TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed project generator Transition Metals has incorporated a new subsidiary, called Sudbury Platinum Corp, to pursue the Aer-Kidd nickel/copper/platinum group metals (PGMs) project, located near Sudbury, Ontario.

The company on Wednesday said that given the amount of mineral exploration expenditures required to exercise the Aer-Kidd option - previously held by Transition's wholly owned subsidiary HTX Minerals - pursuant to an option agreement with Canickel Mining, and the company's project generator business model, Transition considered it in the best interest of shareholders to establish a new standalone corporate vehicle for the Aer-Kidd project.

Sudbury Platinum had also completed an initial nonbrokered financing of $310 500 to fund initial exploration activities at the project.

The option for the Aer-Kidd project was assigned to Sudbury Platinum by HTX in October, in exchange for stock and other considerations. The terms of the underlying option agreement entitled Sudbury Platinum to earn a 50% or 70% interest in the Aer-Kidd property.

Sudbury Platinum also bought the Owen nickel property, located near Espanola, Ontario, from HTX in exchange for shares.

As a result of the two transactions, HTX had been issued a total of 15-million shares in Sudbury Platinum, and Transition had entered into a multiyear operating agreement with Sudbury Platinum to provide exploration services during the term of the underlying option.

"We view Sudbury as one of the world's premiere mining camps with remarkable opportunities for discovery of world-class nickel/copper/PGM ore. The Aer-Kidd project is an outstanding brownfields opportunity exceptionally well positioned between Vale's Totten mine and KGHM's Victoria mine development," CEO Scott McLean said.

The initial financing for Sudbury Platinum consisted of selling 3.11-million units. Each unit was issued at $0.10, consisting of a common share and a common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.20 for a 36-month period following the Wednesday closing date. After giving effect to the financing, HTX held about 83% of the common shares of Sudbury Platinum.

The 260 ha Aer-Kidd property is located about 20 km south-west of Sudbury, and covers a 1.3 km section of the Worthington offset dyke in an area with a rich mining history, dating back to the 1800s.

The property is about 2.6 km along strike to the north-east of Vale's Totten mine, which has 10.1-million tons grading 1.5% nickel, 1.97% copper, 4.8 g/t PGMs, and which is currently in production, and 4.3 km to the south-west and along trend of KGHMs Victoria mine, which has about 14.5-million tons grading 2.5% nickel, 2.5% copper, 7.6 g/t PGMs, which is currently being developed.

The Aer-Kidd property hosts the former producing Howland pit, Robinson and Rosen mines, which were small deposits exposed at surface and were mined down to a maximum depth of 300 m.

Sudbury Platinum had undertaken a detailed review of historical geophysical and geological data and said it believed that the property maintained excellent potential to host an economic Ni/Cu/PGM deposit.

Drilling completed by Canickel (formerly Crowflight Minerals) in early 2000s confirmed the presence of mineralisation on the property to at least a vertical depth of 1 000 m. Additional drilling and subsequent borehole geophysics completed by Crowflight identified a number of untested conductive targets that extend to depths of more than 1 000 m on the property.

Sudbury Platinum geologists were now engaged in a re-logging programme of selected core with plans to resurvey all accessible historic holes using advanced technology.

The borehole geophysics would further identify and discriminate prospective nickel/copper/PGM sulphide targets near surface and to depths greater than 1 200 m. Results from the work would be integrated with the Sudbury Platinum geological model before drilling starts.