MetalCORP Ltd.
Big Lake
Northern Ontario, Canada
Property Description, Location and Access
The 100% owned Big Lake copper -- zinc massive sulphide property is located approximately 20km southeast of Marathon, northwestern Ontario and 10 km southwest of the Hemlo gold mines. The property consists of 27 claims (312 units) covering 4,992 hectares. The eastern part of the property is accessible by a private road leading from the Trans Canada Highway 17 approximately 20km east of Marathon. Access to the western part of the property, where the topography is quite rugged, requires helicopter support.
A major power transmission line crosses the western part of the property in a northwest-southeast direction. The west boundary of the property coincides with the boundary of Pukaskwa National Park. Significantly, by agreement between the federal and provincial governments when the park was established, a natural deep-water harbour occurring on Lake Superior west of the property boundary and within the park, remains accessible to natural resource developers in the local area.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
In March of 2006 MetalCorp announced the discovery of high grade mineralization base metal mineralization in diamond drill hole 24 which assayed 7.5% Copper (Cu), 2.2% Zinc (Zn), 138.0 g/t Silver (Ag) and 9.2 g/t Gold (Au) over 4.0 metres (13.1 feet). The massive sulphide zone, referred to as BL14, was discovered while testing a broad EM conductor detected from a Crone Pulse EM survey completed after a winter diamond drilling program in 2005.
Hole 23, which was drilled approximately 200m northeast of hole 24 also intersected the BL14 Zone and yielded 3.7% Cu, 2.2% Zn, 81.0 g/t Ag and 1.5 g/t Au over 3.1 metres (10.2 feet).
In July of 2006, follow-up drilling to the BL14 discovery yielded even higher grade base metal mineralization with the intersection of 4.4 metres or 14.4 feet (true width) assaying 8.2% Cu, 2.7% Zn, 140.0 g/t Ag and 1.0 g/t Au from 107.0 to 111.4 metres in hole BL06-32. A wider intersection within this hole from 107.0 to 114.0 metres yielded 5.7% Cu, 1.8% Zn, 95.0g/t Ag and 0.6 g/t Au over 7.0 metres (23.0 feet).
Further drilling intersected 5.1 metres or 16.7 feet (true width) of high grade mineralization assaying 4.2% Cu, 1.2% Zn, 67.1 g/t Ag and 2.1 g/t Au from 91.3 to 96.4 metres in hole #34 from the BL14 Zone. This section included a higher grade zone of 7.7% Cu, 2.2% Zn, 123.8 g/t Ag and 3.9 g/t Au over 2.6 metres (8.5 feet). This hole (#34) was collared 25 metres south of hole #32.
Hole #33, which was collared 25 metres west of hole #32, intersected 1.9% Cu, 0.7% Zn, 35.0 g/t Ag and 0.3 g/t Au over 5.2 metres. This included a higher grade section which assayed 3.5% Cu, 0.6% Zn, 67.2 g/t Ag and 0.7 g/t Au over 2.3 metres.
Hole #35, which was collared 25 metres east of hole #32, intersected two zones separated by a 5.0 metre alteration zone. The main mineralized zone yielded 2.7% Cu, 1.2% Zn, 45.3 g/t Ag and 0.5 g/t Au over 1.4 metres whereas the upper zone intersected 3.5% Cu, 2.5% Zn, 61.0 g/t Ag and 0.3 g/t Au over 0.24 metres.
Further drilling in November 2006 yielded 4.5 metres (true width) which assayed 3.1% Cu, 1.6% Zn, 63.1 g/t Ag and 1.7 g/t Au from hole #37 which was collared 25 metres south of hole #34. Hole #38 also intersected the BL14 Zone from 38.5 to 41.1m and assayed 2.1% Cu, 1.5% Zn, 42.2 g/t Ag and 1.7 g/t Au over 2.6 metres. Hole #38 was collared 25 metres south of hole #37. Both holes were designed to test the up-dip projection of the BL14 Zone at different levels.
