Alexis and Noranda cut significant base metals

Joint venture partners Alexis Minerals (AMC-V) and Noranda (NRD-T) have cut significant base metals at their West Ansil property 14 kilometres northwest of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.

Hole 4 hit its target beginning with a 53-metre intercept grading 3.57% copper, 0.25% zinc, 7.72 grams silver and 0.52 gram gold per tonne at 317 metres downhole. This included a 32-metre-wide interval grading 5.18% copper, 0.22% zinc, 10 grams silver and 0.74 gram gold per tonne.

After crossing a 9-metre thick diorite dyke, the hole cut another 10.8 metres of massive sulphide, which graded 5.3% copper, 0.07% zinc, 9.16 grams silver and 2.32 grams gold per tonne.

The mineralization in hole 4 is 100 metres southeast and 150 metres vertically above the massive sulphide and stringer mineralization cut in hole 3.

Both holes targeted borehole geophysical anomalies.

Hole 3 cut 18.75 metres, or 16.6 metres true width, of up to 90% pyrrhotite, plus up to 10% chalcopyrite, which graded 1.07% copper and 0.04% zinc. This was directly followed by 7.4 metres of stringer sulphides composed of chalcopyrite and sphalerite, which graded 1.8% copper and 0.7% zinc. In addition the full 26-metre interval graded 1.6 grams silver and 0.3 gram gold per tonne.

An earlier hole cut 2.72% copper over 5.8 metres. This interval included a grade of 4.17% copper over 3.4 metres.

Geophysics indicates that there are four sub-vertical, stacked conductors. These may represent one zone, which was later offset by diorite dykes.

Hole 5 was targeted to cut the uppermost anomaly at a vertical depth of 200 metres. It cut strong chloritic alteration and minor stringer sulphides at this depth. The hole is still in progress and assays are pending.

Two drills are testing geophysical targets on the property.

The West Ansil zone is 1.8 km southwest of the past-producing Ansil mine which, from 1989-1993 produced 1.58 million tonnes grading 7% copper, 4% zinc, 2 grams gold and 26 grams silver per tonne.