Vancouver — Despite the implementation of one of the most attractive incentive programs in the country, mineral exploration in Canada’s westernmost province failed to ignite in 2002.
In 2001, total field-related exploration expenditures for British Columbia came in at a dismal $30 million, but with a new pro-mining provincial government in place, analysts had been predicting explorers would fork out $60 million in 2002. Their enthusiasm proved short-lived, and by November, exploration activity in the province appeared to be tracking only modestly higher on a year-over-year basis. And it was certainly a far cry of the boom of the 1980s, when $150-200 million was spent annually on exploration.
“Anecdotal indications for 2002 suggest that mineral exploration spending is indeed on the rise and thus there is reason to be positive,” says Gary Livingstone, president of the Mining Association of British Columbia. “However, we’re at a critical point: the government is about to make some significant policy decisions that will affect mineral exploration spending and determine whether it recovers to the levels needed to sustain the industry.”
A stable of perennial junior explorers is keeping the embers burning by advancing a handful of projects in British Columbia, while most of the deep-pocketed majors are electing to wait on the sidelines, unconvinced that the provincial government can triumph over regulatory, environmental and aboriginal hurdles.
“We’re at a fragile stage in the revival process,” Livingstone reiterates. “Whether these early signs of interest can actually be nurtured into a full recovery rests squarely with the provincial government and especially how it handles the issue of land-use planning.”
One of the biggest spenders in the province is
Aiming to expand the known resource of the Siwash North and WD vein systems, junior
The Siwash North vein system marks the largest and most significant target on the property, with a probable underground reserve of 29,838 tonnes grading 28.6 grams gold, an indicated resource of 10,565 tonnes grading 47.1 grams gold, and an inferred resource of 71,311 tonnes grading 43 grams gold. Previous diamond drilling traced the vein system over a 950-metre strike length to depths of 300 metres below the surface.
Almaden first tested the WD vein, 140 metres north of the Siwash vein. Previous drilling at Almaden defined an inferred resource of 17,000 tonnes grading 48.2 grams gold. The latest program tested the continuity of the vein at 50-metre spacings to the south and east. All the holes cut the vein, with hole 311 returning 17.42 grams gold over 2.2 metres.
Four holes tested the Deep B shoot downplunge of the mine workings and 400 metres southwest, while four holes tested the Gold Creek West vein. Assay results are pending.
Seven hundred metres north of the B vein, two holes were collared on the Bullion Creek structure, returning a best value of 4.04 grams gold over 1 metre.
Lorraine
North of Elk in the Prince George area,
Hole 65 was sunk on the southeastern side of the mineralizing system and cut 43.1 metres grading 0.43% copper and 0.48 gram gold at 43.4 metres down-hole.
Hole 66 was drilled 500 metres north of hole 63 (35.8 metres grading 0.44% copper and 0.3 gram gold starting at 9.1 metres, and a 41-metre lower zone grading 0.4% copper and 0.3 gram gold starting at a depth of 107 metres) but did not encounter significant copper-gold mineralization.
Eastfield can earn up to a 75% stake in the property from
At
Morrison is part of the larger Hearne Hill property in the province’s Omenica region. Pacific Booker combined Hearne Hill with Noranda’s Morrison project in a joint effort to define an economic copper-gold porphyry system. The Hearne Hill claims adjoin the Morrison property on the eastern side.
Noranda discovered Morrison in the 1960s, and 95 holes were drilled between 1965 and 1985. Subsequently, the company tabled a resource of 190 million tonnes grading 0.4% copper and 0.2 gram gold. Most of the early holes consisted of small-diameter core, some of which ended in mineralization. These holes were not assayed for gold, molybdenum or silver.
At last count, the drill-indicated resource on the Morrison property was 123 million tonnes grading 0.38% copper and 0.2 gram gold. Pacific Booker is in the midst of updating the resource by including the results from its 82 drill holes (totalling 22,824 metres).
Some 20 km northeast of Likely,
One of the two holes drilled into the 16S zone returned anomalous base metal and gold values, while the other hole failed to hit any significant values. The remaining three holes targeted the 5N zone, and, despite hitting the favourable felsite rock, only low-grade values were obtained.
Tommy vein
In the central portion of the Tommy Vein, hole 85 was collared within the inferred resource (470,700 tonnes grading 7.4 grams gold and 65.22 grams silver) and returned 7.9 metres averaging 4.5 grams gold and 28.5 grams silver. Hole 84 was collared outside the resource and hit 3 metres grading 0.61 gram gold and 7.3 grams silver.
