Cdn Zinc finds more veins at Prairie Creek

Vancouver — Canadian Zinc (CZN-T) is encouraged by results from a just-wrapped diamond drill program at the Prairie Creek zinc-lead-silver property in the Northwest Territories.

The junior is incorporating the results into its database in order to plan its next drill program.

The 5-hole, 1,710-metre program identified an area of increased thickness and grade within the existing vein resource. In addition, other parallel high-grade veins were discovered. The last two holes targeted the vein system about 100 metres below the existing underground workings.

Hole 133 intersected 11 metres grading 14.84% lead, 10.09% zinc and 0.51% copper, plus 226.3 grams silver per tonne, starting at a down-hole depth of 305.4 metres. Included was a 6.6-metre interval of 20.94% lead, 14.86% zinc, 0.77% copper and 326 grams silver.

Hole 134 cut 13.7 metres grading 8.16% lead, 8.89% zinc, 0.25% copper and 122.6 grams silver starting at 235.4 metres down-hole. Included was a 3.4-metre section of 14.27% lead, 25.71% zinc, 0.45% copper and 222.6 grams silver.

“We plan to continue drilling infill holes to boost the confidence level in the resource toward reserve status,” says Alan Taylor, vice-president of Exploration. “That will include extracting a bulk sample for pilot plant work.”

Canadian Zinc will have go to the market to raise cash for the next stage of exploration. The company currently has 32.5 million shares fully diluted and $250,000 in the till.

Prior to the recent program, the measured and indicated resource was estimated at 3.6 million tonnes grading 12.6% zinc, 9.7% lead, 0.03% copper and 142 grams silver. The inferred portion of the resource stands at 8.3 million tonnes grading 12.8% zinc, 10.3% lead, 0.4% copper and 169 grams silver. The combined mineral resource is 11.8 million tonnes averaging 12.5% zinc, 10.1% lead, 0.4% copper and 161 grams silver.

Meanwhile, Canadian Zinc has completed a geochemical survey on a group of claims 7.5 km north of the Prairie Creek vein system. The survey returned anomalous zinc values along strike of the resource.

In the 1980s, the Prairie Creek project, under different owners, was financed to within months of startup. Development was aborted when funding dried up and the price of silver collapsed. The property is 338 km north of Fort Nelson, B.C., in a remote area of the eastern Mackenzie Mountains.

Canadian Zinc has set its sights on making the project bankable by the end of next year, with startup slated for 2003.

Highlights from the recent drilling are shown in the accompanying table.

VEIN INTERCEPTS

STRATABOUND INTERCEPTS