Orford Mining (ORM) - Gold Drilling Starts And Wyloo Spends Big on Nickel

Orford Mining is a gold explorer focused on highly prospective and under-explored areas of Northern Quebec. Orford Mining’s principal assets are located in two areas, the Cape Smith Belt in the Nunavik region and the Joutel region of the Abitibi district. The Qiqavik and West Raglan projects comprise a land package totaling over 105,000 hectares in the Cape Smith Belt of Northern Quebec.

The Qiqavik Project hosts several new high-grade gold discoveries along a mineralized trend in excess of 40km. The West Raglan project hosts a number of high-grade Raglan-style nickel-copper-platinum group metals discoveries along a 50km mineralized trend. Orford has acquired four property positions (Joutel - Eagle, McClure East, Joutel - South, and Joutel - Omega) totaling 26,815 hectares in the Joutel region of the Abitibi District of Northern Quebec, which hosts historical deposits such as the Eagle/Telbel, Joutel Copper, Poirier Copper, and Vezza deposits. Orford continually seeks new gold exploration opportunities in North America.

Matt Gordon caught up with David Christie, President, CEO, and Director, Orford Mining. Mr. Christie previously served as a Vice President with Goodman & Company Investment and Dundee Resources Inc. He is a former President, CEO, and Director of Eagle Hill Exploration, and a Mining Equity Research Analyst at TD and Scotia Capital. He also served as the Director of Osisko Mining Inc., eCobalt Solutions Inc., and Condor Precious Metals. David is a Professional Geologist in Ontario with more than 30 years of experience in the resources sector.

Company Overview

Orford Mining is a mineral explorer focused on a highly prospective and under-explored area of Northern Quebec and the Carolina Gold Belt in the United States. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Canada. Condor Precious Metals Inc. is the company’s subsidiary. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX-V: ORM).

Orford Mining is focused on gold exploration in Quebec. The company also has a significant nickel focus as well. The company’s representatives were at the PDAC (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada), which is located a 7-hour drive from its project.

The Wyloo Deal

Wyloo Metals Pty. Ltd. recently approved a CAD$4.9M exploration program, with Orford Mining Corp. as part of its earn-in to Orford’s high grade Ni-Cu-PGE (Platinum Group Elements) West Raglan property in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec. Both companies are engaged in quarterly meetings on budgeting reports. Wyloo Metals has been a valuable advisor for the company.

Wyloo Metals has approved a 3,000m diamond drilling program along with geophysics on every hole. The program also comprises prospecting and geology on some ridges of the project. Notably, Wyloo Metals had previously spent $1.8M-$1.9M on the project.

As per Orford Mining, the goal of this program is to discover new sulphide lenses. The Raglan deposit sits next door to the company’s project and features 190 sulphide lenses in 12 distinct zones. Currently, the company has 7 zones that feature different sulphide lenses. It is looking to find additional lenses in order to increase the tonnage. In case discoveries are made, the company has plans to drill additional holes next year.

Through the deal, Wyloo Metals has the opportunity to earn up to 80% option by spending $25M and completing a Feasibility Study. Although the Feasibility Study is expected to cost more, the investment will carry Orford through the ongoing operations until the study’s conclusion.

Orford Mining has a high-grade nickel project. As per the company, it is one of the highest-grade nickel projects in the world. The project features over 3% nickel, over 1% copper, and 3g-4g PGE along with 0.06% cobalt, making it a highly valuable project.

Cash Position

Orford Mining had $5M in cash flow in March 2022. The company has allocated over $3.5M to the Qiqabik project, a key gold asset that sits north of West Raglan in the Nunavik region of Quebec. It features high-grade gold assays across the entire 40km trend. In summer 2022, the company seeks to target the Annick boulder trend, along with a number of other high-grade boulder trends. It has successfully identified the origin of the boulder. It has plans to carry out an IP (Induced Polarization) survey. The company is looking to drill 3,000m here as well. It is looking to operate the West Raglan and the Qiqavik projects out of a single camp, namely West Raglan and Qiqavik with 2 drills.

Alamos Gold is a 22.9% shareholder in Orford Mining. The company has strong support from several other shareholders as well. Orford Mining also has the option to raise money by way of flow-through funds or charity flow. The company has a 75% delta on the current share price.

The market is highly volatile at the moment. Despite this, the nickel market is expected to continue its current pricing. Although the electric vehicle market is yet to soak up the supply. As per the company, nickel price is expected to trend between $12-$14 on a per pound basis. In a case where the company can successfully put out good nickel results, it has the likelihood of hitting a higher share price. The company anticipates that drill success on either the nickel project or the gold project will further reinforce the investor’s support for the company.

The gold market isn’t expected to see a lot of movement this year, according to Orford Mining. The company has a lot of betas, and it anticipates that if the gold discovery and the price spikes coincide, it would lead to an appreciation in the share price.

Currently, the company has a mixed group of investors. It has a 30% institutional shareholder base along with several HNW (High-net-worth) groups. The company’s Board also has significant ownership. It has retail investors as well. The company has had a couple of exits in recent times. It is currently focused on attaining drill success.

Drill Operations

Orford Mining has already mobilised its crews and has plans to initiate drill operations in the next couple of weeks. The company has a 3.6km boulder trend called Annick that features grades up to 648g. The company has successfully identified the boulder train’s origin.

The Qiqavik deposit hasn’t been explored in the past, making it virgin territory. The company has been on the ground for 29 weeks so far. It has plans to revisit 2 previously drilled targets, where it hit multiple thick gold intersections. It is now cognizant of the deposit’s higher-grade portion. The company is looking to drill specific targets in the Interlake zone, the Annick zone, and the IP Lake zone.

Notably, operating at the deposits is highly seasonal. As a result, the company can work for 2 months in a year. In order to alleviate this issue, the company has included additional properties in its portfolio. This allows the company to raise capital during the winter season as well.

Within the Joutel region, the company has picked up 4 properties, out of which, 3 have been staked. The fourth property is the Joutel Eagle project where the company has an option agreement to acquire 100% of the property. Orford Mining recently finished drilling the Joutel Eagle property, which is located next to Agnico Eagle’s original gold mine. This region has been largely unexplored since 1993. The holes drilled were located fairly apart, and the company sampled some material but is yet to sample the entire core. Upon revisiting the South Gold zone, the company realised that it has depth and strike potential. The zone featured grades of 6g.

The company drilled 3 holes here and the highest assay was 14g over 1m. In addition, the company also hit thick intersections of 1g material, including 46m of 0.97g or 28m of 1.24g. It also found good near-surface results. Orford Mining is looking to conduct geophysics at the South Gold Zone. During the winter season, it has plans to extend the zone to 600m-700m strike length at a 300m depth. This would provide a mineable ore body for the company.

Although this deposit can be drilled all year round, the company has chosen to conduct operations in the winter due to seasonality. The surface is swampy during the winter season, making it better suited for drilling. In a nickel project, as soon as the core is found, it is easy to determine whether it is in a massive sulphide zone or not.

The company is currently awaiting assay results for the Annick gold project. The assay results are expected between June and mid-October. Since the Joutel project is located close to an old mine, it has convenient road access and a well-developed infrastructure.

Compared to the company’s other projects, exploration at Joutel is significantly cheaper. Here the company has spent $600,000 in 2022, including option payments.

It is looking to balance out fund allocation across its portfolio. However, the assay results will dictate the future fund allocation. A bigger drill program in 2023 would still be cheaper at $1M. In comparison, the same amount of drilling at Nunavik would cost around $3M.

To find out more, go to the Orford Mining website