Inmet joins Celtic in Nfld.

Gold and copper miner Inmet Mining (IMN-T) will acquire interests in four properties held by Celtic Minerals (CME-V) in central Newfoundland’s Victoria River region.

The joint-venture agreement affects the Victoria Mine, Sutherland’s Pond, Hungry Hill and Hungry Hill East properties.

Over five years, Inmet can earn a 55% interest in the properties by paying $120,000 in cash and spending $2.5 million on exploration, including $100,000 during the first year. Celtic will continue to act as operator.

At Celtic’s wholly owned, 2,053-ha Victoria Mine property, several drill-ready targets have been delineated, including the copper- and zinc-bearing Jig zone. Recent re-logging of core from the Jig zone showed that a carbonate unit that occurs immediately above massive sulphides is present in the final few metres of the most easterly hole on the prospect. This hole will be deepened to test for mineralization. To the west, limited drilling cut a copper-bearing zone that remains open in all directions.

At the Sutherland’s Pond copper-zinc-lead prospect, a 300-metre-wide alteration zone has been traced over a strike length of 1.3 km. Six geophysical anomalies are as yet untested.

The 7,050-ha Hungry Hill property, 15 km southeast of the past-producing Buchans mine, is currently held 50-50 by Celtic and Jilbey Enterprises (JLB-M). The highlight of previous drilling was hole 16, which intersected 10.8 metres grading 3.06% zinc and 0.16% copper, plus 20.9 grams silver and 0.81 gram gold per tonne. The company also cut a 5.6-metre section of bedded, exhalative pyrite and high-grade base metal clasts.

Celtic says the property has the potential to host a high-grade, large-tonnage volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit.