A $3-million, 38,000-ft. drilling program is drawing to a close at Abacus Minerals’ (AMC-V) Niblack volcanogenic massive sulphide project on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska.
The bulk of the 1997 program was directed toward the gold-enriched Lookout zone, which was traced last year over a strike length of 1,200 ft. and downdip to 800 ft. A drill-indicated resource was estimated at 1.8 million tons grading 0.12 oz. gold and 1.37 oz. silver per ton, plus 1.5% copper and 2.64% zinc.
Recent drilling has focused on testing the downdip continuity of the zone, as well as the western extension. Hole 150 was drilled on the zone’s western edge, intersecting a 16.5-ft. interval averaging 0.099 oz. gold and 1.51 oz.
silver, plus 1.46% copper and 2.24% zinc. The hole was a 100-ft. stepout west of hole 132-1, which intersected a broad zone of low-grade zinc mineralization, and a 200-ft. stepout west of hole 117, which intersected 115.9 ft.
averaging 0.057 oz. gold and 0.55 oz. silver, plus 1.43% copper and 1.55% zinc, including a 22.4-ft. interval of 0.077 oz. gold and 1.16 oz. silver, plus 2.79% copper and 1.99% zinc.
Stepping out a further 100 ft. to the west, holes 146 and 148 intersected only disseminated base metal mineralization.
Hole 144 was drilled in the western end of the zone, to the east of hole 117 and more than 200 ft. downdip of hole 129, which intersected a previously reported 14.8 ft. averaging 0.095 oz. gold and 2.86 oz. silver, plus 4.52% copper and 16.38% zinc. Hole 144 pulled a 27.9-ft. interval averaging 0.04 oz.
gold and 0.48 oz. silver, plus 1.15% copper and 4.8% zinc.
Stepping out further to the east towards the middle part of the zone, hole 149 intersected a wide zone of base metal stringer mineralization averaging 0.82% copper over a 254-ft. interval, including 27.6 ft. averaging 0.017 oz. gold and 0.17 oz. silver, plus 3.14% copper. Hole 149 was collared 100 ft. downdip and 75 ft. east of hole 21, which hit 36 ft. averaging 0.043 oz. gold, 0.47% copper and 7.37% zinc.
Hole 147 was drilled under the eastern margins of the Lookout zone, about 100 ft. downdip of hole 90, and intersected a 21-ft. interval of massive sulphides averaging 0.14 oz. gold and 2.58 oz. silver, plus 2.79% copper and 4.22% zinc.
Additional drill results are expected by month-end.
Abacus reports that drilling to date has significantly expanded the Lookout zone. An update of the geological resource is in progress.
The company has hired mining consultant Fluor Daniel Wright to prepare a prefeasibility study on the project, and baseline environmental surveys are being conducted by Hallam Knight Piesold.
Abacus is contemplating going underground next year with a 2,000-ft.-long exploration adit, driven from the Trio zone westward through the Lookout zone.
Teck (TEK-T) holds a back-in right to a 51% interest in Niblack, which it can exercise by electing to bring the project to production.
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