EXPLORATION 1998 — Juniors continue gold search in Quebec

Partners Noront Resources (NOT-V) and Alto Minerals (ATO-V) will resume drilling this month at their Windfall Lake gold and base metal project in Quebec’s Urban and Barry twps.

The juniors are encouraged by their winter program on the property, which encountered near-surface mineralization in a 600-metre-wide zone, along a strike length of about 250 metres.

The Windfall Lake project is believed to have potential to host a large, open-pit resource containing both gold and base metal mineralization. The gold is associated with pyrite in extensively altered felsic volcanics related to a rhyolite vent or dome.

The partners drilled four holes in their latest program, to bring to eight the total number drilled on the property. Hole 5 hit several sulphide zones and returned the best results, including 485.2 grams gold and 45 grams silver per tonne over 0.68 metre, which was part of a larger intersection of 9.52 metres grading 35.27 grams gold (uncut).

Hole 4 intersected two zones of anomalous gold mineralization (0.66 metre of 1.54 grams gold and 3.8 metres of 1.26 grams gold). Hole 7 was collared on the adjacent Alcane property, a 50-50 joint venture between Alto and Aurcana (auc-a), to test a zinc soil anomaly. Some anomalous gold values were intersected over narrow widths, including an interval with values of 2% zinc and 10 grams silver. Hole 8 was drilled to test a northeast extension of a known zone at Windfall Lake; it failed to hit the zone, though one section averaged 29.1 grams gold over 0.82 metre. Hole 6 also returned narrow intervals of gold mineralization, with values ranging from 2.3 grams to 8.5 grams.

Alto and Noront are now studying their data to establish a model to guide future drilling aimed at expanding the gold system.

Elsewhere in the district, Xemac Resources (XEM-M) plans to continue work at its Lac Barry property later this year. The junior plans to either take on a joint-venture partner or carry out an equity financing.

Earlier this year, Xemac reported the discovery of the No. 2 high-grade gold zone at Lac Barry. Selected results from that winter program include 3.6 metres of 27 grams gold, 2 metres of 20.58 grams, 12.6 metres of 12.65 grams and 3.6 metres of 33.91 grams gold.

Xemac returned to the property after the discovery in order to test the zone from set-ups on ice-covered Barry Lake. Eight holes (1,408 metres) were drilled, which brought the autumn-winter total to 3,900 metres in 35 holes.

All six holes targeting the No. 2 zone intersected the structure, which consists of quartz-veining at the contact of a narrow south-dipping, shear-hosted felsic intrusive. The latest round of drilling extended the zone to more than 560 metres of strike, and to a depth of 185 metres.

The best result from the most recent holes was 0.61-metre of 12 grams gold.

The other holes returned anomalous values of up to 3.64 grams gold over 0.64 metre.

Xemac notes that the unexplored strike extensions of the No. 2 zone (within property limits) total 300 to 400 metres in a southwestern direction, and 600 to 700 metres in a northeastern direction. Only three holes have been drilled below

100 metres.

Also active in the Barry-Urban greenstone belt are partners Teck (TEK-T), Murgor Resources (MUG-T) and Freewest Resources (FWR-T).

Teck, as operator, is testing a number of gold zones previously identified on the large land package. The major has the right to earn up to a 51% interest in the Barry property, which consists of three claim blocks. One of the blocks is held 100% by Murgor and the others are shared equally by Murgor and Freewest.

Equal partners Moss Resources (mrs-t) and Greenshield Resources (GSR-M) recently completed a winter drill program on their Urban gold property. The program was designed to follow up work on the promising No. 1 gold zone, to test several other gold zones encountered in previous drilling and to investigate several induced polarization anomalies not previously drilled.

A new gold zone was discovered 100 metres southeast of, and seemingly parallel to, the No. 1 zone. The best of three holes to hit this new zone, U98-59, cut 2.95 metres averaging 9.54 grams per tonne. Gold in the zone is associated with sphalerite. Holes ranged up to 5.8% zinc and 4.71 grams silver.