Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) is preparing to begin a drilling program at the Horden Lake Project in Québec, Canada within two weeks, amid drill contractor Orbit Garant Drilling mobilising to site yesterday.
The 1,500m diamond drilling program is targeting shallow resource expansion opportunities which were uncovered during the 2024 exploration program.
Pivotal Metals is also in the final stages of its maiden metallurgical testwork program on Horden Lake. The testwork was initiated to develop a baseline metallurgical treatment scheme aimed at making a saleable grade of copper and nickel concentrates.
The company intends to use the results of the metallurgical testwork to finalise the economic parameters used within the resource estimation process. An updated resource estimate will follow the release of the testwork during the quarter.
Managing Director Ivan Fairhall says the company is looking forward to building on what is already a “substantial” deposit.
“We are also eagerly awaiting the final metallurgical testwork results. This is an important piece of the puzzle to unlock the economic potential of the deposit work that has never before been done on the project.”
Further, Pivotal completed a fixed-loop time domain electromagnetic survey over the broader 3.2km Horden Lake trend. The results are undergoing final audit, analysis, and interpretation, and are expected to be shared imminently.
Meanwhile, at the Belleterre-Angles Greenstone Belt (BAGB), which is an advanced exploration project, Pivotal has conducted a thorough data compilation and target review of the area.
Pivotal says targets consist of brownfields opportunities to expand historical resource bodies, as well as numerous undrilled targets that result from geophysical and surface sampling anomalies.
The company notes these targets align with the interpreted large-scale regional magmatic activity responsible for the widespread mineralising environment.
Pivotal is planning on the next exploration steps for these areas, which is anticipated to kick off during Q2 2025.
Fairhall says at BAGB, historical drilling has outlined nickel-copper-platinum group element grades, high-grade vein hosted gold, and volcanic massive sulphide potential.
“We look forward to articulating the scale of this opportunity and working towards our Q2 field program,” he says.
The Horden Lake Project is a copper-dominant asset that is also considered prospective for nickel, gold, platinum group elements, and cobalt. The project lies 131km north-northwest of Matagami in Québec, Canada.
Meanwhile, BAGB consists of a 157km2 greenstone package located adjacent to the Abitibi mining district.
Pivotal Metals is a mineral explorer and developer focused on critical mineral projects in Canada.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Pivotal Metals
