Northshore results boost GTA, Balmoral

Shares of  GTA Resources and Mining (GTA-V) surged $1.29 or 528.6% to end the day at $1.54 on 7.8 million shares traded after releasing drill results from the Northshore property in the Hemlo-Schrieber greenstone belt of Ontario. Joint-venture partner Balmoral Resources (BAR-V) rose 6¢ or 6% to close at $1.10 per share with nearly four million shares trading hands.

The Phase 1 drill program completed during October 2011 involved 12 closely spaced holes (1,038 metres) that targeted the Audney and Caly veins. Gold mineralization was found in each hole and drilling confirmed the continuity of the high-grade gold-bearing vein system along strike and to depth.

Drilling also intersected additional high-grade veins and demonstrated better than expected continuity of the broad Afric gold system hosting the vein structures, Balmoral and GTA Resources and Mining reported in separate press releases.

Highlights include capped intercepts in the Afric zone of 150 metres grading 0.99 grams gold per tonne in hole WB-11-07; 159 metres grading 1.05 grams gold in hole WB-11-09; and 149.50 metres grading 1.20 grams gold in hole WB-11-11. All of the holes collared and ended within the mineralized system.

Intercepts in the Audney vein system included 6.50 metres of 13.23 grams gold including 0.50 metres of 131.99 grams gold in hole WB-11-01, and 4.30 metres of 10.28 grams gold in hole WB-11-09.

In the Caly vein system, shallow high-grade intercepts included 33.20 metres of 12.49 grams gold including 0.40 metres of 760.15 grams gold in hole WB-11-11, while hole WB-11-08 cut 3.70 metres of 17.25 grams gold. Hole WB-11-09 intersected 4.00 metres of 14.94 grams gold.

The Afric Zone has been intersected in widely spaced historic drilling for at least 480 metres along strike and remains open to the east. The zone is characterized by intense fracturing (brittle deformation) associated with moderate to strong alteration of felsic intrusive rocks. These brittle felsic rocks have been intruded with several northeast trending high-grade quartz vein systems including the Audney and Caly Veins.

Balmoral acquired the property in late 2010 and optioned the property to GTA Resources and Mining in 2011. GTA has an option to earn up to a 70% interest by spending $5.5 million on exploration, issuing 3.5 million shares to Balmoral, and making cash payments totaling $150,000. Balmoral currently holds about 7% of GTA’s shares. GTA is the operator of the project.

The Northshore project lies along the north shore of Lake Superior, about 60 km west of the high-grade Hemlo deposit and 12 km south of the formerly producing Winston Lake copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit. The project is road accessible.

Prospector Peter MacKeller first identified gold mineralization on the property while prospecting on the shores of Lake Superior in 1898.

Between 1935 and 1937 Northshore Gold Mines produced 3.81 tons of gold ore from the Northshore Zone at an average grade of 21.80 grams gold per tonne. The mill was destroyed by fire during the 1980s.

Noranda Exploration and Hemlo Gold mines held an option on the property between 1998 and 1992.  Noranda identified and drill tested five zones in addition to the Northshore Zone. This work discovered the Afric Zone, which Balmoral says appears to be situated at the intersection of two large-scale structures.

Noranda calculated a historic resource estimate for the Afric zone (from surface to a vertical depth of 150 metres) of 2.0 million tonnes grading 2.20 grams gold for 135,000 ounces of contained gold.

Subsequent trenching and drilling by Cyprus Canada and American Bonanza Gold identified extensions to the Afric, Northshore and Zones 2-5 on the property, all of which remain open to depth.

The final hole of American Bonanza Gold’s 2007 drill program returned an intercept of 24.75 grams gold over 3.00 metres at a vertical depth of less 20 metres from the No. 2  Zone in an area of very limited historic drilling, Balmoral states on its website.

Last year Balmoral optioned the property to GTA Resources and Mining. GTA’s initial work on the property resulted in a revised structural interpretation for the Afric Zones and the high-grade vein structures located within it.