Critical Minerals Explorer Looks for Nickel Discovery in Quebec

Infinico Metals Corp. (INFM:TSX), which focuses on the exploration for critical minerals in Quebec, could be on the verge of making a major new nickel discovery there, the company told Streetwise Reports.

In its January 2024 drill program at its Nicobi Project about 160 kilometers northeast of Val-d'Or, it intersected 51.94 meters at 1.37% nickel (Ni), 0.38% copper (Cu), 418 parts per million (ppm) cobalt (Co), and 0.16 grams per tonne (g/t) platinum group elements (PGE) from 6.10 meters below surface, the company said. 

Borehole electromagnetic (BHEM) surveys completed during the drill program and newly interpreted conductive features identified from surface electromagnetic surveys conducted in 2015 and 2023 also have given the company encouraging results and new drill targets to follow up on, Infinico said.

"It is about the best nickel intercept in the Abitibi and is in easily in the top 10 nickel intercepts globally this year," noted Chief Executive Officer Sam Walding. "There's a lot of upside there in terms of what we're exploring for, and what we've been able to show in a very small program. What we have done in that initial program is proof that the style of mineralization and grade is there."

Renowned geologist Quinton Hennigh told Streetwise Reports that "high-quality magmatic nickel sulfide discoveries are quite rare lately."

Technical Analyst Clive Maund told Streetwise that the company's charts show it's in a position to "embark on a potentially major bull market as it has completed a very large base pattern."

"Infinico has encountered 1.4% Ni over 52 meters in hole NBI-24-001 starting at grassroots at its Nicobi Project in Quebec," he said.

"This hole appears to have encountered mineralization in an area on the edge of a huge magnetic feature interpreted to be a mafic-ultramafic intrusive body. Recently collected EM data indicates the presence of multiple conductive zones potentially representing new, even larger, bodies of such sulfide mineralization. With drilling imminent, this could turn into a very exciting discovery story very quickly." 

The ultimate goal is to make an economic discovery a major will buy and turn into a mine.  For inspiration, Walding said it looks to a blockbuster discovery in Australia in which Sirius Resources found a large nickel deposit and went from 6 cents per share to AU$4.38 per share with a sale to Independence Group for AU$1.8 billion.

Stockhead noted that the takeover earned Sirius shareholders the equivalent of AU$225 for every AU$1 they held at the time of the deposit's discovery.

"That's the style of deposit we're looking for," Walding said.

Stock 'Not Lacking Catalysts'

*Technical Analyst Clive Maund told Streetwise that the company's charts show it's in a position to "embark on a potentially major bull market as it has completed a very large base pattern."

"Any exploration company with an intercept of 50 plus meters at over 1% nickel is trading at a minimum valuation of CA$20 million to CA$30 million, yet Infinico is currently valued at about CA$3–CA$4 million having hit an intercept of almost 52 meters at 1.63% with assays on the site turning upgrades as high as 8% and known mineralization proven to at least 80 meters depth," Maund said.

The analyst said investors should be interested to learn that "the company is now mobilizing to delineate the resource and show scale with a permitted and targeted 2,500-meter drilling program set to begin in the middle of this month and with assay results expected to be returned from mid-August through into September. It is clear that the stock is certainly not lacking a catalyst or catalysts going forward."

He also said it's technically an excellent point to buy Infinico's stock.

"It is now in the latest stage of a giant Cup and Handle base that has been building out at a low level since mid-late 2022," he wrote.

Maund rated the stock as an Immediate Strong Buy.

Nicobi, Dalhousie Projects

Infinico is exploring two projects in Quebec, Nicobi and the Dalhousie Project.

Nicobi is a magmatic nickel sulfide project that saw drilling until the early 1990s, including a scout drilling campaign in 1991 that intersected 37.61 meters at 0.75% Cu and 0.89% Ni from the surface.

"Compilation of historic data and modeling of historic drilling suggests the mineralized body remains open down plunge to the northwest, and untested along strike in either direction," the company noted on its website. "The intrusive complex continues for at least 2 kilometers to the northwest and remains largely unexplored."

