Under the agreement, Teck Cominco will subscribe to $1 million worth of Wolfden’s shares, with the proceeds earmarked for work at High Lake.
The deal also calls for Teck Cominco to provide technical support at High Lake for at least one year. The major is responsible for geological, engineering and deposit-modeling assistance, and will test the suitability of High Lake’s ore for processing at its facilities. The support agreement can be extended at Teck Cominco’s option.
In return, Wolfden will not entertain any offers on the property and will not provide data to any third party for at least six months or until $3 million has been spent.
Teck Cominco also retains a right of first refusal to form a joint venture or acquire the property outright, as long as it keeps providing technical support and participates in periodic Wolfden financings at a rate of not less than 15%.
Wolfden is in the midst of a $2-million drill program at High Lake, which is on Bathurst Inlet, and has enjoyed some recent success. In late June, assay results from the main horizon intersected in hole 208 returned 47.8 metres grading 5.35% copper, 0.28 gram gold and 17.73 grams silver per tonne, including 10.55 metres running 14.32% copper, 0.53 gram gold and 34.47 grams silver. The hole tested the southern end of the B zone and also hit a second mineralized intercept, from which assay results are pending. Results are also pending for holes 207, 210 and 211.
At last count, the B zone’s resource stood at 3.2 million tonnes running 5% copper and 1.1% zinc, plus 2.3 grams gold and 18.2 grams silver per tonne.
A second drill rig is testing for downdip and strike extensions on the D zone. Hole 205 cut 10.75 metres of 1.56% copper, 10.87% zinc, 0.63 gram gold and 66.93 grams silver in the D-Zone, about 40 metres downdip of hole 202, which returned 28.3 metres of 2.4% copper and 6.6% zinc.
The D zone hosts a drill-indicated resource of 1.6 million tonnes running 2.1% copper, 4.9% zinc, 0.6 gram gold and 59.1 grams silver.
The current drill program comprises stepout holes along strike and downdip in the B and D zones. Both zones remain open.
Summer drilling and airborne geophysical surveying will soon resume. The work program will target most of the High Lake greenstone belt, plus a recently acquired 6.8-sq.-km adjoining property that covers the western extension of the Granite Lake magnetic anomaly, a possible kimberlite target.
Resources at High Lake total 5.3 million tonnes of 4.05% copper, 2.4% zinc, 1.76 grams gold and 31.7 grams silver, most of which is amenable to open-pit mining.
Meanwhile, in Ontario’s Red Lake camp, Wolfden has agreed to acquire a half-stake in the Redaurum gold property from 80%-owner
Redaurum is in one of the major deformation corridors north of the past-producing Madsen gold mine, which is being drilled by Claude and
The Redaurum ground has been subjected to limited exploration, resulting in the discovery of several high-grade gold occurrences. Previous drilling intersected 38.4 grams gold over 1.5 metres, 5.8 grams over 7.6 metres, and 75.4 grams over 0.6 metre, all in the 14A zone. In another zone, known as No. 3, drill crews intersected 19.2 grams over 2.2 metres, while in the Camp zone, drilling returned 12.7 grams over 1.5 metes.
The property, which has been subjected only to limited drilling, is underlain by several ultramafic rock units with extensive quartz carbonate veining. Both these features are evident at the producing Campbell and Red Lake gold mines, operated by Placer Dome and Goldcorp, respectively.
Wolfden will also participate in a $250,000 private-placement financing and have the right to nominate two members to Sabina’s board of directors.
Wolfden has three other exploration properties in Canada: Monument Bay, Skinner and Argosy.
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