N.W.T. base metal play heats up for joint venture

A base metal discovery has been made 150 km northwest of Yellowknife, N.W.T.

Partners Fortune Minerals (CDN) and GMD Resources (VSE) recently completed airborne and ground surveys, mapping and trenching on the JBG Group of claims. Several new areas of mineralization were discovered during the program, including the 60-metre-wide Carbonate Mountain zone, with assays of up to 1.39% copper, 7.36% zinc, 3.8% lead and 11.6 grams silver per tonne in trench samples.

According to Fortune President Robin Goad, the mineralization is similar to that found at Fortune’s NICO copper-cobalt-bismuth-gold property, 3 km to the southwest, which, in turn, has shown a similarity to the giant Olympic Dam deposit in Australia.

Goar says the NICO and JBG properties are the same age, have the tectonic setting and rock types, and the same style of mineralization (breccias with hematite matricies) as the giant Olympic Dam deposit in Australia (2 billion tonnes averaging 1.6% copper, and 0.6 gram gold, 3.5 grams silver and 0.06 kg U3O8 per tonne).

Fortune and GMD plan to carry out additional ground geophysical surveys and geological mapping on the JBG claims in order to delineate the recently discovered mineralization. Drilling will test the lateral and depth continuity as part of a larger program on the NICO claims this winter. GMD is earning a 60% interest from Fortune by spending $750,000 on exploration over four years.

Just northwest of the NICO claims lies the Mazenod Lake property, on which Fortune, a numbered company and two individuals have granted Avalon Ventures (VSE) an option to acquire a 100% interest. The Mazenod property is similar in age and stratigraphy to the NICO property.

Avalon must spend $400,000 over three years on exploration and pay the vendors a set amount of cash and shares.

The Mazenod Lake property is considered prospective because the exceptionally strong airborne magnetic and radiometric potassium-uranium anomaly over the NICO property extends to the property. The anomaly suggests that a large, hydrothermal system cabable of generating a sizable deposit had existed in the area.

Avalon plans to carry out a gravity survey on the Mazenod Lake claims this winter, to be followed by an airborne geophysical survey and prospecting work in the summer to identify new zones of Olympic Dam-type mineralization.

Meanwhile, Starcore Resources (VSE) has acquired an option on 75 claims along the southern boundary of the NICO property.

The company will spend $200,000 over three years on exploration of the property, starting with a reconnaissance mapping program when weather permits.