Drilling keeps Canadian Zinc bullish at Prairie Creek

Vancouver — Junior Canadian Zinc (CZN-T) remains encouraged by drill results at its wholly owned Prairie Creek zinc-lead-silver property in the Northwest Territories.

Recently, the company completed six holes designed to infill and test for mineralization in the previously defined resource hosted in Zone 3. This resource is pegged at 11.8 million tonnes grading 12.5% zinc, 10.1% lead and 0.4% copper, plus 161 grams silver per tonne. The measured and indicated portion consists of 3.6 million tonnes grading 11.8% zinc, 9.7% lead, 0.3% copper and 142 grams silver. These figures were calculated in 1998 and are based on 32,000 metres of diamond drilling in more than 60 holes.

Zone 3 represents a portion of a sub-vertical, high-grade vein structure that was tested over a strike length of 2.2 km. Drilling in 1992 identified deeper stratiform mineralization, about 200 metres below existing mine workings. The vein deposit remains open to the north and south, within a 16-km corridor of prospective ground.

Hole 131 intercepted the projected fringe of the main stratabound zone of mineralization. The hole was collared 40 metres from the last known intercept and cut 5.6 metres grading 3.14% lead, 6.22% zinc, 0.01% copper and 25.8 grams silver, starting at a down-hole depth of 287.3 metres. Included in the intercept was a 1.8-metre interval that averaged 5.49% lead, 11.52% zinc, 0.01% copper and 45.1 grams silver.

Hole 132 was drilled 90 metres from hole 131 and intercepted further stratabound mineralization, as well as a thick section of the main vein.

The vein was intersected at a depth of 286.1 metres down-hole and cut 7 metres averaging 12.21% lead, 4.84% zinc, 0.34% copper and 172.7 grams silver. This included a 3.7-metre section that assayed 19.47% lead, 7.79% zinc, 0.58% copper and 278.3 grams silver.

Farther down-hole at a depth of 319.4 metres, the drill intersected 7.4 metres of stratabound mineralization grading 3.18% lead, 6.4% zinc, 0.01% copper and 28.1 grams silver. This included a 6.5-metre section of 2.29% lead, 7.34% zinc, 0.01% copper and 20.1 grams silver.

In addition to the main vein intersection, hole 132 cut a second parallel vein at a down-hole depth of 336.6 metres. The vein averaged 2.1 metres grading 20.25% lead, 3.21% zinc, 0.14% copper and 194.8 grams silver.

Results from the last two holes of the latest campaign are pending.

In the 1980s, the project, under different owners, was financed to within months of startup. However, it was aborted when funding dried up and the price of silver collapsed. The property is 338 km north of Fort Nelson in a remote area of the eastern Mackenzie Mountains, 17 km from the northern boundary of the Nahanni National Park Reserve.

The wholly owned property contains more than $100 million worth of unused infrastructure, including a mill, which has a daily capacity of 1,000 tonnes. Canadian Zinc has set its sights on making the project bankable by the end of next year, with startup slated for 2003.