EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Placer Dome joins Canarc in southern Suriname

Canarc Resource (CCM-T) has formed a partnership with a major mining company at its Benzdorp property in Suriname, South America.

Placer Dome (PDG-T) can earn a 51% interest in the South American property by paying Canarc US$20 million over five years term, plus US$300,000 upon signing. Placer is also required to spend US$3.5 million on exploration, including at least 3,000 metres of drilling in the first year.

If Placer Dome can deliver a positive feasibility study, it stands to gain an additional 9% interest.

“Having a senior partner lends even more credibility to the potential for a significant gold discovery at Benzdorp,” says Canarc President Bradford Cooke. “The joint venture should facilitate a much more aggressive exploration program than Canarc alone could mount.”

Canarc owns a 100% interest in the project, subject to either a 20% net profits interest or a 2-6.5% net smelter return royalty held by a Suriname partner. Placer Dome and Canarc intend to buy out the Suriname partner’s interest.

Benzdorp comprises 1,380 sq. miles in a southeastern region that, historically, has produced more than 1 million oz. gold from bucket-line dredging and porknocking (small-scale hydraulic mining) from alluvial placer deposits.

Canarc has targeted several large prospects over a 20-km zone along the eastern part of the property. The first drill target, known as JQA, averages about 1 gram gold per tonne over a 750-by-250-metre area that remains open in all directions. Geological mapping has uncovered quartz veins and stockworks hosted in a diorite intrusion, indicating porphyry-style mineralization.

Bulldozer trenching in saprolite 1 km south of the JQA zone returned 2.67 grams gold per tonne over 20 metres, and auger drilling 750 metres west of JQA identified quartz vein and stockwork mineralization in another diorite body. The company is not sure if this is the western extension of the JQA zone or a separate entity.

Deep augering on the JQB target, situated 1.5 km southeast of JQA, intersected high-grade, shear zone-hosted gold mineralization. A 2-metre intersection assayed 788 grams gold per tonne (duplicated by repeat assays).

The interval was followed by another 2 metres grading 38 grams. Canarc believes the site has good potential but requires further evaluation.

Kwitaro

In other news, Canarc optioned its Kwitaro property in southern Guyana to Colorado-based Cyprus Amax Minerals (CYM-N).

Cyprus can earn a half interest in the property by spending US$2.15 million on exploration and making unspecified cash payments over four years. The American company can earn an additional 20% stake by financing a bankable feasibility study.

Canarc holds a 100% interest in the property under option from a Guyanese company. The Vancouver-based junior is obliged to pay US$110,000, issue 200,000 shares and spend US$600,000 on exploration over a 3-year period.

The 7,720-ha property lies 45 km northeast of Sutton Resources’ Marudi Mountain gold deposit and is believed to share the same lower proterozoic greenstone belt. Stream-sediment sampling has revealed a gold anomaly that measures 6.5 by 1.8 km.

In 1998, Cyprus will spend at least US$200,000 on soil sampling in an effort to confirm the gold anomaly and test it with diamond drilling.