Berland, Fort Knox target base metals

Juniors Berland Resources (BNL-V) and Fort Knox Gold Resources (FNX-T) will jointly explore for base metals in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The partners can earn 100% interests in the Watts River and Grassberry Lake properties from the exploration arm of Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Anglo American (AAUK-Q). To earn their interests, the companies must spend a total of $4 million over five years; HudBay can repurchase 51% interests in the properties by spending $5.5 million in the following five years.

The Watts River property comprises 4,703 ha and is 50 km southeast of Snow Lake, Man. Previously, 24 core holes tested a zone of mineralization over a strike length of 1.6 km and to a vertical depth of 650 metres. The best result was 6.5 metres of 3.25% copper and 1.79% zinc, plus 1.73 grams gold and 46.27 grams silver per tonne.

Mineralization remains open along plunge and is undefined along strike. For instance, four regions of high conductivity were detected in follow-up borehole electromagnetic surveying.

The Grassberry Lake property lies 80 km southwest of Flin Flon, Sask., and hosts a zone of mineralization 500 metres long and 250 metres deep. The zone was discovered in 1998 and subsequently tested by nine core holes, two of which returned 6.94% copper, 19.28% zinc, 0.97 gram gold and 35.05 grams silver over 1.9 metres, as well as 6.74% copper, 8.06% zinc, 0.56 gram gold and 25.19 grams silver over 3.1 metres.

Two geophysical anomalies were discovered elsewhere on the property, though these remain untested.

Seven holes, totalling 3,000 metres, are planned for the Watts River zone; three, totalling 1,000 metres, for Grassberry Lake (which will also be subjected to geophysical surveys).