Exploration History

First staked as Broadside, Snow etc cl (11965) in Jul/10. Later staked as part of the BA cl (Yl2495) in Apr/68 by H. Rail and sold to Pacific Giant Steel Ores L, which transferred the claims to Canyon City EL in Jun/68.

Restaked as Trudi cl (Y35455) in Jun/69 by B. Watson and again as Trudi cl (Y54455) in Aug/70 by B. Watson and D. Small. Optioned in 1971 by Quintana Mls Corp L, which explored by grid soil sampling, geological mapping, and 2 diamond drill holes (290.2 m) before dropping the option. The claims were later allowed to lapse.

In 2004, ATAC Resources Ltd. staked the Nikki property and conducted prospecting and soil, silt geochemical sampling and a 3D Induced Polarization (IP) survey.

In 2006, Kria Resources Inc. optioned the property from ATAC and completed prospecting, geological mapping, soil geochemical sampling and hand trenching (Eaton, 2007). Kria later dropped the option.

In early 2010, Strategic Metals Ltd purchased the Nikki property from ATAC and completed an exploration program of soil sampling, diamond drilling (four holes totalling 1307.58 m), and helicopter-borne radiometric and magnetic geophysical surveying.

In 2012, Strategic Metals drilled a single diamond drill hole for 297.79 m.

In 2021, Strategic competed soil sampling and prospecting.

Capsule Geology

The Nikki property is underlain by mafic to intermediate volcanic rocks, tuffs and volcaniclastic rocks of the Station Creek Formation and mudstone, siltstone and limestone of the Hasen Creek Formation.

An Early Cretaceous granodiorite intrusion occurs within the central portion of the property where it reaches a maximum width of 900 m and has been traced for approximately 2300 m along strike. The intrusion is strongly porphyritic and contains modally abundant plagioclase, minor quartz, and trace hornblende in a fine-grained pale grey-green matrix. It is commonly clay altered along fractures and weathers yellow to orange. Near the western edge of the property, a 1200 by 300 m area of granodiorite with abundant secondary magnetite lies adjacent to a 200 by 600 m zone of potassic alteration. Calcite-pyrite veinlets are abundant in the granodiorite-diorite complex and range from one to eight millimetres wide.

A 150 by 50 m area of skarn-style alteration caps the highest peak on the property, is likely a limestone unit within the Hasen Creek Formation that is strongly altered to a coarse-grained mixture of epidote, chlorite and tremolite. Non-limy sections of the Hasen Creek Formation are extensively altered to rusty weathering hornfels. Interbedded pyritic volcanic and sedimentary rocks are cut by a diorite stock, the core of which is composed of porphyritic monzonite to granodiorite. The porphyritic monzonite is weakly pyritic and moderately chloritized and sericitized.

Soil sampling outlined a zone of weak to moderately intense copper response which was about 1830 m long and 610 m wide. Grades obtained by drilling averaged about 0.13% Cu and 0.005% MoS2.