To date, MetalCorp has identified two (2) high grade copper-zinc massive sulphide lenses with associated stringer mineralization measuring 300m in strike length by 250m deep and approximately 3.0m wide which may be interpreted to be Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) type deposits (lenses). VMS tyhpe deposits tend to occur in clusters as noted from the base metal mining camps of Canada and the rest of the World. The BL14 Zone displays many characteristics of a VMS mineralizing zone but with unusually high grade copper, silver, gold and cobalt content. The zone resembles a high temperature Cu-Ag-Au rich VMS stringer or feeder zone. The footwall to the BL14 mineralized zone is composed of strongly chloritized and biotitized metavolcanics. All holes have intersected varying amounts of chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrrhotite hosted by an intensely hydrothermally altered package of mafic metavolcanic rocks and associated interflow clastic metasedimentary rocks with deformed bands of chert.
In addition to the BL14 zone the Company has indentified the A2 Cu-Ni Zone, which has been traced along strike and to depth for approximately 200m, yielded up 1.7% Ni and 1.4% Cu over narrow intersections in drilling and the J4 and J5 Pt-Pd Reef Zones, which have both been traced by drilling over strike lengths of approximately 1.5km and to a depth of 200m, have returned up to 0.9 gpt Pt, 1.0 gpt Pd, 0.2% Ni and 0.2% Cu over 1.5m.
To date the Company has completed over 100 diamond drill holes on the Big Lake Property and one surface geophysical survey, two airborne MAG/EM surveys and two down hole geophysical surveys. The most recent geophysical survey was completed by Quantec Geoscience in late 2008 and consisted of a deep penetrating Titan 24 system which penetrates deeper than conventional surveys and therefore beyond the depths of drilling completed to date on the BL14 base metal zone. In March 2009 the Company announced that the Titan 24 survey had indentified 24 targets.
In the second quarter of 2009 the Company retained Quantec to compile and re-interpret all of the geophyscical survey data combined with the known geology on the Property to refine and re-prioritize drill targets.
In October 2009 the Company announced that Quantec's preliminary re-evaluation has identified four zones for further exploration at and around MetalCorp's BL-14 copper-zinc deposit. These anomalies are referred to as:
- Zone 3 — a cluster of anomalies along the intersection of two faults potentially related to BL-14
- Zone 2 — related to the previously identified J4 and J5 Pt-Pd bearing ultramafics
- Zone 1 — a possible extension of base metal mineralization related to BL14 along strike to the east and west. Additionally a "large conductive plate" north and sub-parallel to the BL-14 zone has been identified.
- Zone 4 — a possible down-dip extension to the A2 mineralization and an anomaly "similar to that of the BL-14 zone"
This latest program shows the BL14 Cu-Zn zone to have considerable potential for expansion and that a second source of mineralization may be nearby.
2009/2010 EXPLORATION PROGRAM
MealCorp began a follow-up drill program at Big Lake in mid-December 2009 focused, in part, on test targets arising from a largely geological and geophysical reevaluation of previously-obtained data which was completed earlier in 2009 by geophysics firm, Quantec Geoscience. This phase of drilling may continue beyond the end of 2009 into the first quarter of 2010.
MetalCorp selected a number of the highest priority drill targets in the vicinity of the BL14 zone for this second drill program on Big Lake. The targets take into consideration the recommendations put forward by Quantec as well as an abundance of diamond drill and surface geological data acquired previously by MetalCorp on the Big Lake property. The focus is on locating an extension to the known mineralization at the BL14 zone, and/or discovery of a new, associated, mineralized zone nearby.
In addition, in November 2009, MetalCorp signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Pic River First Nation (PFRM), the First Nation in closest proximity to the Big Lake property, to facilitate access to the drill locations.
Source: http://www.metalcorp.ca/big-lake
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