Falco tests four targets at Kerr-Sulphurets

Vancouver — Four priority targets will be tested by Falconbridge (FAL.LV-T) at the Kerr-Sulphurets copper-gold property, situated 65 km from Stewart, in the rugged Iskut-Stikine region of northwestern British Columbia.

The project is held by Seabridge Gold (SEA-V), but was previously explored by several juniors and majors — notably Placer Dome (PDG-T) — mostly in the 1980s and ’90s.

In the fall of 2002, Seabridge granted Noranda (since folded into Falconbridge) rights to earn a 50% interest in the Kerr-Sulphurets project by spending $6 million on exploration over six years. Falco can boost its interest to 65% by funding a feasibility study.

Falco will focus its efforts on testing the Iron Cap, Main Copper, Mitchell North, and MacQuillan zones, which lie outside the known Kerr and Sulphurets deposits defined by previous operators.

At last report, Sulphurets hosted an indicated resource of 39.3 million tonnes grading 1.05 grams gold per tonne and 0.32% copper, plus an inferred resource of 15.5 million tonnes grading 0.92 gram gold and 0.33% copper. Kerr hosts an indicated resource of 74 million tonnes of 0.74% copper and 0.34 gram gold, plus an inferred resource of 66.8 million tonnes at 0.37 gram gold and 0.76% copper.

The 500-metre by 1,500-metre Iron Cap zone covers an area of intensely and pervasively altered intrusive and volcanic rock in the northeast corner of the claim block. A recent mapping program led to the discovery of the adjacent Iron Cap West zone, a northeast-trending intrusion intermittently exposed over 200 by 800 metres.

Forty partially leached rock-chip samples collected by Noranda from the Iron Cap and adjacent Iron Cap West zones averaged 1 gram gold per tonne and 0.32% copper.

Mineralization at the Main Copper zone is associated with potassic altered monzonitic porphyries that intrude quartz-chlorite-magnetite altered volcanics. Rock-chip samples collected over a 1,300-metre by 700-metre area returned values ranging from 0.42% to 1.68% copper and 0.3 to 1.1 grams gold. The zone lies north of the Sulphurets deposit. A second mineralized target was found under thin and retreating ice cover. Ten rock-chip samples collected from the Icefield area averaged 0.41% copper and 0.6 gram gold.

The Mitchell North zone is hosted by a porphyritic intrusion. Quartz veins and stockworks with chalcopyrite and magnetite are locally well developed in the intrusion, and into the country rock in certain areas. Noranda collected 26 samples over a 700-metre by 400-metre area that averaged 0.68% copper and 0.1 gram gold.

The MacQuillan zone occurs southeast of the Sulphurets deposit. Disseminated and veinlet chalcopyrite and pyrite are associated with an altered feldspar porphyritic intrusion. Ten partially leached rock-chip samples averaged 0.29% copper and 0.23 gram gold over an area of at least 600 by 300 metres.

Seabridge is exploring other projects, including the Courageous Lake property, which covers 53 km of the Matthews Lake greenstone belt in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The most advanced target is the Fat deposit, which hosts a measured and indicated resource of 44.2 million tonnes grading 2.49 grams gold, plus a further 65.5 million tonnes of 2.32 grams in the inferred category.

The company carried out a drilling campaign to test for the southern extension of the Fat deposit. Eight exploration holes were drilled in the recent program. Highlights include 24.52 metres of 1.02 grams gold, 3 metres of 3.65 grams gold, 4.5 metres of 2.54 grams gold, and 5.7 metres of 1.22 grams. The company notes that the true thickness of these intercepts is not yet known, as more drilling is required to determine the geometry of the mineralized zones. Three holes did not intersect any significant mineralization.

Seabridge has retained an independent engineering firm to prepare a preliminary assessment of capital and operating costs in order to bring the Courageous Lake project to the prefeasibility stage. The report is expected to be in hand by the end of August.