Atlantic Report Explorations in Nova Scotia

Acadia Mineral Ventures of Toronto is exploring in southwestern Nova Scotia for gold-silver mineralization enriched in the axial zones of tightly folded anticlinal folds of the region.

Acadia’s exploration efforts a joint venture with Seabright Explorations (TSE), are based on the premise that the mineralization is epithermal in origin and is associated with the high-level, tin-rich granitic rocks of the South Mountain Batholith. Other minerals present in the system include tungsten, sulphosalts and sulphide minerals.

Acadia is preparing to drill promising targets and surface showings on one project west of Yarmouth Cty.’s Rio Kemptville tin mine, in an area where gold was mined 100 years ago.

During the past field season, favorable gold and silver resulted from prospecting, geochemical and geophysical programs west of the former Kemptville gold district. A surface showing which assayed 0.50 oz gold per ton , and float boulders of comparable grade, were found along strike of the old shafts. Follow-up geochemical soil surveys outlined many arsenic-gold anomalies in the large claim group.

The Kemptville gold district produced about 3,000 tons of ore grading 0.60 oz. Most production came from the Borea and Cowan veins and the Pompeii belt of veins. All three structures were enriched in gold, silver, arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite where they intersected a crosscutting structure called the Nash fissure vein. The Cowan vein averaged 12 inches wide, while the Borea vein was 4-8 ft wide. Several other goldbearing veins were found in the area in the past, but were never developed. Gold was also found in the glacial drift around a swamp in the area. Two prospectors who took advantage of a dry summer in 1960 found 14 goldbearing samples under the swamp.

Acadia’s exploration crew has found a wide and continuous zone of sericite alteration which they suspect may indicate a tin-rich granite at depth. Most of the alteration zone, traced for thousands of feet, is located in the core of a major anticlinal fold where permeability would be greatest. Acadia also found zones of intense fracturing mineralized with chlorite and tin. Associated minerals include gold, silver, antimony, cobalt and zinc. The company intends to drill further and expose the altered zone by stripping off the overburden.

Acadia’s regional exploration approach has also led to discoveries of other gold-silver mineralized zones in Digby Cty. In the Clare region, gold anomalies have been obtained in samples of lakeshore sediments and glacial till. At Bear River, near Waldeck, gold values as high as 0.40 oz were obtained from outcrops containing pockets of antimony mineralization in slates cut by lampophyre dykes.

Stratabound Minerals (ASE) of Calgary says it has discovered good widths of high grade zinc-lead-silver massive sulphide mineralization on its CNE property near Bathurst, N.B. Rocks exposed in four backhoe trenches have returned assays of up to 42% zinc, 18.5% lead and 25.59 oz silver per ton, according to President Stan Stricker.

The trenches are located updip from near-surface drill-indicated reserves of nearly 200,000 tons grading 8.38% zinc, 3.44% lead and 3.48 oz silver outlined by a previous operator a decade ago.

Trenches 2 and 4 represent a width of 10 m of high grade mineralization which was not identified in earlier work. Grab and channel samples from this additional zone are assaying about 26% zinc, 12% lead, 7 oz silver and 0.02 oz gold.

Drilling is planned to determine tonnage and grade potential for open pit mining.

Shares of Scotia Prime Minerals, formerly known as Petroco of Texas, are now trading on the Alberta Stock Exchange under symbol SRM. Last September, Petrococ underwent a corporate reorganization which resulted in the consolidation of its capitalization on a one- for-four basis and establishment of a primarily Nova Scotian board of directors.

The company has interests in 11 Nova Scotia mineral properties through its 80%-owned subsidiary, Scotia Prime Resources. About $1.3 million have been spent on grassroots exploration on gold projects and a nickel-copper property.