Massive sulphide target drilled on Rock & Roll

Partners Eurus Resource (VSE) and Thios Resources (VSE) have started a $1.5-million program to further evaluate polymetallic volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization discovered on the Rock& Roll property in 1990. As a result of the prospecting discovery, the two companies increased their land position from the original two claims — the Rock and the Roll — to 21 claims through staking of open ground. The property, roughly bisected by the Iskut River, is in accessible and moderate terrain about 10 km northwest of the newly opened Snip gold mine (Cominco and Prime Resources Group) in northwestern British Columbia.

Because of its location, the initial exploration focus on the Rock & Roll claims was for a precious metals-rich shear zone similar to the Snip deposit. But cursory exploration on the original claims in 1988 and 1989 is said to have provided little encouragement.

In the summer of 1990, hand trenching and prospecting in a previously untested area led to the discovery of disseminated to massive sulphide mineralization. It is comprised of pyrite with sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena over a strike length of about 110 metres.

The mineralization (Triassic in age) occurredin several sulphide lenses or sheets within a stratigraphic package of argillites and altered intermediate volcanics now known as the Black Dog horizon. A drill was brought in to assist in defining the width and orientation of the showing because it occurred on the side of slope.

Needless to say, recognition of the volcanogenic nature of the mineralization prompted a shift from a Snip-type target to a stratabound massiv sulphid model Subsequen wor include mor trenchin an 9-hole drilling program which returned encouraging results (T.N.M. Dec. 24/90), as well as geochemical and geophysical surveys.

David Mallo, manager of advanced projects for Prime Explorations, said this year’s accelerated, drilling-oriented program will be carried out in a “systematic and controlled fashion” using most of the team that worked on the Eskay Creek project during the past several years.

He also said the program is still in the early stages and a proper evaluation of the property will require “a considerable amount of time, effort and dollars.” A 50-person camp has been set up, one rig is currently drilling, and two more will be added as additional targets are delineated.

So far this year, 14 closely spaced drill holes totalling 1,225 metres have been completed, with nine of the holes intersecting the Black Dog horizon. Th drillin ha teste th horizo ove 150-metr segmen o it 1,300-metre length, to a depth of about 200 metres downdip.

“We don’t know yet where we are in the system,” Mallo said. “We’ve yet to find the centre of gravity, and it would appear we are still distal.” Core from all 14 holes has been split and shipped for assaying, but results for gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc will be held back by the lab until all the holes have been assayed. Once this is complete in several weeks, results will be compiled and immediately released to the public.

Mallo said this measure was put into place in response to the findings of the British Columbia SecuritiesCommission which, during a hearing in 1990, was critical in some respects of the “Chinese Wall” system put in place by Prime Explorations to manage the release of technical information at Eskay Creek in the summer of 1989.

“W wan t releas th result i for tha make sens s th publi ca mak justified fai observation…rathe tha hol b hol whic i ver misleadin an time-consuming, Mall said “Wha w ar reall tryin t d i eliminat th proces where the assays come in to me piecemeal and bits at a time.”

Th downsid o al o this Mall said i tha b th tim all analyses are done (from one section of holes), a further 12-20 additional holes will likely have been drilled without having the benefit or the knowledge of assay results.

“For me that’s kind of scary in that we aren’t able to use the assay data to help manage the direction of the program,” he said. “That’s why visual field estimates are important to us, but they are only good to a point.

“I would prefer to do it like a normal company and get my assay results when they are completed and compile them and release them to the public so they make sense,” he said. “This way my hands are tied in directing the drills. But if we were to continue our process herethe same way we did at Eskay Creek, I would feel they (British Columbia securities regulators) would say the same things to us . . . that it’s improper.”

Eurus and Thios are reporting, however, that drilling so far “has confirmed the attitude,continuity, character and geological relationships of the mineralized zone.”

This is regarded as a necessary step before initiating stepout drilling on widely spaced sections. Mallo said this year’s drilling was done at a more appropriate azimuth compared with last year’s 9-hole program.

In the 1991 holes which intersected the Black Dog horizon, mineralization occurs in three discrete lenses or sheets of strata-controlled, disseminated to well laminated semi-massive and massive sulphides. This mineralization strikes northwest-southeast and dips at 20-30 to the southwest. Each mineralized sheet or lens averages seven metres in width; and overall the Black Dog horizon has an average thickness of about 25 metres.

The Rock & Roll property has generated considerable investor attention in recent weeks. Brisk trading has pushed the share price of Eurus to a high of $2.50 from its year low of $1.12. Thios jumped to a high of $1 from its year low of 52 cents. Prime Equities (which manages both companies) has been an active buyer, and it recently announced it currently owns about 16% of Eurus.

It appears speculative interest in the project is high not just because of results to date, but because the property is thought to have considerable “blue sky” potential for similar discoveries as the Black Dog horizon.

This horizon is directly correlated with ground geophysical anomalies (IP, horizontal loop EM and VLF-EM-which have been traced over 1,300 metres. The horizon itself is hosted by a sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and airborne geophysical surveying is reported to show this package has a number of electromagnetic responses, including the Black Dog horizon, occurring over a length of seven kilometers.

The orientation geophysical and geochemical surveys carried out over the Black Dog horizon are reported to have located a number of similar and stronger conductive responses parallel to the original showing.

And two airborne geophysical surveys flown at differing orientations were successful in detecting conductors associated with the Black Dog horizon, and alsoshowed numerous conductors elsewhere on the property.

In order to secure prospective ground, the adjoining Bornagain property east of the Rock & Roll property was acquired. It is now a joint venture among Eurus (37.5%), Thios (37.5%) and Consolidated Bel-Air Resources (VSE) with a 25% interest.

The airborne survey over the southern half of the Bornagain property is reported to have confirmed the trace of the Black Dog horizon and located several parallel responses. A $250,000 work program is planned for this property this season.