EXPLORATION 1997 — International joint ventures bear fruit for Pangea Goldfields

The first two holes drilled by Pangea Goldfields (PDG-T) at its joint-ventured Victoria Lake gold project in east-central Peru have confirmed mineralization at depth for one of three gold structures being explored.

The project is being explored as a 50-50 partnership between Pangea and Sundust Resources (SDST-C), with the former acting as operator. In January, the two began a first phase of diamond drilling, comprising a minimum of 3,000 metres, to test three of five known mineralized targets: Atenea, Pucamina and Vein-4. All three are epithermal gold structures.

Drilling was first carried out on the 1-km-long, northeast-trending Atenea target, where the first two of 10 holes returned grades and widths at depths similar to those identified during surface trenching.

Hole 1, which was tested for mineralization below trenches A4 and A5, returned 2.94 grams gold and 11.6 grams silver per tonne over 12.7 metres.

The mineralization was intersected 35 metres vertically below the trenches, which yielded 11 metres of 2.7 grams gold and 11.2 metres of 8.4 grams gold.

Starting from a vertical depth of 100 metres, the second hole, collared 50 metres to the southwest, yielded 3.32 grams gold, 22.4 grams silver and 0.5% copper, including a higher-grade zone of 6.4 grams gold and 14 grams silver over 6.1 metres.

To test the zone along its 1-km-long strike length, Pangea will drill additional holes at 100-metre intervals. During this first phase, the company will drill to a vertical depth of 100 metres, to be extended later to 200-300 metres.

The Atenea prospect is described as a fissure vein or breccia within an andesitic unit, and is characterized by quartz-veining, stringer material and sulphide mineralization. Although the second hole drilled has returned copper values, including up to 0.8% zinc, the company is uncertain how these values relate to gold mineralization.

“It’s too early to be certain, but the metals do not appear to be directly associated with the gold,” says Claude Britt, Pangea’s vice-president of exploration. “The gold seems to be associated with pyrite, though this has yet to be confirmed.

“We know there are some metals kicking around,” he adds, “so we are going to assay for these and see where we stand after this first pass.” Britt says the second prospect to be drilled, Pucamina, may represent the upper continuation of the Atenea structure.

“In epithermal systems, fissure veins exist beneath the wide disseminated material. I think that is the case at Atenea. Pucamina is higher up in the system. So far, there are hardly any base metals there, but we are also higher in elevation.”

The Pucamina prospect, which has been traced along its north-northwest surface expression for 1.8 km, exists at an elevation of 3,500 metres (400 metres higher than Atenea). In total, 13 trenches dug across the zone have returned potentially economic results.

Trench 20 returned 4.4 grams gold and 22 grams silver over 4.6 metres, while Trench 17 (80 metres south of Trench 19) returned 2.4 grams gold over 15 metres. The first trench was dug between Trenches 24 and 19. Trench 24 returned 7.9 grams gold over 1.3 metres, while 19 (dug 210 metres southeast of 24) returned 23.2 grams gold over 3.7 metres.

Initially, four holes are planned for the Pacumina structure, and, in an effort to expedite drilling, Pangea will mobilize a second rig to the site.

Two holes will be drilled on the Vein-4 target, 800 metres west of Atenea.

The target is characterized by a 140-metre-wide, induced-polarization anomaly, but one trench returned 12.8 grams gold over 2.4 metres in quartz-veining, while another returned 1.36 grams gold over 8 metres in stringer material.

Tanzanian project

Meanwhile, Pangea is preparing to explore the Tulawaka and Kanegele properties in northwestern Tanzania’s Lake Victoria district.

The properties are held in a joint venture with Explorations Minieres du Nord (MDN-M), with Pangea as operator.

To earn half of Pangea’s interests in the properties, Minieres du Nord must spend US$2 million on exploration.

At Kanegele, Pangea is conducting an induced-polarization (IP) survey to identify drill targets. It has already carried out geological mapping, prospecting and soil sampling, which resulted in the outlining of two mineralized shear zones which intersect banded iron formations.

Grab samples from limited outcrops and artisanal pits yielded up to 20 grams gold, while soil sampling outlined extensive surface anomalies up to 350 metres wide, with values exceeding 0.1 gram gold. Preliminary results from the IP survey have also identified coincident geophysical anomalies with the geochemical anomalies.

(According to Pangea, the banded iron formations identified at Kanegele are the same as those that host the company’s jointly held Golden Ridge gold deposit, 50 km to the northeast, where resources stand at 1.6 million oz.

gold.)

At Tulawaka, the company will carry out reconnaissance soil sampling and geological mapping. The property occurs in the same volcanic belt that hosts both the Bulyanhulu gold deposit, which is 85% owned by Sutton Resources (STT-V), and the Buckreef gold deposit of East Africa Gold (EAG-V).