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Previously focused on gold, Duncastle recently secured several PGMs-nickel-copper properties in Canada’s Yukon, right next to Wellgreen Platinum’s recently defined world-class deposit.
That might seem like an unusual move, but according to Michael Rowley, Duncastle’s CEO, the deal was a great opportunity. The company’s newly acquired Catalyst, Spy and Ultra projects “control the strike extension to an ultramafic sequence of rocks adjacent to Wellgreen Platinum’s (TSXV:WG) world-class PGMs-nickel sulfide deposit,” and while Duncastle plans to keep a foot in the gold game, it is committed to its new focus.
“We will probably shed the Duncastle name, and we will certainly drop ‘gold’ from the name to become a nickel-PGMs company,” Rowley said.
In good company
For Duncastle, its properties’ proximity to Wellgreen Platinum’s project is “a big part” of its new story.
That company released a significantly upgraded and expanded mineral resource estimate for its Wellgreen project at the end of July, bringing its measured and indicated resources to 5.5 million ounces of platinum, palladium and gold and upping its inferred resource to 13.8 million ounces.
Highlighting the significance of that upgrade, Rowley said that those numbers have already made the Wellgreen area a world-class district for PGMs. With the updated resource, the Wellgreen deposit has “gone from being one of the biggest outside of South Africa and Russia to being simply one of the biggest,” the CEO said, “and they’ve only just begun.”
As Rowley explained, the Kluane Ultramafic Belt in the Yukon, where both Wellgreen and Duncastle are located, is highly prospective for platinum and palladium. Wellgreen has started with historic mining areas, or “where the obvious showings and the history are,” but there’s definitely significant potential for discovery that remains unexplored.
That’s good news for Duncastle. All three of its properties lie along strike with Wellgreen, and Rowley stated that there are “very similar showings” and good indications that Duncastle’s properties could have similar potential, particularly for the Catalyst project, which adjoins Wellgreen on three sides. Although Duncastle has not commenced drilling at the project, historic sampling has identified mineralization with surprising grades for platinum, palladium and gold “with a geophysical signature that suggests a continuation along strike.”
Sharing is caring
Duncastle’s relationship with Wellgreen doesn’t end with rocks. Rowley has met with Wellgreen Platinum’s CEO, Greg Johnson, and spoke very highly of him. He sees potential for Duncastle to utilize Wellgreen’s mining camp for exploration since the projects are so close together.
Furthermore, Duncastle stands to benefit from broader infrastructure projects to be undertaken by Wellgreen, which recently made a move to power its operations and others in the area with liquefied natural gas. “That also makes it a particularly clean mining operation,” Rowley added. “Platinum already has a nice ‘green’ feel to it because it’s used in things like catalytic converters, and to further that by using cleaner fuels is excellent.”
To be sure, interested investors will want to look into both companies and keep an eye on what they are up to in the Great White North. Rowley admitted that it’s still early days for Duncastle and the Yukon, as the company has a sub-$1-million market cap with just 14 million shares out. However, in his opinion, that could be an advantage for investors. “This is a really good opportunity to take an early position in a venture with terrific upside”, he said.
In terms of what’s next for Duncastle, Rowley noted that the company currently has a private placement open, and is hoping to get some drilling done on the Catalyst property soon. “Weather permitting and with the option to utilize Wellgreen’s nearby mining camp, we have the potential to complete drilling at Catalyst, even into October,” he said.
Securities Disclosure: I, Teresa Matich, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Related reading:
At Surface and Out of Africa: CEO Greg Johnson on Wellgreen Platinum’s Yukon Project
Wellgreen Platinum’s Yukon Project Could be First in Canada to Run on LNG