EXPLORATION ROUNDUP — Donlin Creek adds heat to gold play in Alaska

While Placer Dome (PDG-T) continues to downplay it as a mid-stage exploration target, the Donlin Creek gold project continues to generate interest.

Situated in southwestern Alaska, the deposit was last estimated to contain 45 million tonnes grading 2.5 grams gold per tonne, equivalent to 3.6 million oz. gold. The estimate is based on 31 core holes and 31 reverse-circulation holes drilled in the Lewis-Rochelieu zone, one of six targets.

The other five targets include the Queen, Snow, Dome, Farside and Quartz zones. Some of these zones have been found to contain high-grade gold, including, in some cases, visible gold, whereas the Dome target contains a high copper content.

An 80-man camp and an airstrip are in place on the property, where five rigs are currently drilling to depths of more than 1,100 ft.

Placer has drilled 90 core holes in 1996 to date, and is preparing a new geologic model. A revised resource calculation is expected by March 1997.

Placer gold mining in the area dates back to 1909. Teck leased the property in 1993, and, early last year, Placer Dome acquired it from Calista, an Alaskan native corporation.

At the recent annual general meeting of the Alaska Miners Association, Stanley Dodd, project geologist on Donlin Creek, provided a summary of the deposit:

Donlin Creek is hosted in a calc-alkaline, volcanic-plutonic complex of Cretaceous age. Epithermal mineralization is associated with disseminated sulphides in altered intrusive rocks, and some sediment-hosted mineralization is present as well. Pyrite, arsenopyrite and stibnite are the dominant sulphides, though orpiment and realgar have also been identified. Despite the low sulphide content, the material is considered refractory, owing to its arsenic content.

Meanwhile, several other companies have acquired land in the area. USMX (USMX-Q) recently purchased 13,000 acres in the Ophir district, to the northwest, from the Alaska Mental Health Land Trust.

Placer is also conducting exploration near Ophir, at its Ganes Creek project.