-- Nicola Mining (NIM.V) on Tuesday said it launched its 2026 exploration diamond-drilling program at its New Craigmont Copper project, near Merritt, British Columbia.
The company's 2026 plans include drilling an exploration hole to directly test the ZTEM anomaly and evaluate its potential as a core of a porphyry-skarn system. It notes, however, that New Craigmont "has the potential of hosting multiple porphyries, as highlighted by the adjacent Highland Valley Copper".
Drilling at the Jotun target is expected to provide "valuable" geological information to support ongoing target development, including improved understanding of alteration assemblages, structural controls, lithological contacts, and mineralization, which are critical components in advancing exploration of a potential porphyry copper system at New Craigmont. The estimated budget for the 2026 program is $1.5 million, which includes a geophysical survey and a soil sampling campaign.
The company expects drilling to conclude in early June before starting another drilling program at its Treasure Mountain silver project. It also expects to have its thermal vectoring dataset fully processed during the season, which will support further interpretation of hydrothermal alteration patterns and help guide decisions on whether to continue expanding this work with additional data collection in the following year.
Shares of the company were last seen down $0.02 to $0.77 on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Price: $0.77, Change: $-0.02, Percent Change: -2.53%