Vancouver —
The South African-based company agreed to buy 1 million units in the junior priced at 30 each. A unit holds one share and one warrant, which is exercisable at 40 for a year. The major can then take a 65% interest in the 2,023-sq.-km project by spending $15 million over eight years, and then an additional 10% by completing a bankable feasibility study.
“Nunavut has been on our radar screen for some time as an emerging gold province,” says Howard Stevenson, Gold Fields’ manager of business development. “Committee Bay has assembled a prospective land package, and we look forward to a productive relationship.”
The project marks the northern extension of the rock units that host
Committee Bay acquired the ground last July when Arta Enterprises, a capital pool company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, acquired all its shares in a deal that saw 2.3 Committee Bay shares exchanged for every Arta share. The transaction involved 4.7 million shares priced at 25 each, plus 1.4 million warrants to acquire 1.4 million flow-through shares that can be exercised at 25 per share for two years. Another privately held company, 895924 Alberta, had a 48.6% interest in Committee Bay. Shares in the new Committee Bay began trading in August 2002.
The most advanced targets on the land package are Wolf Lake West, Wolf Lake East, and Hayes River North, all of which are in the southwest.
At Wolf Lake, previous exploration identified two promising gold showings: Four Hills and Cop. The former lies 35 km southwest of Wolf Lake and was discovered in 1995 when 92 grab samples returned up to 48.07 grams gold per tonne. The Cop showing, 5 km to the east, was found in 1997 when a grab sample returned 27.63 grams gold. Mineralization at both locations is hosted in an Archean iron formation.
To the east, in the Hayes River area, previous exploration identified four gold showings, three of which have been partially tested by drilling.
At the Three Bluffs target, mineralization is hosted in poorly banded to massive iron formation. Chip samples collected in the central and eastern portion of the 1.8-km-long zone returned 11.6 grams gold over 4.8 metres and 19.04 grams gold over 3.9 metres, respectively. From 1994 to 1996, a dozen drill holes tested a 420-metre strike-length section of the showing. The holes averaged 1.22 grams gold over 57.3 metres. Within the broad zone, two higher-grade sections were identified, returning up to 4.8 grams gold over 6 metres and 9.3 grams gold over 2 metres.
Between the Hayes and Three Bluffs zones lies the Antler showing, discovered in 1993. Grab samples from here have returned up to 120.82 grams gold per tonne, and in 1994 two holes were sunk, yielding 1.5 grams gold over 6.6 metres and 1.3 grams gold over 4.1 metres.
At the Inuk gold target, grab samples returned up to 1,893.6 grams gold, and six holes were drilled in 1997. Hole 3 yielded the best results: 2.6 grams gold over 40.1 metres, including a higher-grade section running 9.9 grams gold over 7 metres.
In the Mist-Koffy area, samples of silicified iron formation returned up to 31.3 grams gold.
Overall, 40 gold showings have been discovered on the project, with mineralization occurring in several lithologies, including iron formations, mafic and felsic volcanic rocks, and greywackes.
The partners expect to sign a definitive joint-venture agreement in the weeks ahead.
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