Collared 200 and 400 metres to the north, holes 82 and 83 returned only anomalous-to-low-grade intersections but extended the strike extension of the vein to 1 km.
East of, and parallel to, the Tommy vein, hole 86 targeted the southern extension of the Larry vein but failed to encountered significant values.
The junior can acquire the property from
In 2002, Doublestar completed infill and definition drilling, baseline environmental studies, geotechnical studies, and metallurgical testing.
Situated 65 km north of Northgate’s Kemess mine, the project features a zone of mineralization which hosts a resource of 5.9 million tonnes grading 1.87% copper and 6.11 grams silver per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 0.7% copper. Of this amount, 4.2 million tonnes grading 1.94% copper and 6.35 grams silver are classified as measured, whereas 1.7 million tonnes at slightly lower grades are indicated and inferred.
Blended ores
Plans call for Procon to mine the deposit on a contract basis and for Northgate to process the material at the Kemess mine. Both ores, Sustut and Kemess, would be blended together.
The Sustut material would increase Kemess’s copper production by 40%, boost the grade of the concentrate, improve the quality of tailings, and reduce the amount of steel required in the semi-autogenous grinding mills.
The Sustut material is acid-consuming and appears not to leach metals into the environment.
A tabular, volcanic redbed deposit, Sustut was discovered by
In the Barkerville-Wells area,
Meanwhile, in the northern part of the province, junior explorers continue to hunt for high-grade deposits in the Eskay Creek region.
3-D model
The Aussie company used all available data from the region to develop a three-dimensional model to define drill targets. The program focused on the 3.4-sq.-km Sib claims, which are adjacent to, and along strike of, the Eskay Creek operation. Exploration work between 1988 and 1991 defined a 1,680-metre strike-length portion of the favourable mudstone contact horizon, which hosts the Eskay Creek mine mineralization.
Twelve years ago, 26 diamond drill holes, totalling 4,000 metres, tested selective geophysical and mineralized stratigraphic zones along the length of the Sib claims. One of the holes returned 14.3 metres grading 13.1 grams gold and 961.1 grams silver per tonne. Dubbed “Lulu,” the new discovery was followed up by an additional 1,680 metres: four holes intersected massive barite with high gold and silver values, and 25 holes cut gold-silver-bearing stockworks.
In this year’s drill program, three holes tested the extensions of the Lulu zone. Collared near the original discovery hole, hole 113 yielded the best results: 11.7 metres grading 19.5 grams gold and 1,602.9 grams silver at a down-hole depth of 60.4 metres. Included in this section was a higher-grade zone running 6.9 metres of 29.8 grams gold and 2,507.1 grams silver.
Four of the holes tested the McKay mudstone near its base, where it intersects the McKay thrust. All four drill holes intersected the desired target, yet no significant values were encountered.
Testing for mineralization under the Battleship Knoll target, some 2 km northeast of the Lulu zone, hole 115 cut 1.4 metres grading 8.24 grams gold and 16.82 grams silver at 154.2 metres down-hole.
Next year, the company intends to evaluate the remaining eight exploration target areas, follow up two new gold/multi-element anomalies and continue drill-testing the Sib claims.
Del Norte
Barrick Gold drilled 1,074 metres at
Exploration is focused on Eskay-equivalent stratigraphy. Previous work delineated target areas by anomalous soil geochemistry, specifically gold and arsenic plus or minus silver, copper, lead and zinc. In addition, targets were identified by the presence of gold-bearing, footwall feeder-style quartz-sulphide veining.
The 8-hole program targeted the Jungle anomaly, which represents a 100-by-450-metre gold-arsenic soil anomaly that overlies favourable stratigraphy. A boulder sample taken from this area assayed 25.4 grams gold per tonne. Two holes drilled in 1999 did not reach target depth, but one did intersect 5.19 grams gold over 1.1 metres.
Jungle anomaly
The latest drill program was plagued by difficult ground conditions, with all four holes collared on the Jungle anomaly abandoned before hitting target depth. Moving 400 metres north, three holes tested the North Jungle anomaly, and although two of these hit the favourable mudstone and volcanic siltstones, no significant values were reported. The remaining hole was collared 800 metres northwest of the first holes but was lost, owing to poor ground conditions.
The partners are now investigating additional targets on surface, and drilling will resume next year.
