Starfield cuts massive sulphides

Vancouver — Results from Starfield Resources‘ (SRU-V) 2004 drilling campaign on its Ferguson Lake copper-nickel-PGM project have traced footwall platinum group metal (PGM) mineralization over 1.3 km of strike length. The project is situated 240 km west of Rankin Inlet in Nunavut.

Drilling tested the Pit area of the West zone for gabbro-hosted footwall PGM mineralization. Several 1- to 1.5-metre drill intercepts returned grades of 1 to 6.9 grams palladium per tonne and 1 to 8 grams platinum per tonne.

The deeper footwall PGM mineralization, discovered in 2004 (T.N.M., July 2/04), is characterized by low sulphidation high-grade platinum-palladium occurring below the main sulphide lenses. The platinum-to-palladium ratio is elevated in the footwall in relation to the main massive sulphide zone.

Drilling on the footwall massive sulphides returned up to 10.8 metres of 1.4% copper, 1% nickel, 0.12% cobalt, 2.7 grams palladium and 0.8 gram platinum in hole 04-202, with higher platinum grades (up to 10 grams platinum) in the lower 2.5 metres.

Recent drilling also tested a strong super-conducting quantum interference device (SQUID) electromagnetic anomaly, intersecting massive sulphide horizons of 10.2 metres assaying 1.6% copper, 0.85% nickel, 0.1% cobalt and 2.1 grams palladium in hole 04-210, and 19.5 metres of 1.1% copper, 0.7% nickel, 0.07% cobalt and 2.1 grams palladium in hole 04-214. The two holes were roughly 100 metres apart, straddling the anomaly.

A borehole pulse electromagnetic (PEM) survey produced a crossover at 750 metres that correlated with the mineralized sections. Combined PEM-SQUID surveys are effective in detecting highly conductive bodies at great depths and have been successfully employed in high-grade nickel sulphide exploration in Western Australia and the Raglan camp of northern Quebec.

The Ferguson Lake project was first discovered by Inco (N-T) in 1950. The nickel titan conducted extensive exploration programs consisting of geophysics, geochemistry and drilling. Starfield acquired the project in 1998 and has drilled more than 64,000 metres on the deposit.

The property hosts an indicated resource of 6.7 million tonnes averaging 0.92% copper, 0.65% nickel, 1.39 grams palladium and 0.22 gram platinum, using a 1% combined copper-nickel cutoff. There is an additional inferred resource of 54.8 million tonnes grading 0.99% copper, 0.59% nickel, 1.37 grams palladium and 0.24 gram platinum, using the same cutoff.

Starfield has 117.3 million shares outstanding.