery phase to a mine permit.
Given the Property's size, location, and history, the
ZTEM survey highlights
are very intriguing:
Two large and prominent (>3x5 km and >3x10 km) NW-SE and WSW-ENE elongated, intrusion-
like magnetic high bodies defined in the northwestern and east-central parts of the block.
A large (>6 km x 6 km) magnetic low in the SW corner of the claim block.
A prominent north-south conductive contact on the western margin of the claim block
corresponding with the Lornex Fault.
A >6 x 3 km oval-shaped resistivity high feature that coincides with the western part of the >3 x 10
km magnetic high.
A large WNW to EW to ENE trending 4 km conductive contact that corresponds with the eastern
extension of the >3 x 10 km magnetic high.
2.
Receipt of MYAB Permit
Last month, on November 21, 2022, we announced that we had received a multi-year area-based
exploration permit, Permit Number MX-4-697 (the "
MYAB Permit
4
"), on November 3, 2022.
The
Company had successfully applied various geotechnical programs that include ZTEM, soil sampling,
electromagnetic, and induced polarization, to the site; however, until it had received the MYAB, drilling
exploration was limited.
The MYAB Permit allows the Company to complete the following key exploration
activities:
Geophysical Survey with exposed electrodes
190 diamond drill holes
12 km of trenching/bulk sampling of 12 km [6 ha disturbance]
With ZTEM Survey complete and the ability to conduct diamond drilling exploration through to November
2, 2027, we are moving swiftly to hiring a full-time VP of Exploration and diamond drilling exploration
company.
We will provide additional updates in the near future regarding our exploration program, which
is expected to commence in late spring of 2023.
We end this
Year in Review: 2022
letter where we started – production.
Our current plan is to commence
production of gold concentrate in Q1 of 2023.
As mentioned in the December 2
nd
, 2022, news release,
the Company has invested over $30.0 MM to construct a modern processing and fully lined tailings
facility, on a 900-acre parcel of land that is owned freehold; it is British Columbia's only permitted mill
facility capable of receiving gold and silver mill feed from throughout the province.
While 2022 was an exceptional year for the Company we are very excited about the potential of 2023.
Qualified Person
Kevin Wells, P.Geo, a consulting geologist to the Company, is the independent qualified person as
defined by NI 43-101 for the technical disclosure contained in this letter to shareholders.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
"
Peter Espig
"
Peter Espig
CEO & Director
For additional information
Contact:
Peter Espig
Phone: (778) 385-1213
Email:
URL:
www.nicolamining.com
Forward Looking-Statements
Certain statements in this letter are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of
management regarding the Company. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not
purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding
the future, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: (i) Nicola's near term and long term goals,
specifically with regard to its priorities for 2022; (ii) Nicola's ability to move forward on its five-year
exploration plan; (iii) the anticipated receipt of the MYAB and the ZTEM Survey results and, as a result
thereof, any effect these results may have on Nicola's expansion and diamond drilling exploration plans
for both copper skarn and copper porphyry targets; (iv) the final submission of its MYAB application for
Treasure Mountain; (v) the value, intrinsic or otherwise, of the Merritt Mill Site; (vi) any cash flows
associated with milling activities at the Merritt Mill Site; (viii) the prospects of Nicola's exploration
projects, including its New Craigmont, Treasure Mountain and Merritt Mill Site; and (viii) any general
statement regarding Nicola's operational and exploratory goals going forward. Such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ
materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control of
the Company. These risks include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in Nicola's business relationships
and plans; (ii) changes in the anticipated revenue streams and operational and exploratory goals; (iii) the
failure of Nicola to receive the necessary approvals for its MYAB applications and exploration permits,
as applicable; (iv) and other general business, economic, or market related risks beyond the director
control of the Company and which may affect the Company's business and operations. The novel strain
of coronavirus, COVID-19, also continues to pose risks that are currently indescribable and
immeasurable. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking
statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. The
Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or
management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not
to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
______________________
1
The NoD allows Nicola to extract of up to 3.0 million tonnes ("
Mt
") of inert available rock material that may be used for the infrastructure
reconstruction.
2
The Ministry of Forests is responsible for the stewardship of provincial Crown land and ensures the sustainable management of forest, wildlife,
water, and other land-based resources. The Ministry works with Indigenous and rural communities to strengthen and diversify their economies.
3
Nelson Bennett, "Building a mine in British Columbia: hurry up and wait", Business in Vancouver (January 29, 2021), online (
Mining.com
):
https://www.mining.com/building-a-mine-in-british-columbia-hurry-up-and-wait
.
4
MINFILE
contains geological, location and economic information on more than 14,750 metallic, industrial mineral and coal mines, deposits, and
occurrences in British Columbia
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/148689