Strateco, GeoNova hit significant gold

Strateco (RSC-V) and partner GeoNova Explorations have intersected significant gold on their jointly held Discovery project, 45 km northwest of Lebel-sur-Quvillon, Que.

Highlights from drilling include 10.77 grams gold per tonne over 10.1 metres (about 6.5 metres true width). In the immediate hangingwall of the main zone, a 2.4-metre intercept graded 5 grams gold.

This hole was designed to intersect the East lens, about 20 metres above and west of a previous hole that graded 5.03 grams gold over a width of 13.35 metres. Included was a 4-metre section grading 7.9 grams gold. The hole also hit 0.85 metre of 13.6 grams gold in the hangingwall zone.

The initial hole was designed to intersect an 80-by-70-metre gap in the East lens deposit. The mineralized zone of the East lens has been defined between 300 and 500 metres below surface.

A hole was drilled to test the lens at a vertical depth of 600 metres. Assays are pending.

About 600 metres east of the East lens, a hole is being drilled to follow up on mineralization that was cut in drilling last year. The 2003 hole included 7 grams gold over 1.75 metres and 6 grams gold over 2.2 metres.

Gold is related to stockwork quartz-carbonate veins in shear zones in gabbro. The primary shear zone has a strike length of 5 km.

SRK Consulting revised the resource estimate of the West lens of the Discovery zone last year and calculated a resource of about 275,000 oz. gold. The indicated resource was 276,209 tonnes at 4.94 grams gold, and the inferred resource totalled 1.66 million tonnes grading 4.3 grams gold per tonne. This was based on a cutoff of 3 grams gold per tonne. High grades were not cut.

Discovery is contiguous with the Cameron project, another joint-venture property with Campbell. Both are accessible via a gravel road that runs between Lebel-sur-Quvillon and Matagami. The Cameron property overlies a major flexure along the Cameron shear zone.

GeoNova is a unit of Campbell Resources (CCH-T). Strateco is earning a half-interest in the property by spending $4.5 million over four years and issuing 600,000 shares (including warrants) over three years. Some of the claims are subject to net smelter return royalties payable to different parties.