Staking rush heats up

Dozens of staking crews are busy blazing claim lines through the spruce stands of the Lac Evans area, east of the James Bay highway in northwestern Quebec, on the heels of the recent nickel discovery at Lac Rocher.

Junior Nuinsco Resources (NWI-T) announced in late January that a drill hole on its Lac Rocher property had intersected 61.5 metres of disseminated to massive sulphides, with an average of 1.69% nickel and 0.49% copper. Included in the intersection was a 3.2-metre interval of massive sulphides near the bottom of the hole that graded 10.8% nickel.

Nuinsco has also announced a financing, with special warrants entitling the bearer to one share at $2. If a final prospectus is not approved within 120 days of closing, the number of shares per warrant increases to 1.09.

First Marathon Securities will take 2.5 million warrants as a bought deal, and may place as many as 2.5 million more. Up to 1.25 million may be designated as flow-though shares.

Among the companies reporting property acquisitions in the current staking rush:

• International CanAlaska Resources (ICA-V) has secured a 27.5-sq.-km block over several electromagnetic anomalies in an area it describes as “on trend with regional geological structures” and is staking “along strike to the northeast and southwest of an area of known nickel-copper mineralization.” The only known nickel-copper prospect in the area is on the northwestern shore of Lac Rocher, about 15 km southwest of the Nuinsco discovery.

  The company is also seeking staking rights on a third area.

• Tri Origin Exploration (TOE-T) and International Taurus Resources (ITS-V) have a 7.5-sq.-km block about 30 km northeast of the discovery, with Tri Origin carrying an 80% interest. International Taurus holds an adjoining 12.5-sq.-km block in its own right.

  The properties lie on the northeastern extension of a line of conductors detected in earlier electromagnetic surveys in the Lac Evans area. The underlying rocks are metamorphosed volcanics of the Frotet-Evans belt that lie north of the gneiss terrane where Nuinsco made its discovery. The two companies are looking to stake a further 250 claims.

• Triex Resources (TIE-V) and Alto Minerals (ATO-V) have staked a 7-sq.-km block about 15 km northeast of the discovery, in an area near a known magnetic anomaly that has been mapped as a layered gabbro intrusion. Each company will have a half interest. Triex-Alto stakers are now active in another area the company has not named.
• Beaufield Consolidated Resources (BFD-V) has three crews staking in the area, and reports it has staked, but not yet recorded, claims covering 40 sq. km.
• Tandem Resources (TDM-M) and Boreal Exploration (BOR-M) have also announced they are staking in the area, and a joint venture of Stirrup Creek Gold (SGU-V) and Ameridex Minerals (AMD-V) is in negotiations to acquire claims.