Starfield boosts Ferguson Lake (August 01, 2001)

Vancouver — With three rigs turning, Starfield Resources (SRU-V) has tabled an updated inferred resource estimate for its Ferguson Lake copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum-palladium property, 160 km south of Baker Lake in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

Using a 1% combined nickel-copper cutoff grade, the new resource for the West, East 1 and East 2 zones tallies 46.1 million tonnes averaging 0.88% copper, 0.58% Nickel and 1.41 grams combined platinum-palladium. At a cutoff grade of 2% combined nickel-copper, the resource shrinks to 6.1 million tonnes averaging 1.31% copper, 0.95% nickel and 2.02 grams combined platinum-palladium.

Ten of the most recent holes completed on the West zone have not been included in the calculation. Two rigs are turning on this zone and the third is collared on the M zone.

Previously, the West zone hosted an inferred resource of 28.2 million tonnes grading 0.85% copper, 0.56% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium. Included in this resource is a higher-grade core comprising 7.2 million tonnes that averages 1.1% copper, 0.8% nickel and 2 grams combined platinum-palladium. A 4.8-km-long geophysical conductor has traced the zone.

The copper mineralization at the West zone was initially discovered in the 1950s by Inco (N-T) and followed up three decades later by a unit of Homestake Mining (HM-N). Inco pegged the West zone with a resource of 6.4 million tonnes grading 0.87% copper and 0.75% nickel. Homestake discovered showings of platinum, palladium and cobalt mineralization in sulphide-bearing outcrops.

Manual resource estimates for the East I zone come in at 2.9 million tonnes grading 1% copper, 0.8% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium. The East II zone tallies 1.3 million tonnes grading 0.9% copper, 0.8% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium.

This year’s program is aimed at drill-testing the mineralization at greater depths, as well as other geophysical targets.

Starfield earned a 100% interest in the 20,000-ha property by paying $75,000 in cash, issuing 4.25 million shares and spending $1.7 million on exploration.