Ventures resumes work

Alaskan-focused Ventures Resource (VRS-V) continues to explore the 1,500-sq.-mile Veta property, east of the Pogo discovery in the east-central part of the state.

The 1999 program, budgeted at $2.3 million, is being carried out in conjunction with work performed by Teck (TEK-T), which, to date, has invested $5.8 million in Ventures. The Alaskan subsidiary of Watts Griffis & McOuat is managing the program. Teck has the right to select one project on the Veta property and earn a 60% interest by completing a bankable feasibility study.

In addition to property-wide soil sampling, Ventures intends to carry out 8,000 ft. of drilling in the prospective Carrie Creek area. Carrie Creek is a 16-sq.-mile enclave on the northwestern edge of the property block.

Last year, geological work identified a 3.6-by-1.5-mile target area. Sampling yielded anomalous gold values, with rock samples of up to 1.67 oz. gold and 63.6 oz. silver per ton. A 3-hole drill program completed in September encountered significant veining with associated sulphide mineralization but only anomalous gold values. Weather conditions limited the program to a single pad at the lowest elevation in the target area. Ventures says the higher-grade targets remain untested.