The first hole of the 2005 field program by Marathon PGM (MAR-V) at its Marathon property in north-central Ontario has intersected platinum-group mineralization.
The hole, testing a down-dip extension of the BR zone, about 1.5 km south of the main Marathon deposit, cut a 10-metre core length of gabbro grading 5.59 grams palladium, 2 grams platinum, and 0.73 gram gold per tonne, plus 0.21% copper. The intersection was at 57 metres down-hole, and another intersection starting at 75 metres cut 10 metres with grades of 1.03 gram palladium, 0.25 gram platinum, and 0.14 gram gold, with 0.39% copper.
A second hole, aimed to pierce the zone 30 metres down dip from the first, intersected 12 metres that averaged 0.15 gram palladium and 0.12 gram platinum with minor gold and copper credits. A second intersection in the same hole ran 0.17 gram palladium and 0.06 gram platinum per tonne, with minor gold and 0.16% copper.
The first hole had been drilled 100 metres north of a hole drilled in 2004 that intersected 46 metres of platinum-group mineralization, wich averaged 2.12 grams palladium, 0.78 gram platinum and 0.21 gram gold per tonne, with 0.19% copper. It was also 100 metres down-dip from a 2004 hole that cut 16 metres of 1.03 grams palladium and 0.39 gram platinum per tonne, with some gold and copper.
Prospecting, stripping and sampling around the BR zone traced the surface expression of the zone 100 metres further south than had previously been known. That stripping work showed that the BR links up with the Malachite zone, about 500 metres to the southwest.
Sampling on the Malachite zone returned grab samples with between 1 gram and 9 grams palladium per tonne, and copper grades of 0.1% to 0.5%. Grab samples from the RD zone, about 500 metres directly south of BR, had palladium grades in the 1-2 gram range, and copper grades between 0.1% and 0.8%.
Marathon has budgeted for 8,000 to 10,000 metres of drilling this season and plans to test a 900-metre strike length of gabbro-volcanic contact in the area.
A March 2005 calculation put the measured and indicated resource of the Marathon deposits at 24.3 million tonnes grading 1.22 grams palladium, 0.31 gram platinum and 0.1 gram gold per tonne, with 0.37% copper. Another 2.3 million tonnes with 1.42 gram palladium, 0.6 gram platinum and 0.13 gram gold per tonne, plus 0.25% copper, was classed as inferred. That resource incorporated some of the material in the BR, Malachite, and RD zones for the first time.
Be the first to comment on "Marathon hits on BR zone"