The SOUTH LOBE occurrence is located approximately 41 kilometres north of Williams Lake, and approximately 61 kilometres south-southeast of Quesnel, British Columbia.
In the southeast part of the Ben (now Beaver) property, the South Lobe occurrence is situated between the Mount Polley Mine and the Gibraltar Mine. The Ben property lies on the Fraser Plateau, a flat and gently rolling area mostly covered by glacial drift. The property covers a northwest trending height of land between the Beedy Creek and Beaver Creek Valleys, two prominent topographic lineaments considered to mark significant faults (Assessment Report 35173).
Situated within the Cache Creek Terrane, the South Lobe occurrence is underlain by rock units of the Permian to Triassic-aged Cache Creek Complex. Noted rock units include marine sedimentary and volcanic rocks including phyllite, siliceous phyllite, ribbon and massive chert, argillite, mudstone, sandstone, limestone, tuff, mafic volcanic rocks, and serpentinite. The area is bounded to the east and to the west by rocks of the Quesnel Terrane. The structural geology of the Ben property is not well understood or documented. The fabric of the underlying sedimentary and volcanic rocks trends north-northwest (Assessment Report 35173).
Although not formally mapped, drilling across the Beaver property has intersected several zones containing shallow-dipping, variably serpentinized dunites, with lesser peridotites and gabbros. The serpentinite is mostly composed of antigorite and lizardite. Accessory magnetite (up to 10 per cent) and chlorite are dispersed within serpentine-rich pseudomorphs and within vein-like domains. The ultramafic rocks occur within interbedded marine sedimentary rocks of the Cache Creek Complex (mudstone, greywacke, sandstone, conglomerate), and volcanic rocks (tuff, dacite, basalt). Alteration styles include serpentinization and silicification. Nickel and cobalt mineralization are hosted in variably magnetic serpentinized ultramafic rocks, mostly contained within the nickel-sulphides heazlewoodite and pentlandite, with possible millerite. (Assessment Report 35173).
Westhaven Ventures conducted a preliminary-level metallurgical test to determine mineralogical characteristics, liberation, and nickel deportment from drill core of the South Lobe occurrence. The metallurgical study was completed by SGS Canada Inc. of Burnaby, BC, on a 50-kilogram composite sample from drill hole BN14-19. Deportment tests indicate that 90 per cent of contained nickel is from nickel-sulphide minerals heazlewoodite and pentlandite, and 10 per cent from serpentine minerals. Of the sulphide minerals, 44.5 per cent of nickel was recovered to a rougher concentrate with open-circuit recoveries of 16.6 per cent nickel. From this, a marketable concentrate containing 12 per cent nickel was produced (Press Release May 12, 2015).
In 2014, two diamond drill holes targeted magnetic anomalies and encountered magnetite-rich serpentinized dunite, with lesser intersections of graphitic mudstones and tuff. Only the upper portions of the encountered serpentinites contain appreciable amounts of sulphide nickel, along with one narrow 8.7 metre zone at the base of the serpentinite. Results of drilling include 86 metres grading 0.18 per cent total nickel (0.09 per cent sulphide nickel), and 0.010 per cent cobalt (in BC 14-12 from 99 to 185 metres down hole depth), and 153.7 metres grading 0.18 per cent total nickel (0.09 per cent sulphide nickel), and 0.010 per cent cobalt (in BN14-19 from 33 to 186.7 metres down hole depth) (Assessment Report 35173).
In 2023, two diamond drill holes, collared a few hundred metres south of the South Lobe prospect, returned the following values: DDH B23-01 averaged 0.19 per cent nickel, 0.01 per cent cobalt, 0.39 per cent chromium and 23.03 per cent magnesium over a 169.21 metre interval; B23-02 averaged 0.17 per cent nickel, 0.01 per cent cobalt, 0.34 per cent chromium and 21.09 per cent magnesium over a 146.65 metre interval.
WORK HISTORY
Very limited work was recorded on the South Lobe occurrence until Westhaven Ventures optioned the property from claim owner B.H. Kahlert in 2012. In 2014, Westhaven Ventures completed a property wide airborne magnetic survey, consisting of 851 line kilometres, with flight lines oriented east-west and spaced at 200 metre intervals. Follow up work at South Lobe included prospecting, soil sampling, and two campaigns of ground magnetic surveying. A total of 2 drill holes (377.85 metres) were completed at South Lobe over two drill programs in 2014.
In 2021, Inomin Mines Inc. conducted eight line-kilometres of VLF-EM and 291 line-kilometres of ground magnetometre over their Beaver property, including the South Lobe prospect. Follow-up drilling focusing on magnetic anomalies was done in 2021 and 2023 in an area extending from the vicinity of the South Lobe occurrence northeast for approximately 6 kilometres. Drilling intersected uniform concentrations of sulphide nickel, cobalt and magnesium mineralization in shallow south to southwest-dipping serpentinites in most areas (Assessment Reports 40133, 41401). Two further airborne (helicopter and drone) magnetic surveys were completed over Inomin's Beaver-Lynx project in 2024 and 2025 (Press Release inominmines.com Feb. 6, 2025).
