EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Small but vital projects under way at Matheson camp

Less exposed, and therefore less prospected, than its big brothers to the west and south, the Matheson area of northeastern Ontario has, in recent years, proved to be a durable, small-project camp.

As the curtain rises on the area’s new mines, an old producer may be offered a new lease on life. Recent exploration of the Taylor mine of St Andrew Goldfelds (SAS-T) promises to increase reserves there.

Since early 1995, mining has been suspended at the Stock Twp. project, which consists of the Stock, Hislop and Taylor mines and the Stock gold mill.

Exploration, however, has continued, with the goal of building up sufficient reserves to justify reopening the mine.

One new hole has been drilled and another is in progress at the West Porphyry zone, a flat-lying stockwork that trends southwest. As well, two holes drilled in earlier programs have been re-sampled.

New drill hole 79 cut five separate intersections with gold mineralization, at vertical depths of 400-650 metres. A 7.5-metre intersection contained 9.8 grams gold per tonne and included a 1.5-metre interval grading 36.8 grams (1.07 oz. per ton). Another, 1.5-metre intersection in the drill hole graded 13 grams, while the other intersections graded 1.7-6.3 grams.

Old drill holes 48 and 49 returned numerous mineralized intersections when new samples were assayed. In hole 48, a 14-metre core length at a vertical depth of about 415 metres returned an assay of 12.4 grams gold, while another intersection, deeper in the hole, graded 28.1 grams over 3 metres. In hole 49, a 6.4-metre intersection graded 10.9 grams and a 1.7-metre core length graded 3.6 grams.

Earlier reserves in the zone amounted to 249,000 tonnes grading 7.2 grams, and the company says the new drilling and sampling results could double the inferred reserve.

At the Shoot zone, 1 km west of the West Porphyry, three shallow drill holes, advanced to assess the prospect’s open-pit potential, intersected gold mineralization in quartz veins in a sedimentary unit with adjacent ultramafic volcanics. One hole cut an 18.3-metre length grading 7.4 grams; another, a 15-metre length averaging 6.7 grams; and a third, a 14-metre intersection grading 4.8 grams.

Formerly held by Esso Minerals, the Shoot prospect has a resource of 1 million tonnes grading 5.4 grams gold, all of which exists above a vertical depth of 330 metres. The figure is based on a cutoff grade of 1.7 grams gold and a minimum width of 1.5 metres. St Andrew plans to drill six more short holes before calculating a tonnage and grade figure for a potential open pit.

St Andrew already has an agreement with Exall Resources (EXL-T) and Glimmer Resources (GME-V) to take mill feed from the Glimmer mine, which is now being developed a short distance east of Matheson.

Apart from the Glimmer decline and, 10 km to the east, Pangea Goldfields’ (PGD-T) Fenn-Gib property (where feasibility work and final pit design are under way), several other projects in the Matheson area are being explored.

Guibord Twp.

In Guibord Twp., between Pangea and Glimmer, Tandem Resources (TDM-M) and NAR Resources (NRL-M) have launched a 3,000-metre drill program on the Highway 101 property, where drilling last year intersected 12 metres grading 5.1 grams gold.

Barrick Gold (ABX-T) plans to carry out winter drilling in Michaud Twp., where the major is earning a 60% interest in one property and 70% in another, both of which are held by Moneta Porcupine Mines (ME-T). On the north claim group, where Moneta will maintain a 40% interest, a resource of 2.4 million tonnes grading 6.1 gram per tonne has been outlined in a vein-and-stockwork body in altered metasediments.

On its own, Moneta will be drilling at the Garrison Twp. property, 10 km east of the Michaud prospects. Previous magnetic and induced-polarization surveys located drill targets in and around the Garrison granodiorite.

About 15 km south of Barrick’s Holt-McDermott mine and Battle Mountain Canada’s (BMC-T) Holloway mine, early-stage diamond drilling has been completed at the Tannahill project of Abitibi Mining (ABB-V) and Sedex Mining (SDN-V).

Backhoe stripping revealed a gold showing in highly altered, mafic volcanic rocks. Shallow drill holes intersected average grades of 1.8 grams over 11 metres, 2.8 grams over 3 metres and 3.2 grams over 2.8 metres. Another short intersection in one hole contained visible gold and graded 141 grams gold.

Battle Mountain and Teddy Bear Valley Mines (TBV-T) have been investigating extensions of the Holloway zones at their joint-venture property, immediately west of the mine. Battle Mountain is operating the project and holds a 60% interest.

Four new holes have been drilled, including one to a 1,400-metre vertical depth, which intersected two of the mine’s known mineralized structures. In the mine’s main Lightning zone, a 2.9-metre intersection contained 11.6 grams gold; and in the Middle zone, a 1.8-metre intersection graded 1.2 grams.