Surface drilling on the western portion of the Orchan property near Matagami, Que., has discovered a deep, massive sulphide deposit with one hole intersecting 130.1 ft. grading 17.31% zinc and 2.11% copper.
Noranda Exploration, a unit of Noranda (TSE), is doing the work on behalf of its parent company’s Matagami Mines division. While these grades are significantly higher than average grades in the Matagami, Que., camp, Noranda Exploration cautions that true widths have not been determined. Furthermore, the deposit lies at a vertical depth of 3,500-4,000 ft. making the threshold grade and tonnage requirements higher than other deposits in the camp because of the higher cost of extracting material should it go into production.
The discovery hole, No. 90-13, and two wedged holes from it have intersected the deposit as have three wedges from another master hole, 91-15. In August, hole 91-17 was drilled 320 ft. northwest of the zone and encountered 1.50% zinc, 2.40% copper and 0.90 oz. silver at 3,467.8-3,512.2 ft.; 5.12% zinc, 3.46% copper and 2.11 oz. silver at 3,611.6-3,634.2 ft.; and 12.79% zinc, 1.42% copper and 0.47 oz. silver per ton at 3,740.2-3,792.5 ft. Noranda owns 100% of the property as it does with most of the ground in the 30-year-old mining camp about 108 miles northeast of Rouyn, Que. The deposit is open, along strike to the east and west, and Noranda has three drills working to outline its limits. One hole is also being drilled to test another, shallower massive sulphide zone, intersected by the discovery hole across 40.5 ft. from 2,361.7-2,402.2 ft., which graded 7.95% zinc, 1.78% copper and 0.36 oz. silver. Other drilling is testing the zone to the west and will later test the zone to the east.
The project is about one mile west of Hwy. 109 and about one mile south of the producing Isle Dieu zinc-copper mine. Access to the deposit for underground exploration could be gained from the Isle Dieu mine, but Noranda says at the moment it only plans to continue surface drilling. Matagami Mines has spent about $3 million on the project since the discovery hole was drilled in July, 1990. About $2.5 million was budgeted for 1991. Denis Francoeur, Noranda’s exploration manager for eastern Canada, says the deposit will have to be significantly bigger than the Isle Dieu deposit in order to be economic. To date, drilling on the Orchan discovery in an area of 450-ft. strike length has outlined an estimated mineral inventory of one million tons.
The Isle Dieu deposit was discovered in 1985 and officially went into production in January, 1989, with a reserve figure of 2.75 million tons grading about 17.9% zinc. It is the only mine in the camp which is still producing. There have been nine producing mines in the camp including Isle Dieu and the Norita East mine, also owned by Noranda, which is now in the preproduction stage. The now-closed Orchan mine produced about five million tons in six deposits with an average grade of 9.84% zinc and 1.02% copper. The Mattagami Lake deposit, the largest in the camp, produced about 28 million tons grading 8.21% zinc and 0.56% copper.
Hole Interval Width Zinc Copper Silver
(ft.) (ft.) % % (oz./ton)
90-13 2,361.7-2,402.2 40.5 7.95 1.78 0.36
3,854.1-3,925.3 71.2 8.58 1.54 0.78
91-13C 3,868.0-3,998.1 130.1 17.31 2.11 1.37
91-13D 3,749.2-3,792.6 43.4 4.35 0.81 0.45
91-15B 3,917.7-3,971.0 53.3 6.86 2.39 0.67
4,229.4-4,285.2 55.8 10.28 1.32 0.32
91-15E 3,798.9-3,819.5 20.6 15.59 3.22 1.73
91-15F 3,884.8-3,911.0 26.2 14.97 1.06 0.53
91-15G 3,901.5-3,950.9 49.4 14.68 0.82 0.33
91-17 3,467.8-3,512.2 44.4 1.50 2.40 0.90
3,611.6-3,634.2 22.6 5.12 3.46 2.11
3,740.2-3,792.5 52.3 12.79 1.42 0.47
Be the first to comment on "New deposit at Matagami camp"