In September,
Under the agreement, the major can earn a half-interest by spending $6 million over six years. Noranda can then pick up another 15% by funding a feasibility study on the project. If, after earning its initial half-stake, Noranda elects not to proceed with the feasibility, Seabridge can reacquire all of the project by paying $3 million.
“We believe the Kerr-Sulphside project has the potential to become a world-class deposit,” says Seabridge President Rudi Fronk, “but it needs the technical and financial resources of a major company like Noranda to determine its value and move it forward.”
The Kerr-Sulphside project hosts two deposits, which occupy two properties in the Iskut-Stikine region. The project is underlain by Upper-Triassic-to-Middle-Jurassic Hazelton Group volcanic, volcaniclastic and sedimentary rocks at the western edge of the Bowser basin. Mineralization is associated with felsic-to-intermediate plugs, small stocks, and dykes.
The Sulphurets deposit contains a total measured, indicated and inferred resource of 54.8 million tonnes grading 1.02 grams gold per tonne, using a cutoff grade of 0.5 gram gold per tonne. Disseminated copper-gold mineralization is centred on a hydrothermal breccia and dyke complex believed to mark the higher levels of a monzonite-related copper-gold porphyry system.
Kerr
The Kerr deposit hosts a measured, indicated and inferred resource of 140.8 million tonnes grading 0.75% copper and 0.36 gram gold, based on a cutoff grade of 0.4% copper.
The deposit is a pyrite-rich copper-gold system hosted in strongly altered and deformed monzonitic intrusions in Stuhini Group sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks. Alteration consists of variable amounts of sericite, chlorite, quartz and anhydrite. The mineralization occurs in a quartz stockwork with associated pyrite, chalcopyrite, bornite, tetrahedrite and rare enargite. The highest-grade values are found in a core of chlorite-bearing alteration and quartz stockwork. Strong phyllic alteration with quartz and disseminated pyrite flank the core zone.
From 1985 to 1992, 144 diamond drill holes defined a mineralized zone measuring 1.9 km long by 100-150 metres wide to vertical depths of 350 metres.
Seabridge picked up the project in June 2001 from
Meanwhile, at Rimfire’s Thorn project, in the Atlin mining division of northwestern British Columbia,
The property hosts 17 mineralized-vein showings. Earlier this year, prospecting within a soil geochemical anomaly identified a new structure, known as the Oban zone, a float sample from which assayed 6,149 grams silver and 3.5 grams gold per tonne, plus 40% lead and 3.5% zinc. Plans call for two holes to target the I zone, two to target to Tamdhu zone, and one to test each of the MP Vein and L zones. Assay results are pending.
No ruling for Redcorp
British Columbia’s Liberal government managed to add some kindling to the exploration fire during the year by improving and harmonizing the 20% B.C. Exploration Tax Credit with the federal Exploration Investment Tax Credit. But significant decisions on key issues remained unresolved during the year.
An example was
The base and precious metals project has sat idle since June 2000, when the original PAC was rescinded.
Lying 100 km south of the town of Atlin and 65 km northeast of Juneau, Alaska, the project hosts two old underground mines, Tulsequah Chief and Big Bull, which were operated by Cominco between the 1951 and 1957. During those years, the mines produced a combined 936,000 tonnes of ore before closing as a result of depressed metal prices.
Tulsequah and Big Bull are precious-metal-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits associated with felsic rocks of Mississippian age. After completing 37,300 metres in 80 holes by 1994 and incorporating some 534 pre-1958 Cominco holes totalling 30,300 metres, Redfern estimated an indicated and inferred mineral resource of 8.9 million tonnes grading 6.61% zinc, 1.24% lead and 1.31% copper, plus 2.53 grams gold and 108 grams silver per tonne. The resource base includes 707,616 tonnes grading 8% zinc, 1.6% lead and 1.3% copper, plus 2.4 grams gold and 116 grams silver, which were left by Cominco when it shut down the mine in 1957. The resource remains open along strike and at depth.
Proceeding with mine development requires a PAC based on a successful environmental assessment review of the proposed operating plan. The PAC provides the requisite authority to apply for and obtain the specific operating permits required for construction, development and operation of the project. Redcorp’s wholly owned subsidiary initiated the mine permitting process in 1994 and received a PAC in March 1998. The Taku River Tlingit First Nation objected to the project’s approval in the spring of 1998 on the basis of their interpretation of aboriginal rights and title, plus concerns over the potential impact to traditional resources. The Tlingit broke off negotiations with British Columbia in September 1998 and launched a legal challenge against the government, with support from the Sierra Legal Defense Fund, questioning the validity of the PAC. In a June 2000 decision, the province’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Tlingit and quashed the PAC. The court found that issues related to cultural and other impacts to the Tlingit were not adequately addressed in the last three months of the environmental review process.
