Nickel Rock Completes Initial Exploration Program on the Hard Nickel Claim Group

VANCOUVER, BC, June 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickel Rock Resources Inc. (the "Company" and "Nickel Rock") (TSX-V: NICL), (OTCQB: NICKLF), (FSE: NMK2) is pleased to announce that an initial phase of the Nickel Project exploration program has been completed. The Nickel Project ("Project") consists of four non-contiguous mineral claims groups held by Nickel Rock Resources Inc. through three separate agreements. The exploration stage project is in the Trembleur Lake area of central British Columbia, partially adjacent to FPX Nickel Corp.'s Decar Nickel Project, which is an advanced project targeting awaruite, a nickel-iron alloy mineral, hosted by serpentinized ultramafic intrusive rocks of the Trembleur Ultramafic Unit.

Robert Setter, Company President and CEO comments "We are very excited about the results from our initial exploration program on the Hard Nickel claim group.  The team has worked very hard to get to where we are now.  During this initial exploration, we have recorded some relatively high Ni readings measured via portable XRF on the Nickel S block, with one being 4% Ni, and another registering approximately 6000 ppm in the Nickel W block. It should be noted that although pXRF does not necessarily reflect bulk rock composition, it is a good indication that we are on the right track here. Furthermore, field work verified the presence of strongly magnetic and serpentinized ultramafic rocks on both the Nickel W and S blocks, corresponding to geophysical magnetic anomalies highlighted from Geoscience BC's QUEST-West survey. Our geological team suspects these ultramafic rocks have potential to host awaruite mineralization."

Exploration Program

• The initial exploration consisted of rock & soil geochemical surveys and geological mapping on the lower elevation, road accessible Nickel West and Nickel South blocks. 405 soil samples and 149 rock samples were collected on the Nickel West block and 101 soil samples and 50 rock samples were collected on the Nickel South block. All samples have been submitted to SGS Canada for analytical analysis.
• On site portable X-ray fluorescence analysis (pXRF) confirmed the presence of nickel values exceeding 40,000 ppm on the Nickel South block and 6000 ppm on the Nickel West block in select bedrock samples. It should be noted that pXRF does not necessarily reflect bulk rock composition.
• All rock samples were taken in duplicate, with one sent to SGS Canada for geochemical analysis and a duplicate sample retained at Hardline Exploration in Smithers BC for further mineralogical analysis.
• Soil samples were submitted for screening to -80 mesh (180 μm) and processing with aqua regia digestion followed by analysis using ICP-OES. Rock samples were submitted for crushing to 75% passing 2mm, riffle splitting 250g and pulverization of the split to better than 85% passing 105 microns, and processing with four acid digestion followed by analysis using ICP-OES.
• Further exploration will resume on the Nickel West and Nickel Central blocks including rock and soil geochemical surveys and mechanized trenching.
• A Notice of Work application was submitted in February 2021 allowing for mechanized trenching, diamond drilling, geophysics and camps. The Company is working/consulting with the BC government and local First Nations.
• The principal target on the Project is nickel occurring as awaruite, but at the exploration stage all other styles of mineralization will be considered.
• Systematic, ground-based exploration work began within the area of the claims now covered by the Nickel Project under the direction of Ms. Ursula Mowat, P.Geo. in 1987, continuing intermittently until 2012. This work established the presence of elevated nickel, cobalt and chromium values in rocks, soils, and stream sediments.
• The area of the claim groups of the Project were included in Geoscience BC's QUEST and QUEST-West projects, including multiparameter regional geophysical surveys, and regional stream sediment reanalyzes and data compilations between 2008 and 2009. The survey highlighted multiple large geophysical magnetic anomalies on both the Nickel W and S claim groups, suspected to be attributed to ultramafic intrusive rocks from preliminary field mapping with potential to host awaruite mineralization.
• Britten's technical paper "Regional Metallogeny and Genesis of a New Deposit Type – Disseminated Awaruite (Ni3Fe) Mineralization Hosted in the Cache Creek Terrane published in 2017 in Economic Geology should be utilized as an interim mineral deposit model or profile for the Nickel Project.
• The Nickel Project is worthy of phased, systematic exploration programs designed and implemented to delineate areas with known or high probability metallic nickel mineralization, and to discover new areas of similar mineralization.

2021 Work Program

The Company currently has approximately $1.4 million in its treasury to fully fund its 2021 proposed work program.

The proposed work program consists of trenching, surface exploration, diamond drilling, camp construction, and exploration activities to support drilling and trenching such as soil sampling, rock sampling, prospecting, and geological mapping. The company proposes a 12-man camp to be built in a cirque on the north slope of the un-named mountain west of and adjacent to Mount Sydney Williams, and will be built next to a sub-alpine lake at the headwaters of Van Decar Creek. The location of camp was selected based on past exploration camps at this location and is suitable for supporting exploration. Camp will be used to accommodate field personnel and will be accessed with helicopter.

The Company estimates that this proposed work program will include $600,000 in exploration expenditures spent over the summer - fall of 2021 which will fulfill the Company's flow-through mining exploration commitments for the 2021 calendar year.

Qualified Person

Jacques Houle, P.Eng., a qualified person as defined by NI 43 – 101, is responsible for the technical information contained in this release. Readers are cautioned that the information in this press release regarding the property of FPX Nickel Corp is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on the property of interest.

About Nickel Rock Resources Inc. 

The Company is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company active in the exploration for nickel-iron alloy in British Columbia and lithium in Nevada. Nickel Rock Resources Inc. is a Canadian based exploration company whose primary listing is on the TSX Venture Exchange.  The Company's maintains a focus on exploration for high value battery metals required for the electric vehicle (EV) market.  (http://www.nickelrockresources.com/)

About Clayton Valley Lithium Project

Clayton Valley is a down-dropped closed basin formed by the Miocene age Great Basin extension and is still active due to movement along the Walker Lane structural zone.  As a result, the basin has preserved multiple layers of lithium bearing volcanic ash, resulting from multiple eruptive events over the past 6 million years including eruptions from the 700,000-year-old Long Valley Caldera system and related events.  These ash layers are thought to contribute to the lithium brines extracted by Albemarle and are also likely involved in the formation of the exposed lithium rich clay deposits on the east side of Clayton Valley. https://nickelrockresources.com/clayton-valley-lithium/

About the British Columbia, Canada Nickel Projects

The Mount Sidney Williams Group consists of five claim blocks in four groups with a total area of 6,125.32 hectares in the area surrounding Mount Sidney Williams, both adjoining and near the Decar project of FPX Nickel Corp., located 100 kilometres northwest of Fort St. James, B.C., in the Omineca mining division. Metallic mineralization includes nickel, cobalt, and chromium. At least some of the nickel mineralization occurs as awaruite. The Mitchell Range Group area claim consist of two contiguous claim blocks covering 3,134.70 hectares with demonstrated metallic mineralization including nickel, cobalt, and chromium. Nickel cobalt mineralization has not been well explored, but the presence of awaruite has been documented. 

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Robert Setter"

Robert Setter, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements.

Nickel Rock Resources Inc.
1220 – 789 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1H2
604- 428-5690
www.nickelrockresources.com  
[email protected]  

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SOURCE Nickel Rock Resources Inc.