BASE METALS — Rubicon gears up for drilling — Atna options Rubicon’s elephant base metal project in Alaska

The onset of warmer weather has prompted Rubicon Minerals (RMX-V) to launch drill programs at two gold-rich base metals projects in Newfoundland.

A 5-hole program of between 1,500 to 2,000 metres will test the Seal Bay copper-zinc-gold massive sulphide project, situated on tidewater, 35 km northwest of the deep-sea port of Botwood in northeastern Newfoundland. The property, in which Rubicon holds rights to earn a 65% interest from Falconbridge (FL-T), is underlain by a large felsic volcanic centre within Wild Bight Group rocks.

Rubicon’s program is aimed at testing a newly defined mineralized trend in hopes of identifying a

large deposit similar to Noranda’s 13.8-million-tonne Point Leamington deposit, 12 km along strike to the south.

In another deal with Falconbridge, Rubicon can earn 51% of the West Cleary project, 2 km west of Roberts Arm. The current 2-hole program (totalling 300 metres) is testing a zone of poorly exposed, gold-rich base metal vein stockwork mineralization, as well as

two strong induced polarization anomalies.

Previous surface work at West Cleary, which has never been drill-tested, returned values of up to 4.56% copper, 2.5% lead and 1.1% zinc over 3 metres in veins and stockworks, and 19.2 grams gold in angular float.

Rubicon holds base metal and gold projects elsewhere in Canada, including a land package on Baffin Island in the Northwest Territories considered prospective for nickel deposits similar to those occurring in Thompson, Man., and northern Quebec (Raglan).

The junior recently optioned its 340-claim Palmer property in Alaska to Atna Resources (ATN-T), which can earn a 50% interest by spending US$2 million on exploration by the fall of 2001. Once Atna earns its interest, an equal joint venture will be formed.

Atna is best known for its work with Westmin Resources (now a unit of Boliden) on the Wolverine massive sulphide project in the Finlayson Lake area of the Yukon.

The Palmer project lies within rocks that are the same age as the Greens Creek silver-rich polymetallic mine in Alaska and the Windy Craggy copper-cobalt deposit in northern British Columbia (now part of a wilderness park). The property is easily accessible — the Haines Highway passes within two miles — and is close to tidewater.

The principals of both Atna and Rubicon have many years of experience exploring for massive sulphide deposits and hope to put that expertise to use at Palmer. The companies believe that the documented showings on the property attest to the presence of an extensive mineralizing system that has potential to host several large, rich deposits.

More than 25 high-grade base metal and/or barite showings are known to occur over a 9.1-km-long trend on the property. A US$400,000 program, including mapping, sampling, ground geophysics and diamond drilling, is slated to begin in July.

“The Palmer project is ripe for drilling by an experienced massive sulphide team,” says Rubicon President Garfield McVeigh. “Atna, with its proven discovery record, focus on massive sulphide exploration and strong cash position, is an ideal partner to advance exploration and development of the project.”