Madrid drilling complete (June 19, 2001)

Vancouver — Having completed 95 drill holes over the Madrid portion of the Hope Bay gold project in Nunavut, partners Miramar Mining (MAE-T) and Hope Bay Gold (HGC-T) have expanded the Naartok and Suluk zones.

“Drilling in the Madrid area continues to provide encouraging results,” says Tony Walsh, Miramar’s president.

Discovered earlier this year by following up on three historical BHP (BHP-N) holes, the Suluk zone lies southeast of Naartok along the same structural zone. A total of 13 holes tested Suluk and the latest results confirm its economical promise. Highlights include:

• Hole M164 — 1.8 metres grading 18.1 grams gold per tonne and 6.8 metres averaging 5.6 grams gold;
• Hole M166 — 1.1 metres grading 22.2 grams gold;
• Hole M167 — 1.5 metres grading 16.8 grams gold;
• Hole M169 — 9.7 metres grading 9 grams gold;
• Hole M170 — an impressive 20.2 metres grading 16.8 grams gold; and
• Hole M180 (the southernmost hole drilled to date) — 25 metres grading 8.4 grams gold.

Mineralization at Suluk occurs in three parallel zones — the West, Central and Eastern lenses.

To date, the West lens appears to carry the best gold grades over the widest intervals. Higher-grade values are associated with altered and brecciated basalts inter-bedded with minor amounts of graphite-hosting sediments.

Preliminary metallurgical testing of a single sample of strongly graphitic sediment identified active carbon, which could adversely affect the recovery of gold in a conventional cyanidation recovery circuit. This was the first occurrence of this type of material in the Madrid area, or in any of the gold deposits identified at Hope Bay.

The West zone remains open along strike both to the northwest and the southeast, as well as to depth.

At Naartok, the latest round of drilling has confirmed the zone’s continuity and extended the mineralization along strike to a depth of 100 metres below the surface. A total of 59 holes tested the zone during the recent program. Assay results are pending for the last two. Highlights include:

• Hole M165 — 2.6 metres grading 26.7 grams gold;
• Hole M168 — 3.6 metres grading 8.5 grams gold; and
• Hole M171 — three zones returning 14.4 grams gold over 1.2 metres, 15.2 grams gold over 9.9 metres and 8.2 grams gold over 6.6 metres.

Mineralization at Naartok occurs in three steeply dipping lenses within brecciated basalts that contain minor sulphides and variable amounts of visible gold. The thickest, highest-grade lens, the “A” lens, lies in the immediate hangingwall of the Deformation zone. Lenses “B” and “C” are further into the hangingwall. They tend to be narrower and have a more limited lateral extent. The Naartok zone remains open to depth and along strike below the 150-metre level.

“All of this mineralization occurs in close proximity to the Deformation zone and represents a major mineralizing system that appears to be related to the adjacent Wolverine porphyry,” says David Fennell, Hope Bay Gold’s CEO.

Testing the extension of the Naartok zone to the west, five holes confirmed the structural zone, but no sigificant sulphides or quartz veining were encountered. Assay results are pending.

In the P42 prospect area, two holes were drilled 500 metres south of the Suluk zone. Hole S54 cut 2.4 metres grading 5 grams gold. Hole S53 cut only anomalous gold values.

Drilling to date indicates that the main structural zone in the Madrid-Patch Lake area is a significant mineralized trend with mineralized occurrences identified over an 8-km strike length. The best results lie in the northern 1.5-km portion of the trend.

According to the partners, Naartok and Suluk could mark the development of a third high-grade area. The other two are the Boston and Doris deposits, which have measured and indicated mineral resources of 2.46 million tonnes grading 16.9 grams gold, plus an inferred resource of 1.07 million tonnes grading 16.8 grams gold.

Miramar and Hope Bay are equal partners on the project and control most of the 80-km-long Archean greenstone belt.