Juniors exploring prospects in James Bay

Activity is heating up in the James Bay area, where several juniors recently launched exploration programs.

Virginia Gold Mines (VIA-M) and its partners have begun drill programs at several projects near the Ungava Bay Province of Quebec.

Drilling south and east of zone 32 (350,000 oz. gold averaging 1.5 grams gold and 0.2% copper) at Virginia’s La Grande Sud project has turned up a zone of mineralization grading up to 0.53% zinc over 23 metres. A record 1,678 gold grains were also recovered from a till sample from a glacier train recently discovered on the property.

The operator, Cambior (CBJ-T), can earn a half-interest in the project for $7 million.

Farther north, at the Payne Bay property, Virginia and Osisko Exploration (OSK-M) will drill seven holes, spanning 800 metres. The program will test numerous geophysical anomalies and surface showings grading up to 7.7% copper, 6.5% nickel and 0.3% cobalt within a 7-km portion of the Qarqasiaq mafic complex. Virginia, which can earn a half-interest by spending $600,000 on exploration over three years, will cover two-thirds of the cost; Osisko will pick up the remaining third.

At its Gayot nickel prospect, Virginia plans to drill several disseminated sulphide zones grading up to 2.7% nickel, 0.4% copper, 0.1% cobalt plus 1.18 grams per tonne platinoids, situated in a recently discovered 15-km-long ultramafic volcanic belt.

At Virginia’s Chute-des-Passe project, Soquem, a wholly owned subsidiary of SGF Mineral, will carry out evaluation of drilling versus trenching of numerous geophysical conductors associated with nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization. The conductors are believed to be similar to those found in the Voisey’s Bay region of Labrador. Soquem can acquire a half-interest by spending $500,000 on exploration over three years.

Soquem also recently inked a deal allowing it to earn a half-interest in Sirios Resources‘ (SOI-M) Aquilon gold property for a total of $470,000 in cash payments and exploration expenditures over three years. The latter recently discovered numerous gold zones grading up to 12.3 grams per tonne over widths of up to 9 metres at the property, 10 km south of the Laforge hydroelectric complex.

Prospecting by Dianor Resources (DOR-M) at its MEP 1404 and Yasinski and Yasinski North properties, about 45 km southeast of the town of Radisson, has turned up six surface gold showings. Grab samples from outcrops in an east-northeasterly trending area, which measures 600 metres by 1.7 km, range from 2.83 to 66.99 grams gold.