Dalhousie is a newly identified lithium exploration area with a recently discovered spodumene-bearing pegmatite returning grades up to 4.45% Li2O. "Numerous cobalt-rich magmatic sulfide showings remain untested across the property," the company said.

Newly modeled plates from Nicobi extend up to 300 meters below surface and beyond any previously identified nickel sulfide mineralization, Infinico said.

In addition, a conductive feature labeled NB24-05_P2 has "an extremely high conductance of 10,900 Siemens and is located directly down plunge of the mineralized body at 245 meters depth, in an area not previously tested with drilling."

"The work that has been conducted so far has been conducted extremely, extremely quickly," Walding said about Nicobi. "Within that small drill program that was on time and well under budget, we managed to intercept one of the best magnetic nickel copper intercepts of the year."

Infinico plans a 2,000-meter diamond drill program commencing starting this month, with assays expected shortly after.

The drill program will be designed to test the newly identified geophysical targets and the geological observations of the project. The drill program will be accompanied by BHEM to help refine current geophysical targets during the program and generate new drill targets.

"If we're successful in that program the project will be of a sizeable nature to the point where it becomes attractive for a takeover," Walding said.

The Catalyst: Battery Metals to Spark Energy Revolution

According to Mordor Intelligence, the nickel market is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 4.8% from 2024 to 2029. The market was valued at more than 2.1 million tons in 2021, analysts said.

The driving force over the medium term will be the demand for nickel in stainless steel alloys, Mordor noted, as well as for automobile batteries and energy storage systems in wind turbines or solar panels needed for the energy transition.

An article from Stockhead on May 13 noted how Sprott's Steve Schoffstall spoke highly about nickel potential. 

"In our view, nickel miners are poised to offer investment attractive opportunities to investors," Schoffstall said. "Although nickel prices declined in 2023 on the back of softer Chinese EV (electric vehicle) sales and a flood of supply from Indonesia, the metal has been rebounding thus far in 2024 and benefiting the prospects of mining companies.

Schoffstall added, "The rise in nickel prices seems to be a combination of investor sentiment, potential supply constraints, and the underlying long-term demand for nickel in the clean energy transition."

Like nickel, many other metals, such as copper and cobalt, are being valued for their use in the batteries that will power an expected energy surge for things like artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and EVs.

According to Credendo, demand for copper could double by 2035, as EVs use more than three times as much of the red metal as gas-burning cars. New copper production — and investment in exploration — will be needed to fuel the supply of those vehicles in the long term, analysts have said. 

Cobalt is also important to batteries. Its market size was estimated at US$15.97 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.

"Lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) batteries, which have a cathode containing 10–20% cobalt, are the most common battery chemistries currently used in EVs," Grand View researchers wrote. "The metal forms a significant part of li-ion battery as it aids in the range and durability of EVs. These batteries find use in power tools and e-bikes as well."

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Infinico, about 3% is owned by insiders and management, and institutions own about 40%. The rest is retail.

The top shareholder is Plethora Private Equity Management with 31%, the company said. According to Reuters, Director Dan James owns 2.55%, Executive Chairman Tom Panoulias owns 0.07%, and Director Perry Ing owns 0.04%.

The company has 65.5 million shares outstanding with 12.4 million warrants. Its market cap is CA$3.75 million, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.11 and CA$0.03.

Important Disclosures:

1. Infinico Metals Corp. has a consulting relationship with an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, and pays a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Infinico Metals Corp. 
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4.  This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company. 

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* Disclosure for the quote from Clive Maund mentioned above.

1. For the quoted article, the Company has paid Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, US$1,500 in addition to the monthly consulting fee. 
2. Author Certification and Compensation: [Clive Maund of clivemaund.com] is being compensated as an independent contractor by Street Smart, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports, for writing the article quoted. Maund received his UK Technical Analysts’ Diploma in 1989.  The recommendations and opinions expressed in the article accurately reflect the personal, independent, and objective views of the author regarding any and all of the designated securities discussed. No part of the compensation received by the author was, is, or will be directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed

Clivemaund.com Disclosures

The quoted article represents the opinion and analysis of Mr. Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks cannot be  only be construed as a recommendation or solicitation to buy and sell securities.