Starfield boosts Ferguson Lake (August 13, 2001)

Vancouver — Junior Starfield Resources (SRU-V) has revised its estimate for inferred resources at the Ferguson Lake copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum-palladium property, 160 km south of Baker Lake in Nunavut.

Based on a 1% combined nickel-copper cutoff grade, the new resource for the West, East 1 and East 2 zones now stands at 46.1 million tonnes grading 0.88% copper, 0.58% nickel and 1.41 grams combined platinum-palladium. With a cutoff grade of 2% combined nickel-copper, the resource shrinks to 6.1 million tonnes averaging 1.31% copper, 0.95% nickel and 2.02 grams combined platinum-palladium.

The resource was calculated by independent consultant N.C. Carter in accordance with standards outlined by the Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum.

The estimates incorporate results from drill holes 68 to 74, as well as new technical data on specific gravity information. Ten of the most recent holes completed on the West zone are not included in the calculation.

Previously, the West zone hosted an inferred resource of 28.2 million tonnes grading 0.85% copper, 0.56% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium. Included in this resource was a higher-grade core comprising 7.2 million tonnes that averages 1.1% copper, 0.8% nickel and 2 grams combined platinum-palladium. A 4.8-km-long geophysical conductor has traced the zone.

Manual resource estimates for the East I zone rang in at 2.9 million tonnes grading 1% copper, 0.8% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium. The East II zone tallies 1.3 million tonnes grading 0.9% copper, 0.8% nickel and 1.2 grams combined platinum-palladium.

The copper mineralization at the West zone was initially discovered in the 1950s by Inco (N-T), and the find was followed-up three decades later by a unit of Homestake Mining (HM-N). Inco pegged the West zone with a resource of 6.4 million tonnes grading 0.87% copper and 0.75% nickel. Homestake discovered showings of platinum, palladium and cobalt mineralization in sulphide-bearing outcrops.

Starfield has two rigs turning on the West zone, and these are drilling holes 84-86; a third rig is testing the M zone.

Of the five holes drilled last year on the M zone, hole 43 intersected 7.17 metres averaging 1.01% copper, 0.71% nickel, 0.103% cobalt and 2.07 grams combined platinum and palladium. Further geophysical work has identified a strong conductor that measures 400 by 2,000 metres at a depth of about 120 metres. This year’s program is aimed at drill-testing the mineralization at greater depths, as well as other geophysical targets.

Starfield earned a 100% interest in the 20,000-ha property by paying $75,000 in cash, issuing 4.25 million shares and spending $1.7 million on exploration.