New assays at Borden Lake for Probe Mines (February 14, 2011)

Assay results from the first seven holes of a second-phase drill program at its Borden Lake gold project near Chapleau, Ont., have extended the gold zone about 300 metres northwest of previous drilling, Probe Mines (PRB-V) reports.

A high-grade zone was identified in all seven holes, with individual samples of up to 26.4 grams gold per tonne, and brings the total strike length of the gold horizon to 560 metres. The mineralized zone has been intersected over widths of up to 200 metres to a vertical depth of 200 metres and remains open along strike and at depth.

Holes were drilled on 100 metre-spaced sections, with each section comprising two holes drilled at different angles to test the zone at vertical depths of about 150 metres and 200 metres, respectively.

In each section the mineralized zone is described by higher-grade zones contained within a broad low-grade envelope. Significant widths of mineralization include 182 metres averaging 1.1 grams gold per tonne, including 41 metres of 3.3 grams gold and 10.7 metres averaging 6.5 grams gold in hole 10, and 123 metres of 1 gram gold, carrying 26 metres of 2.4 grams gold in hole 14, 200 metres to the northwest of hole 10. 

Hole 13 returned 176.2 metres of 0.7 gram gold, including 66.5 metres of 1.4 grams gold, 48.7 metres of 1.8 grams gold and 32 metres of 2.1 grams gold, while hole 11 cut 194 metres of 0.5 gram gold, including 57.3 metres of 0.6 gram gold, 9.3 metres of 1.2 grams gold and 30.5 metres of 1.2 grams gold.

The gold discovery at Borden Lake was made within 1 km of Highway 101, which links the towns of Chapleau and Timmins, Ont., and is about 15 km from Chapleau. 

Historically there has been gold exploration in the Chapleau area, but according to Probe Mines, there has never been significant work in the Borden Lake area. Originally, the surface gold discovery was identified over an area 150 metres long by up to 45 metres wide, hosted by a highly altered and metamorphosed suite of rocks within the volcano-sedimentary horizon. Grab samples from selected outcrop returned values of up to 3.4 grams gold, and Probe Mines viewed the property as having the potential to host a low-grade, bulk-tonnage type of deposit.

The first-phase drilling program took place in the early summer of 2010 with eight holes. Highlights included hole 4, which returned 91 metres averaging 2 grams gold, and ended in mineralization.  

Currently Probe Mines has about $3 million in its treasury and at presstime was trading at $1.40 per share. Over the last year, it has traded between a low of 27¢ per share on May 21, 2010, and a high of $2.38 on Nov. 29.