The Kilometre 26 showing is located on the Leo Creek Road, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of the town of Fort St. James and approximately 2.5 hours by highway from the city of Prince George. Located in the Omineca Mining Division, it encompasses 9819 hectares (24,263 acres).
The Kilometre 26 property covers an area of the central British Columbia interior stretching for 15 kilometres along the Pinchi Fault, predominantly covering Cache Creek terrane ultramafic and carbonate rocks. The Pinchi Fault is one of the pre-eminent structural features in central British Columbia, known for hosting several mercury deposits occurring along its length and thought to be responsible for several gold occurrences and an unknown quantity of placer gold (Assessment Report 31877).
Locally, serpentinite hosts nickel mineralization. Nickel alloy and nickel sulphide occur at Kilometre 26, although the exact proportions of each remain unknown. Scanning electron microscope work completed on surface rubble samples in 2011 identified awaruite (nickel alloy) with an average nickel content of 81 per cent and pentlandite (nickel sulphide) with an average nickel content of 35 per cent.
Work History
In 1984, Cominco Ltd. staked the Gros 1-2 claims and completed a program of soil sampling on the area. This work identified a mineralized boulder comprising quartz and ferroan magnesite with disseminated chromite, pyrite, arsenopyrite and mariposite. Three samples from the boulder yielded an average of 8.1 grams per tonne gold (Assessment Report 14926).
In 1986, Equinox Resources Ltd. and Cominco Ltd. completed 21 rotary drillholes, totalling 734.0 metres, on the Gros claims. Drilling intercepted Takla Group rocks and serpentinite. Samples were only assayed for gold and arsenic with no significant results.
In 2008, the original claims comprising the Kilometre 26 claim group were staked by Eastfield Resources Ltd. In 2009 and 2010, Eastfield Resources and Oroandes Resource completed programs of prospecting, mapping, geophysical surveys, and geochemical sampling. Bedrock sampling, over an area of 300 by 300 metres, returned values varying from 0.15 to 0.23 per cent nickel (Assessment Report 31877).
In 2011, Eastfield Resources sold the Kilometre 26 property to Fort St. James Nickel Corp. In 2011, Fort St. James Nickel Corp. released diamond drill results for six holes totalling 813 metres, completed at the 100 per cent–owned Kilometre 26 project. All six holes intersected nickel-mineralized serpentinized ultramafic rock throughout their full lengths, with all holes ending in nickel mineralization. Five of the six holes were well mineralized with excellent nickel values throughout, while one hole was well mineralized near its bottom. Nickel content of samples reached a high of 0.3 per cent (Press Release -Fort St. James Nickel Corp., January 31, 2012). Drillhole K-11-4 intersected 37 metres (from 134-171 metres) which assayed 0.153 per cent nickel sulphide (Assessment Report 33325).
In 2017, Andris Kikauka completed a program of rock sampling and a 3.4 line-kilometre ground magnetic survey on the area as the Nic, KM 26 and KM 26 B claims. Angular float samples yielded values up to 0.233 per cent nickel, 0.284 per cent chromium and 0.019 per cent cobalt (Assessment Report 36897).
Also at this time, Fort St. James Nickel and Oakley Ventures Inc. completed separate programs of rock and soil sampling on the KM 26 and Kuzkwa (KM 20) properties. Samples of angular float from the KM 20 claim yielded up to 0.118 per cent nickel and 0.115 per cent chromium (Assessment Report 37527).
In 2018, Fort St. James Nickel completed another program of soil and rock sampling on the KM 26 property. Two float samples (116001 and 116022) of serpentinite yielded 0.203 and 0.202 per cent nickel with 0.160 and 0.182 per cent chromium, respectively (Assessment Report 37617).
Also at this time, Glenn Collick completed a program of rock sampling on the KM 26 D claim. Samples of angular float yielded up to 0.167 per cent nickel and 0.195 per cent chromium (Assessment Report 38284).
