EXPLORATION ’87 TECK

As predicted last year, 1986 was an exciting year for Teck Corp. and 1987 should be even better.

The Casa Berardi area will continue to be one of the major centres of activity. Inco (60%) and Golden Knight Resources (40%, and in which Teck has a controlling interest) are continuing to prove up additional reserves in the Golden Pond and Golden Pond East and West zones. Total geological reserves are in the order of eight million tons in the three deposits. An underground bulk-sampling and drilling program was carried out in 1986 on the East zone to provide information for a feasibility study. In 1987 an intensive exploration program on the Golden Pond West deposit will be integrated with an over-all development strategy.

Also in the Casa Berardi area, Teck is continuing exploration on the Golden Hope property as well as on the neighboring properties of Golden Rim and Western Pacific. Complete coverage of the three properties by induced polarization surveys has been carried out and diamond drilling is now under way, using four machines on Golden Hope and one on each of Golden Rim and Western Pacific. Teck has the right to earn a 50% interest in each of the properties by matching expenditures at the feasibility stage.

Although the Newfoundland Zinc mine was closed in April, 1986, the mine is being maintained so that operations may resume when the price of zinc improves. The 1987 drilling program (about 13,000 ft) is designed to locate ore in areas accessible from the underground workings to augment reserves when the mine re-opens.

In Val d’Or, Tundra Gold Mines has the option to acquire a 50% interest in the area of the Lamaque mine property covering the No. 4 and No. 5 plugs by spending $9 million by February, 1990. The exploration program initiated in 1986 and continuing in 1987 consists of both surface and underground drilling. Golden Pond Resources earned a 50% interest in another portion of the Lamaque property by funding a major surface drilling program in 1986. This program located 11 new gold-bearing quartz veins.

Teck (55%) and Platinova (45%) are exploring for platinum group metals in East Greenland. Encouraging results were received from surface sampling in 1986 and this year’s program will involve geological and geophysical surveys.

In western Canada, 1987 will see an increased level of grassroots exploration and evaluation of prospects in the early stages of exploration. Emphasis will continue to be placed on precious metals, but two niobium and rare earth projects will be evaluated, as well.

In the western U.S., Teck will expand its search for disseminated bulk tonnage gold deposits in two regional exploration programs planned for Central Nevada, including an extensive drill program on a property near the southern end of the Carlin Trend. Teck, through its shareholdings in Grange Gold Corp., has an indirect interest in the Lovitt mine, adjacent to the Cannon gold mine in Wenatchee, Wash. The current exploration program, a joint venture between Asamera Inc. and Lovitt, will test for extensions of the previously-mined deposit.

In other commodities, Teck is involved in the evaluation of a lithium- bearing brine in Nevada with joint- venture partner Equinox Resources (30%). Teck and Shallow Resources are jointly completing a deep drill test for high grade silver mineralization in the Coeur d’Alene Silver Belt in Idaho.

While relatively inactive overseas in recent years, Teck is evaluating a number of projects in South America, the South Pacific and Europe. Teck has a number of associated companies actively involved in exploration and development in their own right. Among these are Consolidated Silver Standard Mines, Highland Crow Resources and Emerald Lake Resources.

Teck’s exploration activities are handled by Teck Explorations, a wholly-owned subsidiary with offices in Vancouver, Toronto, North Bay, Reno, Nev., and Daniel’s Harbour, Nfld.