12:22 PM EST, 11/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- First Atlantic Nickel ( FANCF ) , up 33% in trading Tuesday, provided an updated on ongoing drilling at its Atlantic Nickel Project in central Newfoundland.

The company said drilling in the RPM Zone resulted in a new discovery of disseminated, visible, sulfur-free nickel-iron alloy (awaruite) throughout a 394-metre hole located 10-kilometers south of the Super Gulp Zone and 25-kilometers south of historic drilling at Atlantic Lake.

This drill hole followed recent discoveries of multiple new zones containing visible awaruite across the Project's 30 -kilometer nickel trend during the summer sampling program.

The first hole at RPM showed large disseminated awaruite grains, visible to the naked eye, increasing in size down hole, frequently exceeding 25 microns.

An XRF analyzer confirmed the presence of nickel and chromium throughout the drill hole, and the drilling has revealed heavily fractured, broken, and sheared serpentinized nickel host rock, which may allow for lower-cost initial mining methods like ripping instead of conventional drilling and blasting.

Awaruite (Ni3Fe) is a sulfur-free nickel-iron alloy, which allows for magnetic processing without smelting, potentially creating a resilient North American nickel supply chain.

The company's shares were last seen up $0.45 to $0.18 on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Price: 0.18, Change: +0.05, Percent Change: +33.33