Phone: +1.403.870.4349 | Email: info@fathomnickel.com
Phone: +1.403.870.4349 | Email: info@fathomnickel.com
Located within the magmatic nickel sulphide-rich Proterozoic Trans-Hudson Orogen, which extends across Saskatchewan into northern Manitoba and northern Quebec, Fathom’s projects cover a northeast-trending corridor of approximately 100 kilometres. Together, the three properties total more than 133,000 hectares. In Manitoba, the Thompson Nickel Belt has been in production since 1961, while in northern Quebec, the Raglan operations have produced high-grade magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE sulphides since 1997. Fathom’s exploration thesis is that Saskatchewan’s underexplored segment of the Trans-Hudson Orogen is equally fertile for magmatic nickel sulphide deposits as comparable districts in neighbouring Manitoba and Quebec.
There has been minimal follow-up exploration at the Albert Lake and Gochager Lake projects since the 1960’s. The limited work completed focused mainly on the historic deposits and did not assess the broader scale potential. Fathom is the first company to demonstrate that the host geology and mineralization styles at both projects are consistent with large, dynamic and open magmatic nickel sulphide systems.
The 33,629-hectare Gochager Lake property is located 75 kilometers north-northeast of La Ronge and 22 kilometers west-northwest of Missinipe, Saskatchewan, Canada. Fathom owns 100% of the property and has been actively exploring it since February 2023. The property hosts the historic magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide Gochager Lake deposit [1] , which was defined by drilling between 1965 and 1968.
[1]- The Gochager Lake property is host to the historic Gochager Lake Ni-Cu deposit. There is no source or available Technical Reports to verify the historic resource estimate for the deposit; hence, Fathom will treat the historic estimate as an Exploration Target. Available records in the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index (SMDI) and Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database (SMAD) suggest an Exploration Target of 4-5 million tons grading 0.3% Ni – 0.4% Ni and 0.08% Cu – 0.09% Cu. The potential quantity and grade are conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource, and that it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. At present, Fathom has drilled 16 drillholes (5,549m) into the historic Gochager Lake deposit and has confirmed Ni-Cu grades comparable to and higher than the historical grades reported, thus confirming that a deposit of Ni-Cu+Co metal accumulation does exist at the historic Gochager Lake property. The disclosed potential quantity and grade have been determined by historic records notably; the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index and Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database. (SMDI #0880) reports delineation drilling outlined a deposit at the historic Gochager Lake Deposit; Steel, J.S. (1990), (SMAD 73P15-0091): Report on a Diamond Drilling Program on the Gallagher (Gochager) Lake Property of McNickel Inc., reported that Scurry-Rainbow Oil Ltd. constructed vertical sections and a longitudinal section from drill data collected 1966-1968, and an orebody with reasonably well-defined limits was interpreted. As stated above, the historic estimate is not well documented and there are no available Technical Reports to support the historic resource estimate(s).
Exploration to date has focused on improving the understanding of the historic deposit, its host stratigraphy, and mineralization styles through drilling. Surface work has successfully identified and expanded the deposit-hosting stratigraphy along strike. The resulting deposit footprint, now traced for more than 8 kilometers, demonstrates the project’s scale potential, including the potential for additional high-grade magmatic Ni-Cu-Co sulphide deposits beyond the historic Gochager Lake deposit.
[2] – The Gochager Lake property is host to the historic Borys Lake Zn-Pb deposit (SMDI#0848). There is no source or available Technical Reports to verify the historic resource estimate for the Borys Lake deposit; hence, Fathom will treat the historic estimate as an Exploration Target. Available records in the SMDI and Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database (SMAD) suggest an Exploration Target of 1-1.5 million tons grading 1.5%-2.0% combined Zn-Pb. The ranges of tons and grades are conceptual as there is insufficient historic data to verify the historical resource estimate(s) for the Borys Lake deposit. Fathom has confirmed the existence of drill core and exploration trenches within the Borys Lake deposit area and sampling of the trenches has confirmed the presence of Zn-Pb mineralization of comparable grade available in the public record, thus confirming that a deposit of Zn-Pb metal accumulation does exist at the historic Borys Lake deposit. Furthermore, no drilling has been done by the Company to define a current mineral resource, and it is uncertain if further drilling will result in the Exploration Target being delineated as a mineral resource. The disclosed potential quantity and grade is reported in the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index (SMDI #0848). As stated above, the historic estimate is not well documented and there are no available Technical Reports to support the historic resource estimate.
Disseminated – blebby sulphide nodules mineralization Gochager Lake deposit
Semi-massive breccia sulphide pyrrhotite-pentlandite-chalcopyrite mineralization Gochager Lake deposit
Fathom Gochager Lake project 2023-2024 drillhole plan map
Gochager Lake Project nickel in-soil map
The 90,460-hectare Albert Lake property is located 135 kilometers north-northeast of La Ronge, Saskatchewan, Canada. Fathom owns 100% of the property. As a private company, Fathom conducted intermittent exploration at the project from 2016 to 2018 and, as a public company, advanced exploration more aggressively from 2021 to 2024. The property hosts the historic Rottenstone Mine [3], a small operation that produced very high-grade nickel-copper-platinum-palladium-gold mineralization between 1965 and 1969.
[3] – The Rottenstone Mine; a small open-pit mining / milling operation was in production 1965-1969. Mining in 1965 produced 5,500 short tons with a reported average production grade of 3.23% Ni, 1.83% Cu, 0.14 oz/ton Pt, 0.10 oz/ton Pd, 0.03 oz/ton Au (9.26 g/t*3E, 3E = Pd-Pt+Au) and 0.20 oz/ton Ag. Initial milling of Rottenstone mine concentrate; September 5 – November 7, 1965, produced 1,070 dry short tons of concentrate that averaged 10.83% Ni, 5.74% Cu, 0.33 oz/ton Pt, 0.53 oz/ton Pd, 0.10 oz/ ton Au (32.91 g/t* 3E) and 1.25 oz/ton Ag. Richards, B.R. and Robinson, B.G.W. (1966), Mining and milling a small ore deposit …. Rottenstone Mining Limited: The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulleting for December 1966. The Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index (SMDI) #0958 reports final mine production in 1969 of 28,724 tons with an average grade of 3.28% Ni, 1.83% Cu and 9.63 g/t 3E and that approximately 9,000 tons of concentrate were sold to the International Nickel Company of Canada Limited. * A factor of 34.286 g/tonne was used to convert 1 oz/ton to g/tonne (g/t).
Fathom’s exploration at the Albert Lake project has been focused on demonstrating the small, very high-grade Rottenstone deposit is not a standalone, isolated deposit but a function of a large, open and dynamic magmatic nickel sulphide system. The “proof of concept”. Fathom is the first exploration company in the history of the project, dating back to 1929, to prove the Rottenstone deposit is part of a much larger dynamic system. New, separate discoveries of Rottenstone-like host rock and mineralization have been made 500 meters west-northwest of the Rottenstone mine (The Bay-Island Trend), 4.5 kilometers to the southwest of the Rottenstone mine (The Dime), and 1.5 kilometers southwest of the Rottenstone mine (Nic5 – Tremblay-Olsen). Ni-Cu+PGE-Au (platinum group elements + gold) magmatic sulphide mineralization is present at the three new discovery areas, all remain open for expansion, and in need of additional exploration programs.
Typical Rottenstone mine / deposit net-texture sulphide mineralization
Rottenstone-like disseminated-blebby and net-texture sulphide mineralization, Bay-Island Trend 500m west-northwest of the Rottenstone deposit
South Albert Lake project 2024 prospecting sample location map
