SPC Nickel (TSX-V:SPC) has de-risked and reinforced the ‘strategic value’ of the West Graham Project located in Canada, after receiving the results from a metallurgical study.
The metallurgical study was completed by XPS Expert Process Solutions, focusing on flotation performance, concentrate grade potential and variability across representative samples from the West Graham resource.
West Graham’s resource is a disseminated sulphide resource with 73% of the nickel hosted in nickel sulphides, 14% contained in pyrrhotite, 6% in pyrite and 7% in non-sulphide gangue. Effectively all copper is present as chalcopyrite.
The study outlined that locked cycle testing produced an 18.4% copper+nickel rougher-cleaner concentrate.
Combined rougher-cleaner concentrate and pyrrhotite rejection circuit cleaner concentrate recovered 70% of the nickel in feed – equivalent to 96% of the nickel present in nickel sulphide – and 85% of the copper into a combined concentrate grading 14.8% copper+nickel.
SPC Nickel adds that effective copper-nickel separation of the rougher-cleaner concentrate was demonstrated in the lab with 80% copper recovery into a copper concentrate grading 26% copper and 1.8% nickel.
The concentrate produced is considered consistent with that from other Sudbury Basin ores and could be integrated into existing Sudbury mills as incremental metal units in a blended feed scenario.
CEO Grant Mourre says the study confirms strong nickel and copper recoveries into clean concentrates with no negative elements and highlights the potential for further upgrading in a blended feed environment.
“Importantly, the concentrate specifications are consistent with other Sudbury Basin ores and could be integrated into existing processing infrastructure,” Mourre says.
Further, the company also received drill results from a drilling program conducted in October 2025 at the LKE Project located in the Sudbury Mining Camp. The aim of the program was to test a series of high-conductivity electromagnetic anomalies located down-dip of the LKE resource.
Hole LKE-25-001 intersected a 49.0m zone of ‘West Graham-style’ nickel-copper-platinum group metals mineralisation between 1,693m and 1,742m, consisting of 2-10% blebby and disseminated sulphides hosted with norites proximal to the basal contact.
Due to the depth of drilling and greater than expected hole deviation, the hole did not intersect the target in the optimal location.
A follow-up borehole electromagnetic survey was completed, which identified a strong off-hole anomaly immediately up-dip, correlating closely with the highest assay values within the mineralised interval.
SPC Nickel is a Canadian explorer focused on discovering polymetallic copper-nickel-platinum group metal mineralisation in Nunavut within the Sudbury Mining Camp.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: SPC Nickel
