Quaterra sets sights on Duke Island

Vancouver — Having cut narrow zones of platinum-palladium mineralization at its Union Bay project, Quaterra Resources (QTA-V) is now turning the drill loose on the nearby Duke Island property in southeast Alaska.

The rig is expected to be turning this weekend with a total of 500 metres designed to test coincidental surface mineralization and geophysical anomalies. Based on fieldwork completed to date, the target area measures 1 km by 300 metres. Surface samples over this area returned up to 1.95% copper, 0.25% nickel and 1 gram combined platinum-palladium per tonne.

Located 45 km southeast of Ketchikan, the wholly owned property covers two well-exposed “Ural-Alaska type” complexes that have been interpreted to be parts of the same intrusive at depth. Known as Judd Harbor and Hall Cove, the bodies are 3.2 and 5.6 km in diameter, respectively. The presence of net textured sulphides and the high conductivity geophysical anomaly suggests to Quaterra the potential for massive sulphides, which could return higher nickel-copper grades at depth.

Earlier this year, the company completed a four-hole program on the Union Bay complex. The first two holes of the 360-metre program tested the North zone, where 162 rock-chip samples were collected yielding up to 17.3 grams combined platinum-palladium. Twenty-three of the samples returned values greater than 0.1 gram platinum-palladium with eight yielding better than 1 gram. Hole 1 was drilled in the westerly direction and returned 10.6 grams platinum and 0.56 gram palladium over 0.5 metre from 19.1 metre down-hole. Hole 2 was drilled in the northeasterly direction and cut 0.42 gram platinum and 0.02 gram palladium over 0.6 metre from 50.1 metre down-hole.

The last two holes were collared some 3.2 km to the west at the Mt. Burnett zone. Hole 3 hit three mineralized sections grading up to 0.16 gram platinum and 0.12 gram palladium over 3.7 metres from 0.6 metre down-hole. The final hole hit two zones including a 0.3 metre section running 1 gram platinum and 0.16 gram palladium from 28.4 metres down-hole.

Located near Ketchikan, the 5-by-10 km Union Bay complex shows the characteristic zonal features of a Ural-Alaska complex, with a 1-km wide dunite core on the southeastern side moving through wehrlite and magnetite-bearing olivine clinopyroxenites to hornblendite and gabbro on the margins. The complex appears as a lopolith folded along a later staged west-northwest trending axis.

Quaterra is earning a 50% interest in Union Bay by spending US$1 million on exploration and making cash payments of US$100,000 over four years. Quaterra also agreed to issue 200,000 shares of its common stock to International Freegold Mineral Development (ITF-V) — 100,000 shares upon approval of the transaction by the Canadian Venture Exchange and 100,000 shares on May 1, 2002.