EXPLORATION ’87 LACANA

This will be one of the busiest exploration years in recent memory for Lacana Mining Corp.’s staff in Canada. About 36 projects, emphasizing precious metals exploration, are planned across Canada.

Lacana’s exposure to Canadian exploration includes participation in a number of joint ventures and syndicates as operator and/or financial partner as well as exploration conducted entirely for its own account. About 40% of the projected $4-million exploration budget for this year is related to joint-venture expenditures.

In western Canada, work will continue on the Sulphurets joint venture property in northern British Columbia where Lacana (30%), Newhawk Gold (30%) and Granduc Mines (40%) plan to continue underground exploration on the West zone where earlier drilling and underground work by Newhawk, the operator, has delineated a geological reserve of about 450,000 tonnes grading about 0.3 oz gold and 16 oz silver per tonne. Elsewhere in B.C., the Comstock zinc- lead-silver property in the Adams Plateau area will be drill-tested in 1987. A new, stratabound massive sulphide discovery in this area has returned assays as high as 17% zinc, 2% lead and 4.5 oz silver per ton from surface samples taken during 1986.

In northern Saskatchewan, a winter geophysical program will further evaluate parts of a large property being explored for platinum group elements. Saskatchewan Mining Development Corp. and Nanisivik Mines will also participate in this program.

Lacana has a 17.1% interest in the Musselwhite gold property, north of Pickle Crow, in northern Ontario, where a $2-million surface drilling program during 1987 will further define and expand known reserves in three zones explored during 1986. Dome Mines, the operator, reports drill-indicated reserves on this property of about two million tonnes grading about 8 g gold per tonne. Other partners in the project are Inco Ltd. and Esso Resources.

Elsewhere in Ontario, Lacana (70%) and Stroud Resources (30%) will continue exploration on the Leckie gold prospect, near Temagami, with a drilling program designed to try to expand and extend known mineralized zones.

Several prospects will be evaluated in Quebec during 1987. The most advanced is the Calumet project, 80 km northwest of Ottawa-Hull. Here a 1986 surface drilling and trenching program confirmed the presence of significant gold-silver mineralization associated with the horizon hosting a previously-mined zinc-lead-silver deposit. Four separate precious-metal- enriched zones have been defined by the work, and the 1987 program will be directed towards defining the extent of these zones and their continuity. A number of precious metal claim groups are also held in the Rouyn- Noranda and Val d’Or areas of the Abitibi Belt and will see extensive work this year.

The company’s involvement in the Maritimes has been centred on northeastern New Brunswick, where it maintains a 42% interest and operates exploration programs on several gold and silver discoveries north and south of Bathurst in the Alcida and California Lakes areas. These were drilled in 1986 and work will continue on these properties through 1987.

In addition, Lacana has a 40% interest in more than 1,500 claims in this area and will continue exploring them as operator of various syndicates and joint ventures that are involved in this play. Other participants include Nanisivik Mines, Sparton Resources, American Ore, Lynx Canada and Canacord Resources. Other programs for precious and base metal exploration are planned in the Maritimes, including Newfoundland.

Lacana’s Canadian activities are overseen by its permanent exploration staff. Lee Barker, chief geologist, and Patrick Chance are based in Toronto. Darrel Johnson manages the Vancouver office with staff geologist Bob Johnson. Project offices in Kamloops and Val d’Or are managed by Ron Wells and Denis Velleneuve, respectively. Don Hoy and George Murphy look after programs in New Brunswick from the Bathurst office.