EXPLORATION — New horizon at Caber North

Drilling has opened up an untested horizon and added to the potential of the Caber North base metal target in northern Quebec’s Matagami region, reports Southern Africa Minerals (SAF-T).

A 4,000-ft. drill program, while testing several mineralized zones at Caber North, discovered a zinc-rich exhalite horizon 250 metres south of the A zone at a vertical depth of 1,000 metres. Pulse-electromagnetic surveys in several holes detected large amplitude conductors on either side of what is speculated to be a vent area.

While assay results are still pending, Southern African Minerals (SAM) says the new discovery suggests the potential for stacked deposits at Caber North. The company also notes that the new horizon correlates with the Key Tuffite marker horizon, which is host to all known deposits in the Matagami camp, including the Caber deposit along strike and 1.5 km southeast of Caber North.

Noranda (NOR-T) has the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the Caber project by spending $6 million on work programs and making private-placement investments worth $2.8 million in SAM.

Drilling earlier this year at the Caber deposit outlined a geological resource of about 412,600 tonnes grading 12.3% zinc, 1% copper and 15 grams silver per tonne. Additional drilling is expected to test the deposit’s downdip extensions.

An engineering team from Noranda’s Matagami mine is investigating the possibility of gaining access to the Caber deposit via ramp. As part of the prefeasibility study, the team is also carrying out metallurgical and gravity tests to determine whether Caber ore can be pre-concentrated on site prior to being trucked to the mill. Noranda and SAM are co-managing the project during the exploration phase.