Muskox cuts sulphides at Keel-2

Vancouver — The first four holes into the Keel-2 geophysical target on the Muskox Intrusive Complex in Nunavut have returned low-grade values for Muskox Minerals (MSK-V).

The drill targets lie within a zone that measures 1.75 km by 250 metres. They are at depths of between 250 metres and 400 metres.

Hole 32 tested the eastern lobe of the anomaly and cut a 19.5-metre zone of disseminated sulphides before being terminated (due to ground conditions) at 267.4 metres down-hole. The highest grades occurred at 179.5 metres down-hole, running 0.35% copper, 0.16% nickel, 0.33 gram palladium and 0.07 gram platinum per tonne over 3 metres.

Designed to duplicate the previous hole and test for mineralization at depth, hole 33 cut four sulphide zones before terminating at 635 metres down-hole. The highest grades came from 360 metres down-hole, running 0.17% copper, 3.1% nickel, 1.88 gram palladium and 0.32 gram platinum over 1 metre.

Due to poor ground conditions, hole 34 was abandoned before it hit the desired target.

The best results came in hole 35, which cut: a 7-metre-thick zone of disseminated sulphides at 136 metres down-hole; and a 21-metre-thick semi-massive sulphide zone at 316 metres down-hole. Highlights from this hole include:

• 0.90% copper, 0.26% nickel, 1.1 grams palladium and 0.12 gram platinum over 3 metres from 312 metres down-hole;
• 0.99% copper, 0.3% nickel, 1 gram palladium and 0.18 gram platinum over 4.5 metres from 317 metres down-hole; and
• 1.28% copper, 0.45% nickel, 1.2 grams palladium and 0.18 gram platinum over 15 metres from 323 metres down-hole.

The next round of drilling is slated to begin within a month. It will focus on testing the continuity of the mineralization hit in hole 35.

Earlier drilling on the Keel-1 West geophysical anomaly returned only low-grade mineralization.

Situated 500 km north of Yellowknife, the intrusion is exposed as an elongated, north-trending series of mafic-to-ultramafic rocks. Funnel-shaped in cross section, it dips gently to the north. It is 15 km wide in the north, narrowing to 600 metres in the south. It is exposed for a strike length of 50 km and continues beneath cover to the north for another 40 km.

The Muskox project comprises the entire intrusion, including its extension beneath cover to the north. With these dimensions, the Muskox intrusion ranks as one of the largest known layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the world.

Muskox Minerals compares the intrusion to those hosting the Bushveld platinum-palladium deposits in South Africa and the Voisey’s Bay nickel-copper-cobalt deposit in Newfoundland.

The junior began exploring the intrusion in 1995 and by 1997 had acquired the rights to the entire intrusive complex.