Madison outlines Mt. Kare in PNG

Drilling at the Mt. Kare gold property in Papua New Guinea is attempting to determine the geological controls of the mineralization known to exist along the western side of the Main geochemical anomaly.

Vancouver-based Madison Enterprises (MNP-V) can earn a 65% interest in the project from Matu Mining by spending US$8 million on exploration over the next five years. Matu is owned 66.6% by Australian-based Carpenter Pacific and 33.3% by Ramsgate Resources.

Drilling has intersected flat-lying, blanket-like, near-surface gold and silver mineralization. To date, the mineralization is traced for 500 metres in a north-south direction and at least 250 metres laterally.

The blanket-like mineralization is, in turn, cut by a series of steeply dipping, northeasterly zones. These were encountered in previously reported holes 6 and 7, which returned 39 metres of 9.64 grams gold and 67.6 grams silver per tonne, plus 40.5 metres of 4.37 grams gold and 88.6 grams silver.

Madison recently announced results for a further 11 holes, bringing to 21 the number of holes assayed to date. The results continue to confirm results from previous drilling by Rio Tinto (RTP-N), which was forced to abandon the project in the early 1990s because of unrest caused by disgruntled land owners and local miners.

* Among the best results was hole 17, which returned 10.5 metres from surface grading 22.83 grams gold and 18.5 grams silver, as well as a significant 100.5 metres averaging 7.63 grams gold and 37.4 grams silver from a depth of 52.5 to 153 metres. The hole was drilled at an angle of minus 45 on section 0+75W.

* Holes 19 and 20 were drilled from the same pad but at steeper angles. As with hole 17, the mineralization encountered was found to be associated with northerly trending intrusives and intrusive breccia.

* Hole 19 intersected 7.5 metres grading 1.66 grams gold and 6.3 grams silver starting from surface, 7.5 metres of 2.47 grams gold and 14.3 grams silver from a depth of 16.5 to 24 metres, and 81 metres averaging 3.21 grams gold and 25 grams silver between 36 and 117 metres.

* Hole 20 encountered 9 metres grading 6.51 grams gold and 8.5 grams silver beginning from surface, 19.5 metres of 1.26 grams gold and 14.4 grams silver from a depth of 33 to 52.5 metres, and 33 metres grading 1.48 grams gold and 25.3 grams silver between 67.5 and 100.5 metres.

* Stepping out 75 metres to the east on section 0+00, hole 12 was collared from the same site as previously reported hole 11 (73.9 metres of 1.8 grams gold and 47.7 grams silver) but at a steeper angle, returning 67.3 metres grading 3.05 grams gold and 43 grams silver from a depth of 39.2 to 106.5 metres.

* Still on section 0+00, holes 14, 15 and 16 were collared together about 100 metres to the south. Hole 14 intersected 13.5 metres of 1.24 grams gold and 12.5 grams silver at a depth of 190.5 to 204 metres; hole 15 hit 57 metres averaging 0.52 gram gold and 7.5 grams silver between 142.5 and 199.5 metres; and hole 16 pulled 42 metres grading 5.27 grams gold and 9.3 grams silver from 118.5 to 160.5 metres.

* Stepping out farther to the east, hole 13 confirmed a 400-Metre vertical extent to a sub-parallel, northeasterly trending zone by intersecting a 33-Metre interval grading 1.96 grams gold and 4.1 grams silver (including 1.5 metres of 37.5 grams gold and 3.2 grams silver) at a depth of 394.5 to 427.5 metres.

* To the west, on Section 3+25W, hole 18 returned 13.5 metres grading 1.33 grams gold and 91.5 grams silver beginning at surface. Hole 21 was steepened and intersected 9.9 metres grading 0.81 gram gold and 61.1 grams silver from surface.

Madison continues to evaluate the zone using two drill rigs. Mt. Kare is 17 km southwest of the Porgera gold mine, which is operated by Placer Dome (PDG-T) and which has proven and probable reserves estimated at 78.7 million tonnes grading 4.5 grams gold.

In related news, Madison is progressing with a 20-hole, 3,660-Metre program of reverse-Circulation drilling at its 3,000-ha, wholly owned Apache Hills project in New Mexico. Of the 391 chip samples taken during a regional sampling program, 34 samples returned values greater than 0.5 gram gold and 29 samples exceeded 34 grams silver, with peak values of 14.4 grams gold and 408.7 grams silver.