Aur rumour sparks buying frenzy

But at press time Aur President Jim Gill was refusing to confirm that a huge massive sulphide intersection had been pulled from deep beneath Louvicourt Twp. where high grade copper-zinc-gold mineralization has already been found.

After interviewing two brokers and a geologist, Vancouver-based Stockwatch Magazine said the intersections were at least 400 ft wide.

Gill also declined to comment on speculation that Toronto-based Noranda Inc. (TSE) is about to emerge with more than 10% of the outstanding shares of Aur and St. Genevieve Resources (TSE).

Rumors of a Noranda takeover surfaced when more than three million St. Genevieve shares changed hands on July 18 during a day of frenzied trading activity. Based in Montreal, St. Genevieve holds a 56% stake in Louvem which in turn is claiming to have 50% of the Louvicourt Twp. project.

Operator Aur Resources has the remaining 50% interest in a project that has almost single handedly reignited investor interest in the junior exploration sector.

Before the Toronto Stock Exchange halted trading of all three companies, Louvem climbed to $6.63 from $4.76 while Aur added $1.38 to its share price before closing at $10.75.

While trading was halted at Aur’s request, a top TSE official wasn’t ruling out an inquiry into events leading up to the Aur, Louvem share price increase. “It’s something we may look into depending on what the announcement says,” said Neil Winchester, the TSE’s manager of market surveillance.

Analysts interviewed by The Northern Miner say most of the share activity was based on anticipated results of hole 49, the eleventh to be released from Louvicourt recently, and the last of a batch of five holes drilled to test up-dip for extensions of the deposit at around 1,250 ft below surface.

While Aur had already announced that hole 49 contained massive and copper-rich sulphides over widths of at least 50 ft, the amount of sulphides in that hole added about a week to the time needed to have it assayed, according to geologist Don Bubar.

“It took a while to split a lot of the sulphides (in hole 49),” he told The Northern Miner.

If reports of a huge intersection in hole 49 are proved correct, a deposit which has already been estimated to contain at least 10 million tons of massive sulphides, could take on Kidd Creek proportions, said Nesbitt Thomson Deacon Inc. analyst Julian Baldry. He was referring to Falconbridge Ltd.’s (TSE) Kidd Creek, Ont. mine which hosts proven and probable reserves of 48.9 million tonnes of grade 3.45% copper, 5.08% zinc per ton.

Located about 800 ft south of the former Louvem copper zinc mine, the Louvicourt discovery is currently being tested by four drill rigs. Two of those rigs are drilling between hole 49 and another hole which intersected 78.5 ft of grade 2.75% copper and 0.68% zinc at a vertical depth of about 1,750 ft.

Aur is also collaring two step out holes, one of which is targeted for a vertical depth of about 2,300 ft. “They will give us a little bit more of an indication of continuity (of the deposit) to depth and to the east,” said Bubar.

“Our basic strategy is to steadily move outward from the cluster of ore intersections (reported during the past months),” he said. However, since it is taking about three weeks to drill a hole and another week for assays to come though, it may be at least another month before the next results are announced.

Adding to the length of time between announcements is the fact that many of the drill holes are tending to wander off target as they probe deep below surface. “It’s tough to get them to go where you want them to,” Bubar said.

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