Intrepid hunts base metals at Isurtuq

Overburden sampling by Intrepid Minerals (IAU-T) has revealed indicator minerals for sulphide deposits on the Isurtuq property on southeastern Baffin Island.

Prospecting and stream-sediment sampling this past summer provided samples for heavy-mineral concentration. Lab results showed the heavy fraction of the samples contained sulphide-rich fragments of paragneiss, with pyrrhotite, magnetite, garnet, biotite and the zinc spinel, gahnite.

Gahnite is typical of reactions between sphalerite (zinc sulphide) and silicate minerals at relatively high metamorphic grades.

Isurtuq, east of Nettilling Lake and about 300 km north of Iqaluit, Nunavut, is in an area of strongly metamorphosed (granulite-facies) sedimentary rocks of early Proterozoic age. Intrepid and BHP Billiton (BHP-N) believe the area to be prospective for silver-enriched massive sulphide deposits similar to BHP’s Cannington deposit in Queensland, Australia.

Intrepid is earning a half-interest in the 5,192-sq.-km property from BHP by spending $1 million over three years. The first earn-in milestone is to spend $500,000 by the end of 2005 to earn a 30% interest. A private placement of 400,000 flow-through shares at 75 each will fund the remaining required expenditure on the project.