Under an option agreement with three junior companies, Royal Oak Mines (TSE) will begin drilling a 74-sq.-km land package near Timmins, Ont.
Royal Oak will earn a half interest in the properties by spending $1.5 million on exploration over five years and making staged payments to the three companies.
East West Resources (VSE), Cross Lake Minerals (VSE) and Canadian Golden Dragon Resources (VSE) will receive a total of $85,000.
The land package, 50 km southeast of the city of Timmins, in Timmins and Michie twps., has already been subjected to induced-polarization (IP) surveys along a 13-km strip of muscovite schist.
By carrying out this work, the juniors have traced an anomaly 3 km in strike length. The schist contains disseminated pyrite and local high concentrations of gold, zinc and molybdenum.
Royal Oak plans to start drilling on the IP targets as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Cross Lake has acquired a property in Sewell Twp., 50 km southwest of Timmins, where three prospectors discovered a surface showing of nickel and copper, near the location of a 1971 discovery of nickel-copper sulphide boulders. Using aeromagnetic survey maps, the prospectors found the showing on the edge of a 3-by-1.5-km magnetic anomaly.
Mineralization in the surface showing consisted of pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and millerite. Grab samples contained 2.3% nickel, 0.5% copper and 0.02-0.03% cobalt, plus 0.86 gram platinum and 1.02 grams palladium per tonne.
The showing has been hand-stripped over 30 metres, and Cross Lake plans to trench it using a backhoe. IP and magnetic surveys are also planned. The prospecting group retains a 3% net smelter return interest.
The company has also staked additional claims to make the newly acquired property contiguous with its claims in adjacent Reeves Twp., bringing its total holdings in the area to 33 sq. km.
The Reeves property features three clusters of electromagnetic conductors discovered in earlier airborne surveys. Future work will include ground electromagnetics and drilling.
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