Drilling extends River Valley mineralization (April 28, 2003)

Results from a stepout hole at the River Valley property, near Sudbury, Ont., indicate potential for expanding the Dana North deposit.

Partners Pacific North West Capital (PFN-T) and Anglo American Platinum (AAPTY-O) are in the midst of a 40,000-metre drill program aimed at proving up and expanding known resources of platinum group metals. One rig is turning at Dana North and another at the Lismer’s Ridge deposit. The latter rig is to be moved progressively south, along the host intrusion’s favourable contact, where showings exist.

Hole DL-106, collared 45 metres north of Dana North, cut 17.5 metres (starting at 178.5 metres) averaging 4.89 grams combined palladium and platinum per tonne, including 2.5 metres at 7.9 grams and 3.5 metres at 7.3 grams. The interval is the widest section of high-grade mineralization ever intersected on the property.

Closer to surface, the hole cut 9.5 metres (at 2.5 metres) of 1.16 grams, 3 metres (at 30 metres) of 2.29 grams and 0.5 metre (at 104.5 metres) of 4.72 grams. The widest of the three included 4 metres carrying 2.23 grams.

Also, two holes sunk in the deposit itself returned upwards of 5.3 grams over 1.5 metres, while two others, collared well north of those and the stepout hole, cut pyrite-bearing metasedimentary rocks to define the western limit of the intrusion. Results from the latter pair of holes also explain an induced-polarization anomaly outlined during an earlier geophysical survey.

Holes DL-104 and -107 intersected layered units of the intrusion, stopping in faulted, footwall medasedimentary rocks. The holes were collared near the deposit, so their results should help define the zone’s geometry.

Dana North is the smallest of three deposits outlined at River Valley, hosting some 5.1 million tonnes in the measured and indicated category and 956,000 tonnes in the inferred category. The respective average grades are 1.4 grams and 1.3 grams combined palladium-platinum.

Meanwhile, at Lismer’s Ridge, hole LR-86 pierced three narrow mineralized intervals. Starting at 163 metres down-hole, 1 metre ran 3.2 grams; at 175.5 metres, 0.5 metre ran 3.3 grams; and at 205.5 metres, 1 metre ran 3 grams.

At last report, Lismer’s Ridge held 7.68 million tonnes at 1.11 grams in the measured and indicated category and 3.1 million tonnes at 1.06 grams in the inferred category, making it the largest of the three zones.

Total resources at Dana South, which sits immediately south of Dana North, are 6.62 million tonnes averaging 1.54 grams. Like the others, the deposit carries gold, copper and nickel credits.

All three zones are near the surface, close to where the host intrusion contacts the surrounding country rock. The highest grades have come from a breccia unit.

Mineralization occurs mainly in the form of disseminated and blebby sulphides (chalcopyrite), with palladium and platinum tied to tellurides and arsenides, such as sperrylite and merenskyite. Palladium accounts for about 70% of the contained precious metals; platinum, for 20%.

Metallurgical studies are still preliminary, but 77% of the palladium and 73% of the platinum were recovered from 13 composite samples tested in South Africa. Each weighed 4 kg, and all were ground so that 60% passed through a screen having 74-micrometre openings.

Each of the partners owns a half-interest in the project, though Amplats (as it is widely known) can increase its stake to 60% by financing the project to production. By year-end, the major will have provided $12 million for exploration.

So far this year, the pair have sunk 56 holes, bringing to 288 the total number drilled since they teamed up in mid-1999.