Probe Mines’ Results Add Shine To Ring Of Fire

A day after Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF-N) announced its initial takeover bid for Freewest Resources Canada (FWR-V) and its chromium assets in the Ring of Fire, drill results from Probe Mines’ (PRB-V) chromium property are drawing even more attention to the chromite in the ground in the McFauld’s Lake area of northern Ontario.

All 11 drill holes intersected Probe’s Black Creek chromite horizon and returned significant values over considerable widths. Highlights include hole MJV09-12, which returned an average of 34.6% chromite over 42.6 metres, including 43.1% chromite over 21.7 metres, and hole 11, which cut an average of 33.8% chromite over 34.5 metres, including 43.7% over 15 metres.

Hole 13 intersected 33.9% chromite over 63.6 metres, including 41.4% chromite over 34.7 metres, while hole 14 returned 36.8% over 39.3 metres, including 42.8% chromite over 24.2 metres.

News of the drill results sent Probe up 17% or 6.5¢ to close at 44.5¢ per share. The junior has traded in a 52-week range of 5.5- 49¢.

“It was great timing with Cliffs’ announcement yesterday and our results coming out today — it was really fortuitous,” David Palmer, Probe’s president and chief executive, said in an interview.

“Investors are starting to realize the potential value of the chromite to the Ring of Fire,” he adds. “Up until now, it’s really been a nickel story but now with a major like Cliffs coming in, investors are seeing a big part of the value of that belt is actually chromite.”

The Black Creek horizon has been delineated over a 200-metre strike length and to a vertical depth of 200 metres, and is open in all directions. The chromite-bearing horizon, which is hosted by a thick package of olivine-bearing peridotites and pyroxenites, lies directly between Freewest’s Black Thor chromite discovery and the Big Daddy chromite zone of the joint venture between Freewest, Spider Resources (SPQ-V) and KWG Resources (KWG-V).

“We’re smack in the middle of Black Thor and Big Daddy — I believe they’re all part of the same zone and we have the central portion of that zone — it’s all part of the same horizon,” Palmer explains. “We’re essentially tied to Freewest so it’s conceivable that Cliffs or whoever does start to consolidate the chromite would start to look at us as an interesting acquisition possibility.”

In addition, precious metal results for the chromite zones at Black Creek indicate anomalous values for platinum and palladium, with maximums of 0.5 gram platinum per tonne and 1.1 grams palladium, respectively.

Fifteen drill holes, totalling almost 4,000 metres, have been completed on the Black Creek zone, with all intersecting significant widths of chromite.

When Probe staked the Black Creek claims in 2006, the company was looking at the region as a VMS play for copper, lead and zinc mineralization. “At the time, they were basically buffer claims (to tie other blocks together) but as it turns out they were sitting right in the ultramafic horizon of the Ring of Fire,” Palmer says. “At that time, we didn’t have any idea of the value that was sitting there.”

Probe has about $4 million in the bank. It owns 931 claims in the McFauld’s Lake area covering almost 150 sq. km, including joint-venture properties with Noront Resources (NOT-V) covering 87 of these claims.