Hawkeye outlines targets

Seven drill targets have been defined at the Yankee diamond exploration property in Nunavut following the completion, last year, of helicopter-borne magnetic surveys. The 364-sq.-km property is on Victoria Island.

Hawkeye Gold International (hgo-v) can earn an initial 33.3% interest in the project from Major General Resources (mgj-v) by spending $45,000 on exploration and issuing 100,000 shares by Aug. 1. Hawkeye can boost its interest to 50% by spending an additional $200,000 in each of 2001 and 2002, and issuing 50,000 shares.

Six of the geophysical targets are believed to have a shallow source, while the seventh has an estimated depth of 70 metres. Kimberlite indicator minerals were detected in till samples collected down-ice from four of the seven magnetic anomalies, and several other indicator minerals were found in areas of the property not yet subjected to geophysical surveys.

Hawkeye is contemplating a summer drilling program.

Major General holds more than 5,750 sq. km of prospective ground on Victoria Island, where 16 kimberlite bodies were discovered by De Beers Canada Exploration under its former moniker, Monopros. Fourteen of those bodies are diamondiferous.

For the past two field seasons, Dia Met Minerals (dmm-t) has been exploring two separate joint ventures covering 4,700 sq. km in central Victoria Island, close to the kimberlites discovered by De Beers, including the Snowy Owl kimberlite. Snowy Owl was one of five kimberlite bodies discovered by De Beers in the summer of 1998 on the Washburn Lake property, under option from Major General and Ascot Resources (aot-v). A 418-kg sample of drill core from Snowy Owl yielded four macrodiamonds and 786 micros, including 417 fragments. (A macro is defined as exceeding 0.5 mm in at least one dimension.)

De Beers withdrew from the joint venture in early 2000 after spending more than $1.3 million on exploration. Major General subsequently acquired an additional 29 claims held by De Beers, which retained a gross overriding royalty and the right to market any diamonds recovered from those claims.

Dia Met conducted heavy mineral sampling programs in 1999 and 2000, collecting more than 1,000 till samples. The early results from one area revealed “high-interest” kimberlite indicator mineral chemistry. A 6,500-line-km airborne geophysical survey was subsequently flown.

Dia Met can earn a 51% interest in Major General’s 3,990-sq.-km Homerun project by spending $4.5 million on exploration before April 30, 2004, as well as a 51% interest in the 708-sq.-km Mariner joint venture, held 50-50 by Major General and Ascot, by spending $2.5 million. Dia Met’s commitment to Victoria Island remains uncertain as the company is being taken over by BHP (bhp-n).