Nicola Mining (TSXV: NIM; FSE: HLIA) has released an update on its 2025 Diamond Drilling Exploration Program at the New Craigmont Copper Project near Merritt, British Columbia, which was well received by the market. The stock of the Canadian commodity company recently rose by approximately 11% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Nicola primarily used the campaign to collect geological data for the advancement of target areas, with a view to a potential copper-porphyry system within the project area. The evaluation focuses on three target areas: MARB-CAS, Draken, and a newly defined target at WP/West Craigmont, which was identified with the help of ALS Geoanalytics.
In 2025, a total of seven drill holes, totaling 3,347 meters, were drilled, logged, and sampled. More than 2,600 samples were sent to AGAT Labs for multi-element analysis, with results still pending according to the announcement. Additionally, Nicola Mining had eleven representative samples examined for thin section petrography to better classify rock types and alteration mineralogy. Another data block comes from the project-specific evaluation of pXRF and SWIR measurements: over 5,000 samples from ten drill holes (since 2016) were collected on-site using portable X-ray fluorescence and short-wave infrared to develop vectors towards a potentially mineralized porphyry center.
Draken: Zoning from Chalcopyrite to Molybdenite Indicates Porphyry Proximity
Nicola Mining considers the most important interpretive step to be in the Draken target area. Observations from drill core in holes DR-25-001 and DR-25-002 support the presence of a porphyry system, according to the company: zoning in the drill hole from pyrite-chalcopyrite to chalcopyrite to chalcopyrite-molybdenite is reported. Outcrops at the surface are also consistent with the drilling observations.
The description mentions several elements typically found in porphyry systems: a (weakly developed) mineralization of chalcopyrite, minor bornite, and rare molybdenite, combined with alteration assemblages of quartz, epidote, K-feldspar, chlorite, and sericite. According to Nicola Mining, the mineralization is associated with quartz veinlets containing varying proportions of K-feldspar, chlorite, and sericite. The host rock is identified as diorite of the “Guichon Border Phase.” From this combination, the company infers that copper and molybdenite are present in the hydrothermal system and that the observed features may suggest spatial proximity to a porphyry core or thermal center.
Nicola Mining also emphasizes that its own observations align with the results of an ongoing study by the University of British Columbia, which considers New Craigmont as part of a broader porphyry exploration program. This is relevant for target prioritization within the property: Draken is thus classified as the most significant western target at present.
MARB-CAS: Encouraging Copper Intercept, Continuity Yet to Be Confirmed
Nicola also reports a positive finding from the MARB-CAS area from the company’s perspective: drill hole MB-25-008 yielded 9.5 meters grading 0.39% copper from 220.5 to 230.0 meters. The intercept is located within a package of basaltic fragmental rocks of the Nicola Group with interbedded sandstone and siltstone layers, as well as a porphyritic andesite section. Additionally, the company describes well-preserved quartz-K-feldspar-biotite veins enveloped by quartz-diorite dikes.
The alteration is described as pervasive quartz-chlorite overprint with fine-grained biotite. Regarding mineralization, Nicola Mining mentions disseminated magnetite, traces of pyrite, and fine-grained chalcopyrite. Chalcopyrite and pyrite also occur together in quartz stringers with magnetite and chlorite. Geologically, the team interprets the copper mineralization at MARB as associated with the skarn in the Embayment and CAS area. At the same time, Nicola Mining remains cautious: further drilling is necessary to confirm the continuity of this mineralization.
According to the announcement, nothing was encountered in the third target area, WP/West Craigmont (drill hole WP-25-007), that would visually indicate a porphyry system more strongly than Draken. Thus, based on current data, Draken remains the prioritized target on the western side of the project.
UBC-MDRU Study and 2026 Plans: Jotun Target to Test ZTEM Anomaly
An important context is provided by the ongoing study of the UBC Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MDRU), which focuses on porphyry systems in the province and includes New Craigmont as a project component. One goal of the work is to clarify whether the Craigmont skarn occurrence is linked to porphyry mineralization within the Guichon Creek Batholith. Preliminary results suggest that Craigmont is a porphyry-related skarn system associated with magmatism in the Border Phase.
Another component of the study is the use of epidote trace element geochemistry as an indicator mineral for vectoring towards a porphyry center. According to the announcement, alteration types and epidote chemistry suggest a nearby porphyry center and differentiate the finding from a distal influence of larger porphyry systems (Highland Valley). The study therefore identifies West Craigmont (Draken) and an area at depth east of the Craigmont mine—where a ZTEM anomaly is located—as the most promising areas for a porphyry center.
For 2026, Nicola Mining derives concrete next steps from this. The company intends to further expand its database, create a 3D geological model, and evaluate and integrate the pXRF/SWIR data (through ALS Geoanalytics). Operationally central, however, is a new drill target: the “Jotun” target north of the historical pit. This is based on a project-wide ZTEM survey conducted in 2022, whose interpretation shows a large resistivity anomaly directly north of the former open pit. Drilling in 2023 south of the anomaly already encountered “encouraging porphyry-style alteration.” Nicola Mining therefore plans a deep drill hole in 2026 to test the hypothesis that Jotun could represent the causative intrusion for the historically mined high-grade copper skarn.
With this update, Nicola Mining clearly positions its New Craigmont copper project as a data-driven target development program: Draken provides the strongest porphyry indications to date, MARB complements the picture with a concrete copper intercept – and Jotun is set to deliver the next major test in 2026 as a geophysically justified deep drill target.
For the analysts at Atrium Research, this news fits into their positive view of Nicola Mining. They take the news as an opportunity to reaffirm their “Buy” rating and price target of CAD 1.50.
