Gibraltar testing North zone

A 25,000-ft. drilling program recently started on the Jan/Summit claims owned by Newcoast Silver Mines (VSE) and Gibraltar Mines (TSE).

Newcoast holds a 30% net profits interest in the claims with Gibraltar footing the bill for the 28-hole program.

Drilling last year encountered wide intersections of copper mineralization in the newly discovered North zone, about 6,000 ft. west of the plant site at the Gibraltar copper mine near McCleese Lake, B.C.

The drilling involves three phases, including definition drilling with emphasis on the higher-grade area of the North zone, exploration drilling on strike and downdip on the zone, as well as exploration drilling on IP and geologic targets outside the North zone.

Last year’s drilling on the North zone returned values ranging from 60 ft. grading 0.45% copper, up to 440 ft. grading 0.75% copper.

The zone covers an area measuring about 1,600×400 ft. and remains open to the south and the east. The higher-grade portion covers a strike length of about 400 ft., up to 300 ft. below surface and grades greater than 0.50% copper. Gibraltar and Newcoast recently renegotiated the net profits agreement on the Jan/Summit claim group to allow Gibraltar to deduct not only operating costs, but exploration, capital and interest costs before paying out the 30% net profits interest.

The new agreement does not affect the payout on the portion of the claims in the Gibraltar East pit.

Newcoast has already received about $32,000 in royalties for a small portion of the upper benches and John Chapman, a director, estimated that the company will receive about $200,000 in total from the portion in the East pit.