Partners fail to duplicate earlier results from Fontana

With the completion of five additional holes on the Fontana property on northwestern Quebec, Bay Resources and Services (ASE) has been unable to reproduce the exciting results that raised a stir in the investment community earlier this year. Bay drilled the first three holes, JB-211 to JB-213, before the company could determine the exact location of the Hooper-Bunkhouse vein junction, said project manager Aline LeClerc. Consequently, the holes missed the intended target and returned no significant mineralization. The fifth hole, JB-215, deviated from its intended course and was stopped short of the target.

On the fourth hole, JB-214, Bay intersected stringers of sulphide mineralization about 150 ft. northwest of the high-grade intersections made last spring, but failed to hit the significant widths encountered in the two previous holes.

“The zone is smaller than we thought,” said LeClerc. She believes the narrow stringers of mineralization intersected in JB-214 may indicate that the Hooper- Bunkhouse vein junction is pinching out to the northwest. She cautioned, however, that further testing would be needed before the complex structure of the vein junction could be determined with any certainty. “Right now, there are too many question marks,” she said.

At the beginning of the year, Bay designed a drilling program for Fontana to test a theory that the Hooper and Bunkhouse vein systems merge at depth. In March, Bay hit the target, pulling a 45-ft. section grading 0.48 oz. gold per ton. The following month, while drilling 100 ft. below the first high-grade intersection, Bay hit the junction again, but this time the core length totalled 125 ft. and the grade averaged 0.51 oz.

Bay, a subsidiary of St. Genevieve Resources (TSE) and 40% owner of the property, will continue drilling two additional holes while partners St. Genevieve, Stratmin (ME) and Jilbey Exploration (ME) wait expectantly at the sidelines. Stratmin owns 28% of the property through subsidiary Exploration Duverny, Jilbey holds another 25%, while St. Genevieve owns a 7% direct interest. Portfield Industries (COATS) retains a 15% royalty interest.

Last summer, Minexpert of Montreal recommended that the partners sink a 700-ft. shaft next to the Hooper-Bunkhouse vein junction. From the shaft, the partners could drift out to explore the property’s six different vein systems at depth, the report said. To date, Fontana’s possible and probable reserves total 968,000 tons grading 0.17 oz., not including the results from this year’s program.