Gold, base metals remain exploration standbys in 1997

Metals exploration activity in Canada continued apace in 1997, and mineral hunters were just likely to be searching for base metals as for gold.

Ontario’s Timmins camp drew explorers like bees to honey after Cross Lake Minerals (CRN-V) reported the discovery of massive sulphides in Sheraton and Timmins twps.

In June, the company identified the first sulphide intersections in hole 97-1. Numerous 1-metre intersections were encountered, some assaying as high as 5.01% zinc (with 0.03 gram gold and 31 grams silver per tonne) in one intersection, and 3.04% copper and 0.8 gram gold per tonne in another.

In July, hole 4 hit 39.5 metres grading 1.32% zinc and 18.45 grams silver.

Drilling to date has identified four stacked zones of volcanogenic massive sulphide, including the Footwall, Main, Breccia and Copper zones.

Results from hole 16, which was collared 132 metres east of hole 1 (the discovery hole) intersected the Main zone, returning 33 metres grading 6.71% zinc, 1.86% lead and 0.16% copper, as well as 106.95 grams silver and 0.055 gram gold.

Band-Ore Resources (BAN-T) spent the year proving up reserves at its Thorne gold property, 20 km southwest of Timmins. A 92,000-metre drill program enabled a private consultant to calculate a preliminary reserve of 6.9 million tonnes grading 1.5 grams gold.

In the Northwest Territories, Cumberland Resources (CBD-T), Comaplex Minerals (CMF-T) and Australian-based Western Mining advanced the Meliadine West gold project from the exploration to prefeasibility stage. Western Mining is the operator there.

Drilling at the project, situated 15 km north of Rankin Inlet, topped 32,770 metres last season. Work there focused on delineating resources at the Tiriruniak zone. A total of 104 holes have been drilled, 81 of which intersected gold mineralization. Resource calculations are being conducted on three sub-parallel horizons.

In Labrador, the search continued for another Voisey’s Bay deposit. Donner Minerals (DML-V) holds, with joint-venture partners Teck (TEK-T) and Northern Abitibi (NAI-A), the most promising ground, 90 km south of Inco’s Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt deposit.

Project operator Teck in September intersected three mineralized intervals at the Donner-Northern Abitibi joint-venture. Teck has options to acquire up to 50% of Donner’s interest in each of the junior’s South Voisey’s Bay projects.

Results from hole 67 included: 1.73% nickel, 1.64% copper and 0.23% cobalt over 0.3 metre; 1.93% nickel, 1.07% copper and 0.26% cobalt over 0.6 metre; and 1.35% nickel, 0.64% copper and 0.14% cobalt over 0.1 metre.

Hot on the heels of this first sulphide intersection, hole 75, collared 250 metres west of hole 67, intersected 1 metre of 11.75% nickel, 9.7% copper and 0.43% cobalt.

The last hole of the season, drilled in December, hit 15.7 metres grading 1.13% nickel, 0.78% copper and 0.2% cobalt. That hole was drilled 200 metres southwest of hole 75.

The partners believe that they will find more mineralization as the program moves west toward a large gravity anomaly. Drilling is expected to resume in March, or when weather permits.

In the Yukon, Atna Resources (ATN-T) and joint-venture partner YGC Resources (YGC-V) intersected massive sulphides on their Wolf property, 80 km south of Ross River. Atna can earn up to a 65% operating interest in the property, which lies 45 km west of Cominco’s Kudz Ze Kaya base metal deposit.

The discovery hole, 7, intersected massive sulphides over a true width of 25.2 metres grading 6.9% zinc, 2.8% lead and 138.6 grams silver.

The stratiform volcanogenic barite-sphalerite-galena mineralization is hosted within a felsic package of lapilli and ash tuffs of Mississippian age, and is sandwiched between Devonian-aged and Mississippian-aged carbonates.

By the end of October, the company had identified massive sulphide mineralization in nine drill holes. The mineralized body has been defined over a strike length of 500 metres and a downdip length of about 250 metres.

About 65 km east of the Wolf discovery, at the Wolverine project, partners Westmin Resources (WMI-T) and Atna identified the Sable zone.

Hole 106 returned a narrow, 0.6-metre interval of high-grade massive sulphide mineralization grading 15.7% zinc, 0.65% copper and 0.62% lead, plus 2.26 grams gold and 183 grams silver per tonne. The hole was drilled 1,600 metres southeast of the Wolverine deposit and fewer than 100 metres from the eastern boundary of the Puck property, which is under option from Expatriate Resources (EXR-V).

Currently, only two holes define mineralization in the Sable zone. On the nearby Puck claims, the last of 10 holes encountered alteration similar to that observed in the Sable zone. Drilling to define the zone will continue next year.

The Wolverine project is held 60% by Westmin and 40% by Atna. Each of the companies can earn a 50% interest in the Puck claims by spending $2 million on exploration over two years.

In New Brunswick’s Bathurst base metal camp, junior Mountain Lake Resources (MOA-V) discovered lead-zinc mineralization on its Maliseet Mountain property.

The discovery hole, 2, intersected 6.6 metres grading 8.2% zinc, 0.22% lead, 0.1% copper and 15.1 grams silver. A 2.5-metre intercept hit 9.5% zinc 0.2% lead, 0.09% copper and 17.7 grams silver. Following the discovery, Noranda (nor-t) picked up an option to earn a 60% interest in the 2,200-ha property.

To earn its interest, Noranda must spend $4 million on exploration and buy $300,000 worth of Mountain Lake treasury shares.

Sulphide mineralization is hosted within chloritized, fine-grained mafic rocks overlying strongly silicified sedimentary rocks.

Major General Resources (MGJ-V) also made a lead-zinc discovery on its Nepisiguit Brook property, east of Maliseet. Hole 21 intersected 16.8 metres of semi-massive sulphides grading 1.59% zinc and 0.16% lead, plus 4.61 grams silver.

The discovery, situated 1.5 km west of the JS copper-gold zone, is hosted within silica and chlorite-altered felsic crystal tuffs. Major General believes that the mineralization may be peripheral to a potentially larger lead-zinc massive sulphide deposit. The junior can acquire the property from Rio Algom (ROM-T) by spending $1 million on exploration over four years. Rio Algom can earn a 2% net smelter return royalty or earn back a 55% interest in the property by completing a positive feasibility study.