Miramar doubles down at Suluk (June 25, 2003)

Vancouver — Miramar Mining (MAE-T) has doubled the depth of gold mineralization at the Suluk zone, part of the Hope Bay project in Nunavut.

Twenty drill holes tested the zone, the most encouraging being hole 227, which yielded a true-width interval of 23.1 metres grading 11.9 grams gold per tonne at a down-hole depth of 472 metres. Other highlights include holes 223 and 225, which, respectively, returned 8.8 grams gold over 2.8 metres at 468.2 metres down-hole and 8.2 grams gold over 4.8 metres at 615.6 metres down-hole.

The deposit now extends more than 500 metres along strike and down to depths of more the 500 metres, twice the depth indicated by previous drilling.

“These are the kind of numbers that would lead us to believe a bulk underground mining approach may be appropriate for the Suluk zone,” says Miramar CEO Anthony Walsh. “While the experience of other Canadian greenstone belts had suggested there was potential for extending gold resources to considerably greater depths at Hope Bay, it was only by drilling that we could validate our expectations.”

He adds that “the substantial widths and grades encountered at depth at Suluk are especially significant.”

Meanwhile, Miramar has sunk 248 reverse-circulation holes (4,289 metres) over seven prospects, three of which appear to hold promise for hosting additional mineralization. At the South Nexus target, drilling has outlined an extensive trend of anomalous gold values within rocks similar to those hosting the Suluk deposit.

Two sub-parallel alteration zones were defined, one of which, the eastern trend, is marked by a 1,300-by-350-metre area of carbonate-altered rocks where drilling returned up to 0.2 gram gold. The target is to be drill-tested this summer. The western trend covers a 2,000-by-200-metre area and may mark the southward projection of the favourable Deformation zone. Drilling yielded gold values of up to 50 parts per billion.

The company extended the previously identified Gas Cache alteration trend during a program of 62 holes drilled at 200-metre spacings. Two alteration trends have been identified, one of which is 600 metres long, while the other is 1 km. So far, drilling has returned only anomalous gold values.

The third area lies 4 km northeast of the Boston deposit, where three new alteration zones were discovered. Miramar drilled 28 holes over the large, overburden-covered area. The higher gold values came from the northernmost zone. Mineralization occurs in mafic rocks similar to the Doris deposit, with samples from this area yielding up to 25 parts per billion gold.

“We continue to turn up exciting targets that warrant more intensive exploration,” says Walsh, “with South Nexus providing the highest gold values we have ever encountered in reverse-circulation drilling on the belt. Moreover, we’ve demonstrated our ability to turn targets like these into important new deposits, as happened with the successful program in the Madrid area, which now hosts Naartok, Suluk and other important gold occurrences.”

In January, Miramar tabled an independent scoping study on the Doris area of the project, which concluded that the high-grade Hinge zone can support a stand-alone operation with a capital investment of $26.7 million. A stockpile of 9,000 tonnes of Boston material would expand the Hinge zone resource to the tune of 471,600 tonnes averaging 18.5 grams gold.

Then in early June, the company confirmed that the mineralization at the Boston deposit extends to a depth of more than 1 km, with values yielding up to 54.7 grams gold per tonne over 9 metres (T.N.M., June 9-15/03).

The Boston mineralizing system is the largest gold resource in the Hope Bay belt, with a measured and indicated resource of some 1.4 million tonnes grading 15 grams gold per tonne. Previous reconnaissance drilling by BHP, now BHP Billiton (BHP-N) showed that the gold mineralization continues to depths of at least 600 metres below surface. Archean shear-hosted gold deposits often extend to depths of 2-3 km.

“Our three-pronged strategy to explore and develop Hope Bay continues to yield positive results on all fronts,” states Walsh. “First, by bringing the small, high grade Doris North project into production, we expect to generate cash flow that can be reinvested in the exploration of the belt. Second, we have extended the strike and depth of the gold mineralization in both the Madrid and Boston areas through our successful winter drilling program. And third, the identification of targets with potential for new gold discoveries through our reverse circulation drilling validates the attention we give to grass-roots exploration of the belt.”

On the back of the latest results, Miramar is looking to raise $7.3 million through a flow-through financing. The deal consists of 3.5 million shares priced at $2.10 each.”Given the exceptional results from Hope Bay, continued aggressive exploration is clearly warranted, and this financing would be used to fund such work,” says Walsh.