Barrick at work in Alaska

Vancouver — Mining titan Barrick Gold (ABX-T) has kicked off a $600,000 exploration program on the California and Surf properties, held jointly by Rimfire Minerals (RFM-V) and Western Keltic Mines (WKM-V).

The properties are adjacent to each other and lie along the eastern extension of the Pogo trend, a 13-km-long, southeasterly trending belt that hosts the Pogo deposit. That deposit, owned by Teck (TEK-T) and Japan-based Sumitomo, contains an estimated 10.6 million tonnes grading 0.53 oz. gold per ton.

The California and Surf properties are jointly held by Western Keltic (70%) and Rimfire (30%). Western Keltic can earn an additional 10% by completing $3.5 million in exploration expenditures and issuing 200,000 of its shares to Rimfire. Under a subsequent agreement, Barrick can earn a 51% interest in the two properties by spending $2 million on exploration within three years.

Rimfire says this year’s program will take place in two phases.

Phase one will attempt to define anomalies in the southwestern section of the Boundary zone and to sample an area where permafrost has hindered the collection of suitable soil samples. This program will consist of geological mapping, sampling and power auger soil-sampling, to be followed by an 800-line-km airborne magnetic and radiometric geophysical survey over the California and Surf properties.

Phase two will begin when phase-one data have been evaluated. It will consist of drilling designed to test the Boundary zone.

Last year, the exploration program identified Pogo-style mineralization in the Boundary zone, which is on the boundary of both properties. Three of four drill holes intersected visible gold, as well as quartz stockwork that was more intense than expected.

Western Keltic completed a 4-hole, 827-metre drill program to test the Boundary zone late last summer. Drilling intersected visible gold in quartz veinlets in three holes. Three styles of mineralization were identified.

The highest values were hosted in 1-to-5-cm quartz-pyrite-pyrrhotite veinlets that contained visible gold intergrown with bismuthinite (hole 4 cut 0.5 metre grading 24.26 grams gold per tonne). Broader zones of gold mineralization were discovered in quartz-sericite-altered or sheared gneiss cut by thin quartz-pyrite-calcite stringers (hole cut 2.4 metres grading 2.36 grams gold). Results from the drilling also indicate that the gold mineralization is more widespread than it appears at surface.

In addition, soil sampling outlined a 900-by-300-metre gold-in-soil anomaly centred within a bismuth/arsenic-in-soil anomaly measuring 1,800 by 1,300 metres. Diamond drilling tested only a small portion of this anomaly. Five other drill targets on the 150-sq.-km property have yet to be tested.