Fort Knox puts two drills to work at Shining Tree

Fort Knox Gold Resources (TSE) has moved two larger rigs on to its base metal play in the Shining Tree area of northeastern Ontario after the first rig, testing the company’s nickel-copper discovery, broke down at a depth of 700 ft. in hole SG-4.

At presstime, SG-5, a stepout hole designed to test the nickel-copper discovery, had reached a depth of about 780 ft. About one mile to the north, a second rig was just beginning to probe a “very nice” off-hole response from hole NG-1, which returned 200 ft. of interlayered sediments grading up to 1.3% zinc with anomalous copper.

Fort Knox will resume drilling on hole SG-4 once the smaller rig has been fixed, said Wayne Whymark, vice-president of exploration. “What we’re trying to do is bracket what we’ve found so far,” he explained from his field office. “We figure that both of these holes (SG-4, SG-5) will give us a lot of information.”

Although final assays for precious metals from discovery holes SG-2 and SG-3 are not yet available, Secretary-Treasurer Don Humby said the preliminary results look encouraging. “I think it’s fair to say there are anomalous values in precious metals.”

Humby would not comment on speculation that Fort Knox had sent 400 ft. of core from SG-4 to Sudbury for assay.

Meanwhile, Fort Knox continued to rally in the $1.45-1.50 range during the last week of November, up from about 40 cents in mid-October. Next door, Goldhunter Explorations (ASE) has optioned an 8-unit claim in Fawcett and MacMurchy Twp., Ont., to Commonwealth Gold (VSE). In return for $30,000, 100,000 Commonwealth shares and exploration expenditures of $125,000 per year for four years, Commonwealth will earn a 50% interest in the property. An affiliated Vancouver-based company, Venturex Resources (VSE) has the right to buy an additional 10% interest for $2 million at any time before Nov. 15, 1995.