Rockcliff intersects more copper, zinc at Lon

Rockcliff Resources‘ (RCR-V) 100%-owned Lon deposit, part of the company’s 660-sq.-km Snow Lake volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) project in Manitoba’s Flin Flon greenstone belt, remains open in all directions and recent drill results underscore its potential.

Rockcliff has completed its 5,000-metre winter drill program at Lon, where drilling tested the zone across a strike length of about 150 metres and to a vertical depth of 300 metres. 

Drill highlights included 2.3 metres of 1.9% copper, 0.2 gram gold per tonne, 1.3% zinc, 18.1 grams silver in hole 6.

Hole 8 returned 3.5% copper, 0.6 gram gold, 5.7% zinc, 30.9 grams silver across 1.8 metres.

Hole 9 cut 1.5% copper, 0.3 gram gold, 1.9% zinc, 12.4 grams silver across 2.7 metres, while hole 10 yielded 1.6% copper, 0.2 gram gold, 1.4% zinc, 13.3 grams silver across 2.8 metres.

The Lon deposit was discovered by drilling in the 1950s. Mineralization consists of chalcopyrite, sphalerite, pyrite and pyrrhotite hosted in juvenile arc rocks and the juvenile arc rock package trends on the property for about 15 km.

Juvenile arc rocks of the Flin Flon greenstone belt host all of the known mines in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake mining camps, the company says, and represent high-priority geological trends for the discovery of VMS deposits.

Rockcliff’s Snow Lake project comprises about a dozen properties all basically centred around Snow Lake. In addition to the Lon deposit, Rockcliff’s Rail project has a National Instrument 43-101 indicated resource of 822,000 tonnes grading 3% copper, 0.9% zinc, 9.3 grams silver per tonne and 0.7 gram gold per tonne. Rockcliff is earning a 100% interest in the Rail property from HudBay Minerals (HBM-T, HBM-N).

Rockcliff is also earning a 70% stake from Pure Nickel (NIC-T) in the Tower deposit, where it plans to complete a NI 43-101 resource in late 2012.

The Tower zone has been traced for more than 600 metres and to a vertical depth of 500 metres and remains open in all directions. Recent drilling at Tower intersected 8.2 metres of 7.6% copper, 2 grams gold, 1.7% zinc and 35.4 grams silver in hole 8. Hole 17 cut 4 metres of 3.9% copper, 0.6 gram gold, 0.6% zinc, and 18.3 grams silver.

The Snow Lake project also includes two former VMS mines (Spruce Point and Dickstone), a former gold mine (the Century mine) and gold deposit (C-Zone), as well as other areas with potential for VMS (copper-rich) and gold mineralization.

Between 1971 and 1975, the Dickstone mine produced 775,504 tonnes of 2.46% copper, 3.12% zinc, 12 grams silver and 0.41 gram gold. 

Rockcliff is earning a 100% interest in Dickstone from Xstrata Copper Canada, and is earning into Spruce Point from HudBay.

In addition the junior explorer has the Squall and Tramping properties, which it believes have “blue sky potential.” The two properties are both about 6 km from HudBay Minerals’ Lalor deposit. Rockcliff completed airborne geophysics on both properties, identified several airborne targets, and this summer will complete ground proofing and defining drill targets.

“Rockcliff Resources is a copper explorer and what better place to explore for VMS than in one of the most prolific VMS districts and the largest Paleoproterozoic VMS district in the world,” company president and CEO Ken Lapierre says. “We presently have five VMS (copper-rich) deposits and all have room for considerable resource expansion.”

Lapierre notes that the company has spent more than $15 million over the last five years, accumulating “an incredible property position” with “the fantastic five” – five copper-rich deposits that he thinks have an opportunity to expand and help the company achieve its goal of becoming a mine finder. 

“It’s difficult to find a junior that has locked securely into a historic mining camp associated with the major mining company that has been there for the past eighty years,” he says. “HudBay realized how prolific the belt was in the 1930s and has been there ever since, and they have given us a great opportunity to come in.” 

At presstime Rockcliff was trading at 22¢ per share, within a 52-week range of 11¢-40¢. 

The junior has 75 million shares outstanding, no debt, and about $2 million in cash.