Eastmain, Soquem drill Clearwater

Quebec-government-owned Soquem and its partner, Eastmain Resources (ER-T), are gearing up for another round of drilling at their Clearwater gold property in northwestern Quebec.

The campaign is part of a broad, multi-stage program budgeted at $600,000. Holes will be collared immediately east of the J Vein, where earlier stripping revealed a 17.6-metre-wide, tourmaline-rich zone in which 3.9 metres graded 67.1 grams gold per tonne.

The J vein is estimated to host 400,000 tonnes grading an uncut 10 grams gold, excluding an 82-metre surface expression formerly dubbed the O Vein. Surface samples over that entire length averaged 15.56 grams gold, with the vein averaging 2 metres in width. Meanwhile, geophysical surveys are nearly complete at Eastmain’s Abitibi Extension project in northeastern Ontario. Between 10 and 15 targets have already been pinpointed for drilling, set to begin shortly.

Quaterra Resources (QTA-V) is funding exploration as part of its requirements to earn a half-interest in the Abitibi Extension. Eastmain is project operator.

In other news, Cambior (CGJ-T) has dropped its option to earn a half-interest in the Lac Elmer gold project of Eastmain and Barrick Gold (ABX-T). The project, 300 km north of Matagami, Que., has been permitted for exploration until 2001.

Lac Elmer is said to be geologically similar to the producing Doyon and Bousquet gold mines in Quebec’s Abitibi district. Those underground producers are operated by Cambior and Barrick, respectively.

Previous work centred on a band of volcanic rocks anomalous in gold, silver and base metals. The favourable horizon is a siliceous and pyritic rhyolite tuff that has been hydrothermally altered on a large scale.

Past drilling intersected a zone of volcanogenic sulphide mineralization, with grades of up to 6.9 grams gold and 1,000 grams silver, along with wide intervals of anomalous copper and zinc. Results from Cambior’s efforts have not been released.

For the six months ended Oct. 31, 1999, Eastmain lost $155,490 on revenue of $40,238 (interest and dividends, plus management fees). It had $750,000 in working capital on that date and on Dec. 30, had raised $500,000 by issuing 1.4 million flow-through shares.