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Nicola Mining Announces the Completion of the UBC Master's Thesis Concluding That Craigmont Is Part of a Porphyry-Linked Skarn System
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 19, 2026) - Nicola Mining Inc.   (TSXV...
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[{"type":"text","content":"Nicola Mining Announces the Completion of the UBC Master's Thesis Concluding That Craigmont Is Part of a Porphyry-Linked Skarn SystemVancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 19, 2026) - Nicola Mining Inc. (TSXV: NIM) (OTCQB: HUSIF) (FSE: HLIA) (the \"Company\" or \"Nicola\") is pleased to announce that Warren Wagner has completed his Master of Science (M.Sc.) thesis, at the University of British Columbia's (UBC) Mineral Deposit Research Unit (MRDU), on the New Craigmont copper project1. His thesis is titled The Skarn to Porphyry Transition: Establishing Links Between Skarn and Porphyry-Type Mineralization at New Craigmont British Columbia. The full publication and supplementary data tables are available for download on the UBC website: https://open.library.ubc.ca/soa/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0451531The purpose of the thesis was to examine the potential connection between the historically mined Craigmont skarn and undiscovered porphyry systems in the surrounding area. Using field observations, petrography, whole-rock and mineral chemistry, and integrated geochronology, Warren's thesis has redefined Craigmont as a porphyry-linked skarn system genetically tied to multi-pulsed Late Triassic magmatism within the Guichon Creek batholith's Border Phase. Mineral ages determined through geochronology lab work defined two discrete hydrothermal stages: massive calcsilicate skarn alteration at ~215 Ma related to the earliest Border Phase intrusions and overprinting, vein-hosted porphyry-type mineralization at ~209 Ma associated with later, oxidized intrusions.Potassic, phyllic, calc-potassic, and propylitic alteration styles indicate the presence of a larger porphyry system proximal to the skarn deposit. Epidote mineral chemistry from propylitic assemblages further supports this. New Craigmont epidote contains elevated porphyry indicator trace elements consistent with other porphyry deposits in British Columbia and worldwide. Finally, epidote mineral chemistry systematics within the Guichon Creek batholith reveal that New Craigmont contains a separate, porphyry centre, unrelated to those of the Highland Valley district. The study also highlights the importance of structural permeability and reactive Nicola Group host rocks in focusing hydrothermal fluids and controlling the distribution of skarn and...