Atlantic Report Maritimes exploration arm

Vancouver-based Four Seasons Resources has established a Maritimes exploration arm, F.S.R. Maritimes Exploration. F.S.R. Maritimes is negotiating an option agreement with Four Seasons whereby it could earn a 50% joint venture interest in 11 of Four Seasons’ properties by incurring expenditures totalling $1.3 million on the properties over a 2-year period.

Nova Scotia properties in the agreement include claims at Checoggin, near Yarmouth; Wellington, Halifax Cty.; Newton Mills, Halifax Cty.; Whidden Lake, Guysborough Cty., located about four miles west of the Cochrane Hill gold deposit now being evaluated by Inco; Uniacke, Halifax Cty.; Rocky Lake, situated a mile south of the Caribou gold mine being investigated by Seabright Explorations; Bear River, near Digby; Beaver Dam, which lies to the west of the orebody now under development by Seabright; and Herring Cove, just south of the city of Halifax where anomalous gold values have been obtained in a government lake sediment survey over granitic rocks of the South Mountain Batholith.

Four Seasons’ New Brunswick properties under option are the Mitchell claim group, the Hickey claims in northeastern New Brunswick, and the Nigadoo claims.

Bondar-Clegg and Co. is opening a laboratory in Bedford, N.S., to do soil sample preparation. Samples will then be shipped to Bondar- Clegg’s Ottawa lab for analysis. If demand warrants, the lab may eventually expand to include rock and core samples. Bondar-Clegg’s Bedford operation will initially employ eight people, possibly increasing to a staff of 12 later.

Other analytical laboratories in the Maritimes include Chemlabs and Advanced Research Concepts, both of Saint John, N.B.; Stairs Laboratories in Bathurst, N.B.; OceanChem Labs of Dartmouth, N.S.; and the Minerals Engineering Centre at the Technical University of Nova Scotia in Halifax, which does a wide range of geochemical analyses, thin section preparation and has a complete pilot plant for mineral beneficiation.

All labs have been kept busy with the high level of gold exploration in the Atlantic provinces over the past 12 months, and expenditures on assays are expected to be even greater this field season.

Besides NovaGold Resources’ current share offering to raise $2.75 million for exploration in Nova Scotia, another Bluenose company is bidding for investors’ money. Scotia Prime Resources, through its parent, Petroco of Texas, is seeking $1.6 million in funding. Petroco is offering units consisting of 800 flow-through shares, 400 common shares and 200 warrants to purchase common shares at a price of $1,160 per unit. Funds raised will be used for exploration programs on Nova Scotia gold properties at Lower Seal Harbour, Ecum Secum and Crows Nest, all former gold producers, and on targets at Otter Lake, Cameron Dam, Farmville and Rawdon.

The Technical University of Nova Scotia has an abundance of metallurgical engineering students at its co-operative program seeking 4- or 8-month work terms in industry. The co-op program, in which students alternate periods of study with periods of work, benefits both the students, who are given close contact with industry, and the companies, which have an opportunity to size up the student as a future employee with no obligation.

Students in the TUNS co-op program have spent work terms at Brunswick Mining and Smelting, the Iron Ore Co. of Canada, Wabush Mines, Kidd Creek Mines in Ontario, Sherritt-Gordon in Manitoba, Inco, Falconbridge, and with Devco and the Rio Algom tin mine in Nova Scotia.

Of the 45 students now enrolled in the program, 10 are women. “That’s a very large proportion for metallurgical engineering,” notes Dr H. A. Hancock, chairman of the co-op program.

Greenstrike Gold Corp. has commenced the third drilling program to be carried out on the Nova Scotia. Fifteen Mile Stream gold property of Toronto-based Pan East Resources in the last three years. Greenstrike recently announced expanded drill-indicated ore reserves of 600,000 tons grading 0.24 oz per ton based on 17 holes drilled during last year’s program on the Halifax Cty. claims. The first drilling program done by Pan East had delineated 200,000 tons grading 0.22 oz.

The 1987 exploration program of NovaGold on claims adjacent to the Pan East property is expected to be under way by early June, says William Burton, president of Consultec, which provides geological consulting services to NovaGold.

The Mining Society of Nova Scotia will hold its 100th annual meeting at Keltic Lodge, Ingonish Beach, Cape Breton, June 23-27.

This year’s theme is People and Technology Working Together and the many talks will include topics such as ocean mining, presented by Peter Hale of the mineral policy sector of Energy, Mines and Resources, Canada; exploration in Nova Scotia, by Avard Hudgins, vice-president of Acadia Mineral Ventures; and precious and base metals in Nova Scotia over the next 100 years, by John Amireault, vice- president mining, of Jacques, Whitford and Associates, consulting engineers.

The Mining Society evolved when a group of gold miners, the Gold Miners’ Club, amalgamated with a coal miners’ association. The Mining Society was a parent of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and the first president of the CIM was John Hardman, a Nova Scotia gold miner.

This year also marks the 125th anniversary of the first commercial gold production in Nova Scotia and of the Nova Scotia Department of Mines and Energy. The department was formed to oversee the gold mining activities and the first minister, Samuel Creelman, was called the Chief Gold Commissioner.