Nexus Group busy on Island-2 col 24TR Inside please

The largest recipient of flow-through dollars from First Exploration Fund 1987 is the Nexus Group which includes Nexus Resource Corp., Angle Resources and Reward Resources. The companies have signed up for approximately $10 million in flow-through funds, a large portion of which ($8 million) will go to Angle and Nexus.

Match that money-raising ability with a major like Vancouver- based Westmin Resources and things often begin to happen. A good example of this is the Nexus/ Angle Debbie property a short distance from this Vancouver Island logging community.

Westmin, the operator, can earn a 50% interest in the Debbie property but the nearby Yellow prospect belongs exclusively to Angle and Reward. However, Westmin can back in for an interest in the Yellow claim group and is currently “managing” the exploration program there.

Last year’s results from Debbie attracted considerable attention, particularly the 44.3-ft intersection in the 900 zone which graded 1.2 oz gold per ton. Other impressive values were returned from two other zones: the Mineral Creek yielded 13.7 ft of 0.25 oz gold and 9.8 ft of 0.58 oz gold was returned from the Linda zone, all of which were drilled again this year.

Five drills are currently operating on the Debbie and Yellow properties, according to Westmin’s project manager Edward Lyons. Three more drills will be added by month- end bringing the total to eight. So the project is one of if not the largest in B.C. at the moment.

Westmin is trying to tie the Upper Mineral Creek and Linda zones into the north end of the Yellow claims. Helicopter servicing of drill sites is standard practice at present and will be until weather conditions deteriorate, so the program is moving ahead fairly quickly. The summer and fall have been quite warm and arid — so much so that a fire hazard exists on some parts of the island.

This year’s program has extended the 900 zone to the south on approximately 35-50-ft sections. Mr Lyons describes the work as in-fill drilling to upgrade the quality of what could potentially be an economic reserve. No reserves, economic or otherwise, have been published for the property but he says one will be after the current program is completed. “We are laying the groundwork for this now,” he adds.

While not downplaying the very significant results to date, Westmin cautions that a lot more work has to be done in the area before anything definitive can be stated. Recent results from the 900 zone included: 6.9 ft of 2.8 oz gold per ton, 10.2 ft grading 0.15 oz, 9.8 ft averaging 0.16 oz and 3.6 ft of 0.35 oz. Drill intercepts in the Mineral Creek zone have generally been much wider but lower grade, says Mr Lyons. On the Debbie property the Mineral Creek zone runs for approximately 825 ft and it extends for at least 500 ft onto the Yellow claims.

The Linda zone is east of Mineral Creek. It hosts a series of veins which carry gold and barren wall rock. At this point Westmin believes the zone could be an extension of the old Vancouver Island gold mine workings, a minor producer years ago. In any event, the Linda zone geology is very complex and it will take much more work to nail down. Recent drill results were typically narrow and sometimes high grade. They included 4.6 ft of 1.3 oz gold, 3.3 ft of 0.33 oz and 2.2 ft of 0.28 oz. So The Northern Miner gathers the Debbie has some small tonnage but high grade potential along with some low grade bulk tonnage possibilities.