As a remedy, the court referred the project to a re-consideration project committee that would address the concerns of the Tlingit, including potential land use and cultural impacts. The reconsideration process was set aside by the Court of Appeal in a 2-to-1 ruling delivered on Jan. 31, 2002. The appeal court refuted findings of the lower court and ordered that the Tulsequah project be remitted back to the responsible ministers for a new decision on a PAC, with the added requirement that the ministers consider the potential for infringement on aboriginal assertive rights and entitlement.
While waiting for a ruling, Redcorp completed a 1,500-metre drill program on its Hawk gold property in north-central British Columbia. The 12 holes tested four veins. The best results came from the AD vein, previously drilled by Cypress Gold in 1990. Drilled on the same section as Cypress hole 1 (2.7 metres grading 12.4 grams gold and 4.5 grams silver per tonne), hole 6 cut 4.6 grams gold and 31.9 grams silver, plus 0.3% copper, over 4.5 metres (1.9 metres true width) at a down-hole depth of 104 metres, as well as 3.9 metres (1.6 metres true width) grading 8.6 grams gold, 35.4 grams silver and 1% copper at 119 metres down-hole. This marks the deepest intersection of the vein to date.
Mineralization is hosted in steeply dipping quartz-pyrite-hematite-chalcopyrite veins, breccias and quartz stockworks in a sericite-altered granite.
Recent exploration on the 66-sq.-km property has identified yet another new vein system. Dubbed “Rainbow,” the target lies 200 metres south of the Zulu vein and has been traced for 315 metres along strike. Surface samples collected from the vein returned up to 18 grams gold and 39 grams silver over 0.8 metre.
Southeastern BC
In August, financial barriers had Frank Lang-led
Under the agreement, Kinross will fund at least $500,000 in exploration costs this year, plus another $500,000 by Sept. 4 next year, and in return receive the right to earn an interest in the 77-sq.-km property. The gold producer must then spend another $9 million over five years and make annual payments of $250,000 to take hold of 60% of the project. Sultan will remain project operator until the option begins; then Kinross can elect to take over.
“We believe that by entering into this agreement, the project will be moved forward to possible production in the most effective and efficient manner possible,” says Sultan President Arthur Troup, “especially at a time when it is so difficult for junior resource companies like Sultan to raise equity financing.”
The project covers claims wholly owned by Sultan, as well as six properties held under option by the junior.
In 2001, Sultan drilled 29 holes into the Gold Mountain zone. Four of the first five holes cut broad, low-grade mineralization ranging up to 1.87 grams gold per tonne over 116 metres in hole 3. The style of mineralization suggested a gold-bearing porphyry favourable for a large tonnage, open-pit operation. Subsequent drilling hit sporadic intervals of low-grade mineralization with some holes yielding bonanza-grade gold values over a width of 2 metres.
Most of the high-grade intersections lie near the contact between the Silver King porphyry and the Elise footwall volcanics, and the values occur in either rock type. The highest gold grades came from hole 3, where a 1.23-metre section returned 240 grams gold, and hole 8, which yielded a 2-metre interval grading 172.1 grams gold. These holes were collared 125 metres apart, covering a vertical depth of 40-190 metres.
So far, Sultan has identified seven promising target areas over the project. Previous exploration focused on Gold Mountain and the Kena target, 2 km to the south. The third target, 3 km to the south, is marked by a large geochemical anomaly, dubbed South Gold. The other prospects are defined by historical workings dating back to the early 1900s and include the Great Western, Tough Nut, Starlight, Cariboo and Silver King mines.
This year’s exploration program was launched in June and consists of mapping, chip sampling, and soil geochemical and geophysical surveys, and drilling. The drilling, already under way, is trying to expand the known mineralization at the Kena Gold and Gold Mountain zones, as well as test five new targets.
The first hole in the 4,800-metre program marked an extension of hole 10 from its 185-metre depth. The new hole cut visible gold in several locations between 213 and 307.8 metres with the 94.8-metre section averaging 0.95 gram gold per tonne.
At last report, the rig was turning on the north side of the graben, some 1.5 km from a 1995 drill holes, which cut 16.8 metres of the promising Sullivan horizon.
Next year, the company aims to drill-test several structural targets on its large property holdings in the area.
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