Toronto-listed Talon Metals’ in-house exploration drilling and geophysics team has discovered 99.92 m of copper and nickel mineralisation on its maiden drill hole at the Boulderdash target in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The discovery, Talon says, marks a major milestone in the ongoing exploration efforts in Michigan as part of its 2024 exploration plan.

Exploration geologist chief Dean Rossell explains that the discovery is the result of both traditional mineral exploration practices and novel approaches to geophysics.

“We identified mineralised boulders at the surface while prospecting and followed the trail of boulders back to where they vanished. Then, using modern geophysical tools, we identified an anomaly, and the first drill hole hit mineralisation right out of the box,” he said.

“The distribution and abundance of magmatic sulphides intersected in the initial drilling at Boulderdash bear a striking resemblance to the early drill results from the Eagle deposit. In 2001, one of the first drill holes intersected a long interval of disseminated with minor net-textured sulphides, which provided some of the inspiration to drill the discovery hole in 2002 which intersected 84.2 m of high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation.” Rossell is credited with the discovery of the Eagle deposit.

The Boulderdash target, part of the nickel/copper mineralised boulder trains in the Baraga basin, has shown encouraging results with mineralised boulders but the source of the boulders has previously been a mystery.  By combining geophysical techniques with surface prospecting, Talon was able to identify a drill target and confirm the source of mineralisation with the first drill hole.

In 2022, Talon entered into an option and earn-in agreement with UPX Minerals, of Sweetwater Royalties, to acquire up to an 80% ownership interest in the mineral rights over a land package comprised of approximately 1 619 ha located in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan. The first hole drilled at Boulderdash is part of this land package.

“The recent breakthrough at Boulderdash underscores the value of Talon’s in-house geology, geophysics, and drilling teams in advancing exploration in Michigan,” said Talon CEO Henri van Rooyen.

“US leaders are laser-focused on US dependency on critical minerals produced by foreign entities of concern. Discovery of a potential new domestic resource of copper and nickel is very timely,” he added.