Junior mining in its essence is about discovery. Sure, some companies are formed with the aim of developing existing deposits or rolling up a bunch of producing assets in one area of the world. However, the real wealth creation in the junior mining industry is generated through the process of making new discoveries. New mineral resource discoveries have the ability to create wealth and prosperity where nothing existed before, whether it's exploring ground that nobody had contemplated before or finding things that others missed or never even looked for in the first place. In order to make a new discovery, the explorationist usually needs to look where others haven’t or see something that others previously did not grasp.

Nothing gets the juices flowing like the thrill of discovery, and nothing else in the mining business can grasp the market’s imagination quite like a new large-scale discovery.

Great Bear Resources made a world-class gold discovery by using a completely new geological interpretation at a gold project that had been previously drilled in one of the most prolific gold regions of Canada, Red Lake. The Great Bear team’s new set of eyes and fresh perspective on an old project turned The Dixie Project into one of the greatest gold discoveries of the 21st century, resulting in a $1.8 billion takeover by Kinross Gold at the end of 2021.

One of the most important charts that any junior mining investor can become familiar with is the chart of the lifecycle of a mineral discovery:

The transition from pre-discovery to a confirmed discovery of potential economic merit is the most exciting period in the lifecycle of a junior mining company, and it is also typically the most lucrative phase of the life cycle for investors.

The discovery process is an iterative process similar to the process of assembling the pieces of a puzzle. The initial prospecting and field work sets the stage for drilling. The first drill holes deliver the company a lot more data which further informs future drill programs. Slowly but surely the pieces of the puzzle come together, and all the while investors speculate on whether or not the company will be successful, and as to just how successful they will ultimately be.

There is nothing like the thrill of discovery. In rare cases like Great Bear ($1.8 billion takeout in 2021) or Aurelian ($1.2 billion takeover by Kinross in 2008 just two years after drilling the discovery hole at Fruta Del Norte), early investors can make fortunes. However, most exploration stage companies are never fortunate enough to prove an economic mineral discovery.

Oftentimes a fresh set of eyes and the implementation of modern exploration technology are what’s required to find something that others had overlooked. Drone geophysics, recent technological advances in borehole electromagnetics, and artificial intelligence make the exploration process much more efficient by allowing geologists to process huge amounts of data in relatively short periods of time.

A junior explorer using innovative exploration techniques in a tried and true Canadian mining camp recently caught my attention. Nine Mile Metals (CSE:NINE) is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral projects in the Bathurst Mining Camp of north central New Brunswick, Canada. The Bathurst Mining Camp is one of the largest volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) camps in the world, covering approximately 3,800 square kilometers, hosting 95 (copper, lead, zinc, silver, and gold) occurrences and 45 deposits.

The host geology is referred to as the Bathurst Supergroup and consists of four coeval groups of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, namely the Tetagouche, California Lake, Sheephouse Brook Groups, and the Fournier Supergroup. Within the Tetagouche and California Lake Groups, there are 41 deposits. The Spruce Lake Formation of the California Lake Group runs right through the center of NINE’s Nine Mile Brook and Canoe Landing Lake West Projects, as seen in orange:

NINE has used an innovative process of conducting XRF analysis of drill core from its Nine Mile Brook VMS Project. NINE completed a phase one drill program that consisted of five target diamond drill holes into VMS target #1 at Nine Mile Brook. On May 25th, the company announced that it had intersected visible mineralization on all five VMS target drill holes with intersections ranging from 9 meters to more than 14 meters of high-grade VMS mineralization (Copper, Lead, Zinc). In all five holes, NINE geologists observed abundant pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena in drill core locally mixed with sediments.

Massive VMS mineralization from diamond drill core at Target Area #1 from the Nine Mile Brook VMS Project in New Brunswick, Canada

NINE then proceeded to release XRF analysis for three diamond drill holes from Target Area #1. All three holes reported high-grade VMS style intersections over broad widths. There was some controversy regarding publishing XRF grades in a company press release. However, NINE management were confident that their meticulous XRF analysis methodology (random unknown samples of the XRF gun that consist of 30-38 data points analyzed per meter) would be corroborated by certified lab assay results.

