Wolfden cuts grade at East Bay

Vancouver The first four holes of an ongoing 10,000-metre drill program on the East Bay property in northwestern Ontario have returned encouraging values from the Gaz zone.

Partners Wolfden Resources (YWO-V) and Placer Dome (PDG-T) have completed 23 holes so far with 19 of them targeting the Gaz (Green altered zone) prospect over a 350 metre strike length. The best values received to date came from holes 3 and 4, which yielded 11.61 grams gold over 6.7 metres and 15.32 grams gold over 11 metres, respectively.

The second hole was callared 50 metres east of hole 4 and 100 metres east of hole 3, yielding up to 9.17 gram gold over 1.4 metre. Whereas, the first hole was drilled west of the zone and failed to return any signifcant values.

The prospect lies on the East Bay deformation zone, which hosts ultramafic rocks, similar to those that host the producing Campbell and Red Lake mines. Mineralization consists of pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and native gold in a zone marked by pervasive silicification and biotite-chlorite alteration.

Wolfden can earn a 50% interest in the property by spending $2 million over 3 three years.

At the Monument Bay property in Manitoba, Wolfden’s joint venture partner Bema Gold (BGO-T) has cut 180.7 grams gold over 1 metre at the recently discovered Twin Lakes West zone. So far, 12 holes have been drilled and the results are in for 8 of them. Highlights include:

• Hole 101 11.01 gram gold over 1.3 metre from 311.2 metre downhole,
• Hole 105 180.7 grams gold over 1 metre from 288.2 metres downhole,
• Hole 106 18.8 grams gold over 1.3 metres from 435.6 metres downhole,
• Hole 107 23.6 grams gold over 1.6 metres from 265.6 metres downhole, and
• Hole 108 8.45 grams gold over 1.4 metres from 266.4 metres downhole.

Based on the latest results, the Twin Lakes West C zone ore shoot extends for 170 metres along strike to a vertical depth of 50-to-130 metres and remains open. Drilling is continuing on the Twin Lake West zone to further define the C zone, as well as further testing of the A and B zones.

The three horizons that host the A, B, and C zones have been outlined over a 3.5-km strike length.Previous work identified a high-grade resource of 300,000 ozs of gold with an average grade of 18.5 grams gold at the Twin Lake zone.

Monument Bay was first explored by Noranda (NRD-T) in the late 1980s. It was then shuffled off to various companies before winding up in Wolfden’s hands. Bema joined the project last year and can earn up to a 70% stake by spending $6 million on exploration over three years, paying $225,000 and issuing 150,000 shares.

Bema can recoup 35% of the money spent on exploration (to a maximum of $400,000 annually) in northeastern Manitoba via the provincial government’s Mineral Exploration Assistance Program.The deal with Bema was signed as the Canadian exploration arm of Newmont Mining (NEM-N) cancelled a back-in right at Monument Bay. The back-in right was inherited via Newmont’s takeover of Battle Mountain Gold, one of the previous owners.

In return for the cancellation, a unit of Newmont will be paid $500,000 if a feasibility study is tabled and $500,000 more if commercial production follows. It also retains a net smelter return royalty.

Gold mineralization is associated with narrow quartz veins and zones of alteration in the 30-km-long Twin Lakes-Monument Bay deformation zone. The structure cuts through a sequence of overturned volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Stull Lake greenstone belt.Noranda, the original discoverer and only other company besides Wolfden to sink holes on the property, outlined four zones of mineralization. Results from both companies are variable, running as high as 107 grams per tonne over a few metres.

Bema has completed it’s obligations under the option agreement to earn 51% in the Monument Bay property and has notified Wolfden that it has exercised the option to earn another 19% interest by spending $3 million.