Northair plans program for Saskatchewan find

This program, to begin immediately with two rigs, will be funded by Northair Mines (TSE) to further test what it believes could prove to be a significant massive sulphide discovery. Northair is earning a 51% interest from Pine Channel Gold (VSE) by spending $3.4 million over three years.

The project is still in its early stages, but work to date has identified mineralization over 2,500 ft of strike length along an 8,000-ft ground geophysical anomaly. The best lead-zinc and silver-gold values are reported to occur mainly within metapyroxenites, felsic and mafic volcanic rocks.

“We think it’s a volcanogenic massive sulphide discovery, although time will tell with the drilling,” said Fred Hewett, vice- president of Northair.

“It’s the potential size of the mineralized area that’s exciting, plus the fact that it is close to surface,” he added. “This is a classic Archean drilling target.” The discovery is part of a 5,000-ha land package in a previously unstaked region some 100 miles north of La Ronge. According to a number of sources, the region has recently experienced a staking rush. The activity has been covered extensively by local media.

Currently the Deception Lake property can be reached by helicopter or winter road, but it is about 12 miles from a road and a proposed power line.

Pine Channel acquired the property from prospector David Partridge after he tracked down rumors of a promising mineral find in the area dating back to the mid-1960s. According to Pine Channel, Deception Lake is the first recorded lead- zinc showing in the region.

Subsequent work by Pine Channel identified mineralization in 13 hand-dug pits and trenches over a strike length of 2,500 ft. Channel sampling in one of the trenches returned average values of 3.83% lead, 3.65% zinc, with consistent precious metal credits across 6.6 ft, with one side of the structur e covered by overburden.

The best values were 11.39% lead, 8.16% zinc, 1.88 oz silver and 0.126 oz gold. In addition, selected samples taken 700 ft east of this trench assayed up to 28.39% lead, 4.72% zinc, 3.4 oz silver and 0.01 oz gold per ton, along with anomalous values in platinum and palladium.

Hewett said an initial ground magnetometer and VLF-EM survey was completed over the 8,000-ft strike length with good geophysical signature and a very strong response over the trenched area and along strike in the surrounding overburden covered area.

In addition to the drill program, Northair is planning a 4-system low- level EM helicopter geophysical survey. The phase-one program is expected to be completed by the end of February, 1990.

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