Partners renew search for Nunavut gold

With several targets left to test, partners Hope Bay Gold (HGC-T) and Miramar Mining (MAE-T) have renewed exploration at their Hope Bay gold property in Nunavut.

The Hope Bay property covers nearly the entire Hope Bay greenstone belt, or 101,000 ha. Within that area are three deposits: Boston, Doris and Madrid. The core areas of Boston and Doris were the focus of a recently completed program of infill drilling (T.N.M., Aug. 6/00).

At the Boston 2 showing, surface-sampling is following up earlier results of up to 175 grams per tonne over widths of between 5 and 60 cm. The results are similar to those in outcrops overlying the Boston deposit, 3 km to the north.

Geologically, Boston 2 and Boston are hosted by the same shear zone and characterized by mafic volcanics, carbonate alteration and quartz veining. This is encouraging in that infill drilling at Boston confirmed three high-grade zones in the B2 zone, with up to 185 grams over as much as 7.2 metres (true width).

A previous operator estimated that the B2 zone contained an inferred resource of 4.2 million tonnes grading 12.2 grams gold in an overall inferred resource of 5.7 million tonnes grading 13.1 grams for the entire Boston deposit. The high-grade zones remain open at depth.

Meanwhile, 3 km northeast of Boston, soil-sampling, prospecting and ground geophysics are testing soils with up to 1.7 grams gold. Known as the Boston North Extension, the anomaly may reflect a faulted extension to the deposit, as suggested by airborne magnetic data.

Possible offsets to the Doris North vein system are being followed up by mapping and surface sampling. The targeted area extends from an area where infill drilling returned up to 230 grams over a true width of 3 metres.

Resources at Doris North are pegged at 2.1 million tonnes grading 17.8 grams gold. This includes the Central and Lakeshore veins but excludes the related Hinge zone, which was only discovered this year. The three zones were formed in an anticlinal fold.

Mapping and ground geophysics are under way at the low-grade Madrid deposit, which lies south of Doris and hosts 4.7 million tonnes of 4.6 grams gold. The partners believe the deposit may contain high-grade zones similar to Boston. Drilling by previous operators, in 1998, cut three intervals of 0.6 metre grading 20.4 grams, 7 metres of 18.2 grams, and 1.4 metres of 11.4 grams. Surface exploration is also under way at 13 other targets on the property.

Exploration is under way on a portion of the nearby Elu greenstone belt, owned equally by Hope Bay Gold and Miramar.