A grassroots volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) discovery in northern Quebec has caught the eye of
Earlier this spring, a first pass of drilling comprising eight holes tested the near-surface potential of the Dom polymetallic showing, discovered in the fall of 2003. The best hole, angled at minus 70, delivered 19.5 metres grading 9.94% zinc, 2.12% lead and 0.73% copper, plus 96.4 grams silver per tonne, starting at a down-hole depth of 33 metres. This 19.5-metre section of hole 17 included a lower 10.5 metres grading 15.4% zinc, 3.12% lead and 0.46% copper, plus 117 grams silver.
Eight shallow holes tested 200 metres of a 300-metre-long coinciding electromagnetic anomaly on four sections. Five of the holes intersected a steeply dipping lens of semi-massive to massive sulphides hosted in an altered volcanic sequence over a strike length of about 150 metres. The mineralized zone remains wide open at depth.
The Dom prospect was discovered last fall in a belt of rocks originally mapped as paragneisses and sediments. Prospecting by Virginia had turned up a gossanous area highly anomalous in zinc and copper. The showing was traced on surface over a lateral distance of 250 metres in a bimodal volcanic sequence containing cordierite-bearing felsic schists and a highly altered anthophyllite sulphide horizon. Trenching along this horizon exposed high-grade sulphide stringers and lenses containing variable proportions of pyrrhotite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena and chalcopyrite. Selected sampling of the blasted trenches yielded values ranging from 0.05% to 22.4% zinc, 0.03-0.19% copper, 0.05-7.3% lead, and 6.8-482 grams silver, plus up to 0.48 gram gold.
Upon making the discovery, Virginia staked the belt thoroughly, which runs 60 km long in a north-south direction. The area, now known as the Coulon project, covers 650 sq. km in total. An airborne geophysical survey was flown over the project near the end of last year, revealing numerous conductors. A 10-km-long grid centred on the Dom showing was covered by ground geophysics, which defined a 300-metre-long conductor associated with the Dom prospect, as well as other similar-looking conductors 1 km farther to the north. That area, referred to as Nord Dom, was tested with nine holes during the first round of drilling. The best intercept was a 38.1-metre mineralized section grading 1.31% copper, 12.6 grams silver, 0.59% zinc and 0.11 gram gold beginning at a down-hole depth of 124 metres.
Noranda has negotiated the right to earn a half-interest in the Coulon project by spending $8 million on exploration and making $250,000 in cash payments over the next seven years. Noranda is obligated to spend at least $1 million each year. Virginia will remain the operator of the program up to the completion of a positive prefeasibility study.
Both the Dom and Nord Dom prospects will be targeted for additional drilling when summer exploration resumes. New target areas associated with favourable felsic volcanics will be followed up with prospecting and reconnaissance exploration work. Virginia has budgeted nearly $1 million for exploration on the Coulon project this year.
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