Vancouver — Drilling at
The additional tonnage occurs at depth in the West zone.
Based on a 1% combined copper-nickel cutoff grade, the new West zone resource stands at 8.4 million tonnes grading 1.01% copper, 0.61% nickel and 0.07% cobalt, plus 1.59 grams palladium and 0.31 gram platinum per tonne. When the cutoff is increased to 1.5% combined copper and nickel, the resource shrinks to 5.1 million tonnes grading 1.25% copper, 0.74% nickel, 0.087% cobalt, 1.98 grams palladium and 0.36 gram platinum. At a 2% copper-nickel cutoff, it is reduced further to 3.4 million tonnes grading 1.42% copper, 0.81% nickel, 0.092% cobalt, 2.08 grams palladium and 0.46 gram platinum.
These estimates do not include the recently discovered platinum and palladium horizon, which averaged more than 4 oz. platinum-palladium per tonne.
The Ferguson Lake project has a total inferred resource of 60.1 million tonnes grading 0.93% copper, 0.59% nickel, 1.32 grams palladium and 0.19 gram platinum (using a 1% combined copper-nickel cutoff), hosted in the West zone and the East 1 & 2 zones. At a 2% cutoff, the resource shrinks to 12.7 million tonnes grading 1.39% copper, 0.85% nickel, 1.92 grams palladium and 0.28 gram platinum.
The West zone hosts 92% of the tonnage and includes two areas of higher-grade mineralization (in excess of 1.5% combined copper-nickel). These areas are estimated to contain 8.2 million tonnes grading 1.07% copper, 0.82% nickel, 1.48 grams palladium and 0.25 gram platinum. The estimate is based on a cutoff of 1.5% combined copper-nickel. The zone also includes a higher-grade section pegged at 2.6 million tonnes averaging 1.18% copper, 1.04% nickel, 1.88 grams palladium and 0.32 gram platinum, using a 2% copper-nickel cutoff.
Two other areas of higher-grade mineralization are reportedly hosted in the West zone at depth.
Technical crews at Ferguson Lake are reviewing previously logged drill core from the West zone to obtain samples that appear similar to the high-grade platinum and palladium horizons recently discovered in holes 101 and 104.
In addition, Starfield is planning a drill program to determine the continuity of mineralization found in the higher-grade zones. The program will also test further extensions of the West zone.
The nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM mineralization is hosted in a west-trending, north-dipping, metamorphosed gabbroic unit with hornblendite bands. The unit is believed to be conformable with the enclosing Archean-aged, hornblende-rich gneisses, and the gabbro is thought to represent a metamorphosed sill that post-dates the principal deformation in the gneissic rocks.
The principal mineralized unit has been traced east and west of Ferguson Lake via bedrock exposures and by diamond drilling over a strike length of 10 km. The unit has been sub-divided into three principal zones: East 1, East 2 and West.
The dominant sulphide mineralization in the hornblendite host rock consists of pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite, which occur as massive pods and lenses, as well as stringers and veinlets. Associated magnetite can be observed as blebs, though pentlandite cannot be seen with the naked eye. Only a limited amount of mineralogical work has been performed on the sulphides, and no metallurgical data are available.
Situated west of Rankin Inlet and 160 km southwest of Baker Lake in the Kivalliq region, the 38-sq.-km property is in an area of low relief and numerous small lakes. The camp occupies a large island in Ferguson Lake that is serviced by an airstrip.
Copper and nickel mineralization was first discovered at Ferguson Lake in 1950 by the Canadian Nickel Co. (Canico), an exploration arm of
Starfield Resources entered the picture in early 1999 by inking a deal with the Ferguson Lake Syndicate for a 100% interest in exchange for $75,000 and 4.25 million shares. The deal is subject to a 3% net smelter return royalty.
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