Lebel-sur-Quevillon area heats up

In an attempt to either shore up ground positions or acquire interests therein, several companies are making deals for properties east of Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Que.

Interest in the area in the province’s northwest was sparked by the recent gold discovery of Murgor Resources (ME), following a trenching program in Barry Twp. last fall.

In nearby Urban Twp., Sharpe Energy & Resources (VSE), Storimin Exploration (ASE) and Wiscan Resources (TSE) have jointly acquired a 49-claim property northeast of Murgor’s ground. The property covers the extension of the geological and geophysical trend that hosts the Murgor discovery. Trenches from previous (unrecorded) exploration were discovered during staking. The partners bought the interest for an aggregate cost of $24,000 plus 50,000 shares of each company. The first phase of exploration will consist of line-cutting, and geophysical surveys are set to start immediately. Meanwhile, Golden Tag Resources (VSE) has entered the fray by acquiring four claim blocks totaling 7,000 acres in Barry, Urban and Souart twps. Three of the four blocks are contiguous and extend from Souart Twp. northeast into Barry Twp. These blocks lie about 3 miles south of Murgor’s discovery and are underlain by the same geological and geophysical trend. The remaining block is in Urban Twp., 3 miles north of the discovery.

Closer to Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Golden Tag holds interests varying from 30% to 100% in 300 claims in Verneuil Twp. Included in the land package is the 44-claim property that hosts the Toussaint and Midrim discoveries. Golden Tag and Freewest Resources (TSE) will start drilling the Midrim discovery, where two holes intersected 0.14 oz. gold per ton over 8 ft. at a depth of 140 ft., and 0.14 oz. over 15 ft.

Golden Tag and Freewest will also drill the Toussaint zone, which hosts a drill-proven reserve of 207,000 tons averaging 0.21 oz.

Meanwhile, GeoNova Explorations (ME) has filed an amendment to its prospectus so as to reduce the minimum amount of its initial public offering to $1.6 million. The company will use the proceeds to explore properties in the area this month.

Other companies active in the region include Orient Resources (ME) and Explorations Minieres du Nord (ME). Juniors Tandem Resources (ME) and Ayrex Resources (ASE) jointly acquired claims near the discovery, and Cane Corp. (ASE) also picked up ground about 7 miles northeast of the Murgor find. For its part, Murgor intends to carry out drilling and additional geophysical surveys on its discovery. To this end, it has completed a private placement of 600,000 treasury shares, of which up to 515,000 may be issued on a flow-through basis, priced at $1.32 each. Each share will be accompanied by a half-share purchase warrant; one whole warrant will enable the holder to buy one Murgor common share for $1.60 for a 1-year period.

Although the area is not well-known to most explorationists, work carried out in the 1940s resulted in the discovery of traces of gold around Barry Lake. The area was mapped by the Quebec government in 1943 and experienced a flurry of staking and exploration in the winter of 1947-1948. Since then, little if any exploration has been conducted.