NEWS ROUNDUP — McWatters nixes Hammerdown

Citing existing commitments at its operating mines in Quebec’s Val d’Or camp, McWatters Mining (MCW-T) has decided not to acquire the Hammerdown gold deposit from Major General Resources (MGJ-V).

McWatters spent about $100,000 on a due diligence program, which consisted of four drill holes and a recalculation of the existing resource. This work resulted in a 2% increase to 458,000 tonnes grading 17.32 grams gold per tonne. The property is in the Springdale-King’s Point mining district of Newfoundland. A previous scoping study of the Hammerdown-Rumbullion gold deposits concluded that they contained 2450,000 oz. of recoverable gold and that the estimated production cost would be US$144 per oz.

Elsewhere in Canada, Major General announced it had started work on the Spider Lake project near Terrace Bay, Ont. Situated in the Hemlo-Schreiber greenstone belt, the property is the site of a volcanogenic massive sulphide discovery called the Starill zone. It is believed to have similarities to the nearby Winston Lake massive sulphide deposit.

The zone measures about 400 metres long by up to 25 metres wide and remains open along strike and at depth. Limited grab sampling last year returned values of up to 7.4% zinc, 1.94% lead and 154% copper, as well as 101 grams silver and 0.87 gram gold per tonne. The company says the alteration signature — defined by a zone of sodium depletion that is semi-coincident with a potassium radiometric anomaly — suggests that the Starhill zone “may be proximal to a potential massive sulphide deposit that is associated with a large, hydrothermally altered volcanic centre.”