Vancouver — Finding financing for grassroots exploration projects is difficult at the best of times, and nearly impossible during an economic slow down. However, privately owned Committee Bay Resources has joined forces with a publicly traded vehicle in hopes of raising funds to finance work on a 684-sq.-km land package northeast of Baker Lake in Nunavut.
In July, Arta Enterprises, a TSX Venture-listed capital pool company, acquired all the shares of Committee Bay in a deal that saw 2.3 Committee Bay shares exchanged for every Arta share. The transaction involved 4.7 million shares priced at 25 each, plus 1.4 million warrants to acquire 1.4 million flow-through shares that can be exercised at 25 per share for two years. 895924 Alberta, another privately held company, held 48.6% of Committee Bay.
Calgary-based Arta then assumed the name Committee Bay, elected John Williamson president, and moved its head office north to Edmonton. Shares in the new
The company’s main asset is a large block of ground that marks the northern extension of the same rock units that host
“Committee Bay Resources has the unique opportunity to dominate the exploration and development of an entire greenstone belt that has world-class gold potential,” says board member John Robins.
With the deal complete, the company began mapping and rock- and till-sampling on its Wolf Lake West, Wolf Lake East, and Hayes River North targets in the southwestern portion of its Nunavut-area project.
At Wolf Lake, previous exploration identifed two promising gold showings: Four Hills and Cop. The former lies 35 km southwest of Wolf Lake and was discovered in 1995 when 92 grab samples returned up to 48.07 grams gold per tonne. The Cop showing, 5 km to the east, was discovered in 1997 when a grab sample returned 27.63 grams gold. Mineralization at both locations is hosted in an Archean iron formation.
To the east, in the Hayes River area, previous exploration identified four gold showings, three of which have been partially drill-tested.
Three Bluffs
At the Three Bluffs target, mineralization is hosted in poorly-banded-to-massive iron formation. Chip samples collected in the central and eastern portion of the 1.8-km-long zone returned 11.6 grams gold over 4.8 metres and 19.04 grams gold over 3.9 metres, respectively. From 1994 to 1996, 12 drill holes tested a 420-metre strike-length section of the showing. The holes averaged 1.22 grams gold over 57.3 metres. Within the broad zone, two higher-grade sections were identified, returning up to 4.8 grams gold over 6 metres and 9.3 grams gold over 2 metres.
Between the Hayes and Three Bluffs zones lies the Antler showing, discovered in 1993. Grab samples have returned up to 120.82 grams gold per tonne, and in 1994 two holes were sunk, yielding 1.5 grams gold over 6.6 metres and 1.3 grams gold over 4.1 metres.
At the Inuk gold target, grab samples returned up to 1,893.6 grams gold, and six holes were drilled in 1997. Hole 3 yielded the best results: 2.6 grams gold over 40.1 metres, including a higher-grade section running 9.9 grams gold over 7 metres.
In the Mist-Koffy area, samples of silicified iron formation returned up to 31.3 grams gold.
Overall, 40 gold showings have been discovered on the project, with mineralization occurring in several lithologies, including iron formations, mafic and felsic volcanic rocks, and greywackes.
The junior is trying to raise $1.5 million through a non-brokered private placement. The financing comprises either one flow-through share or one unit, both of which are priced at 25 each. A unit consists of one share and one warrant, the latter being exercisable at 30 for two years.
In July, the company closed a $323,000 portion of the financing by selling 1.3 million shares, 92,000 which were flow-through, and issuing 474,000 warrants.
Committee Bay expects to begin a drill program in early 2003. The company has 8.9 million shares outstanding, or 13.8 million fully diluted.
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