Aur readies drill program at Balsam

Diamond drilling and down-hole geophysics are planned for the Balsam property in Saskatchewan, 60 km southwest of Flin Flon, Man.

Operator Aur Resources (TSE) will spend $190,000 on a 9-hole, 1,300-metre drill program, combined with down-hole, pulse-electromagnetic (EM) surveys.

Aur’s half interest in the property, acquired from Granges in the summer of 1995, is subject to a farm-in agreement by Thunderwood Resources (TSE) and Consoliated Abitibi Resources (ME), each of which is earning a 15% interest by putting up exploration funds. The remaining 50% is held by Troymin Resources (ASE).

The property is in the Hanson Lake volcanic belt, a few kilometres southeast of the Hanson Lake and McIlvenna Bay massive sulphide deposits. It hosts a zone of strongly altered felsic volcanic rock with traces of copper, zinc and gold. About 30 shallow drill holes have been advanced on the property, including one that intersected 6.5 metres of mineralization grading 3.3% copper and 3.3% zinc, plus 52.5 grams silver and 3.7 grams gold per tonne.

Previous pulse-EM surveys point to a conductive body extending 800 metres southeast from the known mineralization, and this target has not been tested. Magnetic mapping suggests the rock units have been complexly folded, in which case the mineralized horizon may be repeated as parallel zones.