EXPLORATION ’87 GETTY

Formed in mid-1986 from the subsidiaries of Getty Oil Co., Toronto- listed Getty Resources appears to have a bright future. Richard Atkinson, who successfully led a group of private investors in the purchase of the Canadian mineral assets from Texaco, is president and ceo and directs the company’s activities out of the Vancouver head office. Exploration and reserve development programs are managed by John Macdonald, vice-president operations, and Reg Comeau, exploration manager, out of Getty’s Toronto office.

Getty holds interests in more than 35 mineral properties comprising more than 300,000 net acres. The more prominent ventures are the Tisdale Gold project, near Timmins; the Tundra Gold Venture, N.W.T.; Favourable Lake gold-silver prospect, north of Red Lake, Ont.; and the Logan zinc- silver property, near Watson Lake, Yukon.

The Tisdale Gold project is a Getty- operated (50%) joint venture with Davidson Tisdale Mines (50%). Drill- indicated reserves are 606,000 tons with a cut grade of 0.26 oz gold per ton. Potential remains along strike and at depths below the 600-ft level. About two-thirds of the reserves are in the Main zone where an underground bulk-validation-sampling program is being carried out. Bulk-sampling has been completed on the 400- and 500-ft levels and the reserves on the Lower Vein zone are now confirmed at some 455 tons per vertical foot. A 2,500-ft decline ramp is now being driven to access the Upper Vein zone to a vertical depth of 300 ft for bulk-sampling. Upon completion of the bulk-sampling program, it is anticipated that sufficient proven reserves will have been established to allow for a production decision on the Main zone. Surface drilling is now in progress to further delineate the S-zone reserves prior to beginning underground sampling of the zone.

Results of the bulk mill test work at the Pamour gomill, in Timmins, are nearly complete and information received to date looks positive. Pending favorable results from the ongoing sampling program, a production decision is expected by mid-summer.

The Tundra Gold Venture is a joint enterprise with Noranda (51%) as operator on a 24,500-acre land package covering 28 miles of gold-bearing stratigraphy within the Courageous Lake Volcanic Belt, N.W.T. Getty has a 49% interest. Exploration has resulted in the discovery of a large, steeply dipping, gold-bearing felsic volcanic sequence known as the Main gold zone and the smaller, but higher- grade, Carbonate zone, some 1,500 ft to the west and stratigraphically below the Main zone. The Main gold zone has been traced by shallow drilling (up to 400 ft vertically) for about 4,000 ft along strike and is up to 800 ft wide. Most of the significant gold values appear to occur in subparallel horizons. Subsequent drilling of eight drill holes along 2,000 ft of strike provided confirmation of the mineralized zone at vertical depths of up to 1,800 ft and, more significantly, they established the occurrence of the higher-grade horizons at these depths. The deep drill test results received are exceptionally encouraging in that they significantly enhance the tonnage potential. An aggressive exploration program is scheduled for the first half of 1987 and will include 30,000 ft of diamond drilling budgeted at $2 million.

The Favourable Lake joint venture with Zahavy Mines (50%) is a gold- silver project, 120 miles north of Red Lake, Ont. Drill-indicated reserves of 713,000 tons grading 0.25 oz gold per ton and 4.8 oz silver per ton and possible reserves of 269,000 tons grading 0.29 oz gold per ton and 4.7 oz silver per ton have been defined to the 2,460-ft depth on the No. 3 vein. Potential exists to expand these reserves within the higher-grade portions of the vein. The 2-phase underground exploration program has been formulated for 1987-1988 at a total budget of $7.8 million, beginning with underground bulk-sampling and drilling on the No. 3 vein. The program was to have started in early 1987. Also, several other veins will be drilled from surface.

A significant zinc-silver discovery was made during the summer of 1986 on the Logan property, 60 miles west of Watson Lake, Yukon. The project is a 50/50 joint venture with Fairfield Minerals. Work to date, which included soil geochemistry, ip surveying and trenching, has identified three anomalous areas spread over 10,000 ft of strike length of favorable structure.

Drilling during 1986 on the central Main zone resulted in the discovery of a significant zinc-silver deposit. The mineralization occurs within a highly altered granitic complex containing intense quartz-sphalerite veining and zinc-rich massive sulphide zones. The 1986 program tested 2,300 ft of strike length to a maximum vertical depth of 400 ft. The best drill intercept averaged 7.2% zinc and 0.85 oz silver per ton over 220.8 ft and included 64.3 ft of 14.2% zinc and 1.42 oz silver per ton. A $1.2-million program, focussed on delineation of the zone which is open along strike and down- dip, will be carried out as well as the continued testing of other anomalous areas along the structure.

In Saskatchewan a farm-in consortium consisting of Uranez, Minatco and cegb will be conducting intensive uranium exploration programs on Getty and smdc’s Russell Lake and Taylor Bay properties, immediately north of Key Lake. The consortium is now earning in on the two land parcels with total expenditures of $1.5 million scheduled for 1987. Getty retains a carried interest.

The company looks forward to an exciting year of exploration as well as production on its Tisdale property.