Cross-Cuts A FLOATING EXPLORATION CAMP

Mineral exploration can be difficult in the coastal areas of western Canada, Alaska and such Pacific island areas as Papua New Guinea where roads, communications, medical facilities and supplies are virtually non-existent. That’s why, four years ago, the City Resources group of companies set about to build a specialized ocean-going vessel to carry out support functions for geological survey teams. The United Venturer, a 25-m catamaran built in Hong Kong, is a veritable floating exploration camp complete with laboratory and helicopter-landing pad. It is fully self-contained and can go into an area with a team of geologists, scientists, sample preparation staff, helicopter pilot and ship’s crew. The ship has the ability to sustain herself and personnel for up to three months.

The ship’s bridge is oversized to provide a mapping room. It is equipped with modern navigation equipment and has a communications satellite which allows telex, fax and telephone connections to and from anywhere in the world. There are two desalinators to provide fresh water.

The special air-conditioned laboratory is fully equipped to handle all preliminary assay work, enabling on-the-spot evaluation of the study area. Other equipment includes a large air-compressor, jaw-crusher, hammer mill, pulverizers and an atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

The United Venturer has been working for two years and City says its ability to let crews evaluate an area effectively and quickly has saved considerable expenses. The company says using the ship can reduce preliminary exploration time to about three months from one year.