Last week, NINE reported lab assay results for the first few diamond drill holes at its VMS Lens Extension Target at the Nine Mile Brook Project in the Bathurst Mining Camp of New Brunswick, Canada. In three different holes, the results confirmed the company's previously released XRF analysis of the drill core with extremely high grades including 11 meters grading 9.69% copper, 11.93% zinc, 2.90% lead, 283.31g/t silver, and 1.65g/t gold, and 15.1 meters grading 10.12% copper, 1.00% zinc, 1.41% lead, 91.47g/t silver, and 0.84g/t gold.

The Bathurst Mining Camp is famous for its volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, especially for the Brunswick No. 12 Mine (which closed in 2013 after 49 years in operation). During its lifetime, this mine produced 136,643,367 tonnes of ore grading 3.44% Pb, 8.74% Zn, 0.37% Cu, 102.2 g/t Ag, making it one of the largest known and longest lived, underground VMS deposits in the world.

 

VMS deposits often form in clusters or camps, following the tectonic plate boundaries in areas of ancient underwater volcanic activity. In the Bathurst Camp, a series of VMS deposits occur along the Spruce Lake Formation. At Nine Mile Brook, there are six deposits located within 10 kilometers of the property boundary, five of the six deposits are located along the Spruce Lake Formation.

 

NINE is taking an innovative approach to modern minerals exploration by using drone technology and XRF analysis to make economic battery metals discoveries in prolific mining camps. Last year, the NINE team made a VMS lens extension discovery at Nine Mile Brook. The discovery was made to the south of a known VMS mineral occurrence (Willett). The recently completed phase 1 diamond drill program was the first time this target was drill tested.

 

Surface expression of the VMS Lens Extension Target at the Nine Mile Brook Project in the Bathurst Mining Camp - the abundance and variety of high-grade boulders in the area indicate a much larger bedrock source than what has been uncovered so far.

 

At Target Area 1, the series of five holes were not only designed to specifically define the extent of the VMS mineralization, but to provide sample material. EarthEx Geophysical Solutions are analyzing physical properties of the core and the host rock to clearly define the conductive signature and apply it to NINE’s 3D modeling. This data will assist in locating similar additional clusters in NINE’s data sets. This first drill program and geophysical results will help to formulate drill targets for the Phase 2 drill program, in addition to helping to discover the source deposit of the VMS lens and the newly discovered extension.

 

Strong magnetic anomalies toward the southern portion of Nine Mile Brook near the Willett Occurrence and the Nine Mile Brook VMS lens

 

NINE capped the holes from the phase 1 drill program in order to facilitate a borehole electro-magnetic survey (BHEM). BHEM is able to identify subsurface conductors along strike and at depth, providing a 3D model of the mineralization. The results identified in the BHEM program will be tested in Phase 2 along with the forthcoming 3D AI Analysis that EarthEX Geophysical Solutions is currently processing. NINE will publish the results of the BHEM (set to commence this week) and 3D AI analysis as they become available over the coming weeks. EarthEX will also generate cross section maps and 3D graphics of the target areas.

One of NINE’s technical advisors, geologist Gary Lohman commented on the results of the phase 1 drill program at Nine Mile Brook:

“We are committed to our new, leading-edge technology, our disciplined technical approach to exploration in the Bathurst Mining Camp. In addition to applying leading edge geophysical analysis, we are the first to conduct BHEM at Nine Mile Brook and look forward to completing the survey and reporting the results. We are extremely pleased by the drill holes assay results to date, although not unexpected. Once all data is received, the drill core logged, photographed, assayed, and modeled by EarthEx, we will provide a summary analysis. We believe that a new series of discoveries will be driven by the application of new technology in the Bathurst Mining Camp.”

NINE is an exciting new junior explorer applying cutting edge technology to a prolific historic Canadian mining camp. The early results at Nine Mile Brook are very encouraging, and the phase 1 drill results place NINE in the sweet spot of the discovery cycle.The phase 2 drill program at Nine Mile Brook should begin by the end of September and will be eagerly anticipated by investors.

Disclosure: Author may initiate a position in Nine Mile Metals shares within 72 hours of publishing. Author has been compensated for marketing services by Nine Mile Metals. Ltd.

 

DISCLAIMER: The work included in this article is based on current events, technical charts, company news releases, and the author’s opinions. It may contain errors, and you shouldn’t make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. This publication contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to comments regarding predictions and projections. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. This publication is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always thoroughly do your own due diligence and talk to a licensed investment adviser prior to making any investment decisions. Junior resource companies can easily lose 100% of their value so read company profiles on www.SEDAR.com for important risk disclosures. It’s your money and your responsibility.