EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Territorial exploration highlighted by Mazenod Lake prospects

Although ground acquisition has slowed down in the Mazenod Lake area of the Northwest Territories, exploration work continues apace.

Combining sophisticated geological and geophysical methods with an old-time land play, companies such as GMD Resource (GMD-V), Gregor Goldfields (GGLD-C), Avalon Ventures (AVL-V) and Starcore Resources (SOE-V) have begun to pick drill targets in the area.

Meanwhile, the company that started it all, Fortune Minerals (FORM-C), is close to calculating a resource at its main Nico project.

Results from Fortune’s recent drill program gave rise to a classic staking rush, led chiefly by junior companies and fast-moving, local exploration contractors. The first seven holes drilled at Fortune’s Bowl zone intersected relatively low copper grades with some bismuth, cobalt and gold values. Three other holes, drilled at the Summit Peak zone, returned low-grade copper with no significant byproducts.

Fortune followed up the drilling with geophysical and geological work, uncovering new surface showings, employing an induced-polarization (IP) survey and refining its knowledge of the large gravity anomalies.

Drilling on the Bowl zone and the nearby Nos. 1, 2 and 3 zones resumed in August. Typical grades in the Bowl have been around 0.1% for copper, cobalt and bismuth, and some intersections contained trace amounts of gold and tungsten. Multiple intersections with lengths of 10-30 metres have been the norm.

The company has drilled a sufficient number of holes to be able to calculate a preliminary resource figure, which it plans to have verified by an outside consultant before drilling resumes after freeze-up.

Two drill holes, collared between the surface showings, intersected mineralization at depth, leading Fortune to believe that the No. 1 zone could be a northeastern extension of the Bowl zone. The two zones have broadly similar grades of copper, cobalt and bismuth, though No. 1 has appreciably more gold, with grades as high as 15.8 grams per tonne (0.46 oz. per ton).

Intersections in No. 1 have mainly been 10-60 metres in length. However, hole 28 encountered 134.5 metres and hole 30, 143.4 metres, of cobalt-bismuth mineralization, with some copper and gold credits.

Two holes intersected mineralization downdip from the No. 2 zone surface showing, centred about 600 metres east of the Bowl zone. Hole 13 cut 64 metres of cobalt-bismuth-tungsten mineralization, while hole 14 intersected two zones with gold plus minor amounts of cobalt and bismuth; one returned 98.9 metres grading 2.7 grams gold and the other, 20.3 metres grading 11.5 grams.

At the No. 3 showing, where drill hole 8 intersected 34.4 metres with relatively low grades of copper, cobalt and bismuth (T.N.M., June 3/96), two more drill holes have intersected cobalt-copper mineralization, with minor gold and bismuth, over lengths of 27.3 and 33.4 metres.

Fortune has also drill-tested magnetic and IP anomalies on the property, without intersecting sufficient mineralization to explain the geophysical response. The geophysical surveys are being re-interpreted in the belief that the source of the anomalies could be deeper, and Fortune is considering drilling the targets again, possibly in the winter.

Fortune is the operator in a joint venture with GMD Resources at the JBG claim group, about 10 km northeast of the Bowl zone. GMD is earning a 60% interest by funding exploration on the project.

The summer field season saw magnetic, IP and geological surveys conducted over a 40-line-km grid at JBG. IP and magnetic anomalies, up to 100 metres wide, extend over a 400-km strike length east of a surface showing investigated in 1995. Grab samples showed metal concentrations as high as 1.39% copper, 7.36% zinc, 3.8% lead and 11.6 grams silver. Surface showings on other parts of the property coincide with IP and magnetic anomalies.

Drilling is planned before the end of the year.

* On its own, GMD is exploring the Treasure Island claim group, which adjoins Fortune’s Nico property. Through geological mapping, magnetics and IP surveys, the company has so far located five surface showings, and it intends to drill-test the showings at depth.

* Joint-venture partners Avalon Resources and Starcore Resources have found a copper occurrence on their Dianne Lake property, discovered by Noranda (NOR-T) in the 1970s. Seven surface showings, over an area measuring 100 by 300 metres, yielded grab samples with copper concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 2.84%. The style of mineralization is similar to that of the nearby Sue-Dianne and Nico properties, with magnetite and hematite and with stringers of chalcopyrite and pyrite in brecciated felsic volcanic rocks.

* Another junior active in the region, Gregor Goldfields, began work at its Hislop Lake property, west of Nico, in late July, having thus far carried out prospecting and mapping.

* Dianor Resources (DOR-M), which has a 1.8-sq.-km property west of Nico, recently found a showing on its property. Grab samples from the occurrence contained up to 1% copper, 2.8% zinc and 0.12% cobalt.

* Hawkeye Gold (HAW-V), which holds the Tri and Reba claim blocks between Fortune’s Nico property and the Fortune-GMD joint venture, will shortly have the results of a 760-line-km airborne survey using electromagnetics, magnetics and radiometrics.

Farther afield, Hemisphere Development (HSD-V) has acquired claim blocks scattered north and west of Mazenod Lake. The claims are known to cover several geophysical anomalies.