Ofi Creek drilling results
Western Pacific Gold Inc WPI
Shares issued 11,827,329 May 29 close $0.60
Fri 30 May 97 News Release
Mr Nicholas Mather reports
The following information on WPI's farm-in agreement with BHP Minerals on
EL 1014 in Papua New Guinea was provided by BHP Minerals and an independent
report prepared by Terrence Willsteed & Associates Consulting Mining
Engineers for WPI's subsidiary Magma Mines N.L.
>From 1992-1996 BHP's work included over 1,303 metres of trenching in nine
trenches on six anomalous zones over 0.2+ ppm gold followed by 2,411 metres
of diamond coring. Seven holes were drilled resulting in the deepest hole
BND-4 providing an interval from 0m to 401m at 0.56 g/t Au, 0.51% Cu and
2.9 g/t Ag with the hole ending in mineralization. Drilling results of the
seven holes are set out in the table below:
BHP Diamond Drilling Results -
Ofi Creek
From To Interval Au Cu Ag
Hole (m) (m) (m) ppm % ppm
---- ---- --- -------- --- -- ---
BND-1 104.0 339.2 235.2 0.474 0.306 0.6
BND-2 34.0 166.0 132.0 0.450 0.273 4.8
320.0 380.0 60.0 0.785 0.540 2.1
BND-3 56.0 248.0 198.0 0.960 0.320 1.7
BND-4 0.0 401.0 401.0 0.56 0.51 2.9
204.0 276.0 72.0 0.79 0.64 1.4
304.0 332.0 28.0 0.73 0.93 3.3
BND-5 2.0 379.8 377.8 0.27 0.19 1.9
20.0 52.0 32.0 0.44 0.26 1.9
60.0 132.0 72.0 0.54 0.32 4.5
BND-6 12.0 401.0 389.0 0.08 0.10 3.1
BND-7 43.4 210.7 206.7 0.07 0.06 3.8
Split core material from all drill holes is available to WPI from BHP for
inspection and assay. All assays were conducted by fire assay techniques in
independent Australian registered laboratories from split cores. No onsite
sample preparation was conducted at all.
The drill hole data has been used by BHP to calculate a preliminary
estimate of in-situ mineralization for the Ofi Creek prospect. BHP
calculated a preliminary geological resource of 85 million tonnes at 0.6
g/t Au and 0.4% Cu containing 4.3 million oz gold equivalent in gold 1.64M
oz and copper 2.66M oz. BHP calculated this from surface (1175 to 1000m RL)
to the 650m RL. The mineralized zone remains open in several directions
with the potential to substantially increase the deposit tonnage in
prospective zones to the southwest, west and northeast of the known
mineralized area. In addition, the mineralized zone is still open at depth.
Higher grade zones at depths have been indicated in drill holes BND2, 3 and
4. WPI and BHP have identified further potential where it is believed the
porphyry system dips below a phyllite cap on the untested northern portion
of the project and for gold enriched zones where epithermal gold
mineralization overprints the porphyry system on the southwestern end.
Samples up to 20 g/t gold have been recovered by BHP from the drainages in
this area.
Prior to drilling, a program of mapping and trenching was completed by BHP
on the prospect with six significant zones of 0.2+ ppm Au in soil anomalies
were trenched (see table below). Extensive zones of soil and rock chip gold
and copper anomalism encountered in BHP's trenches with coincident
anomalous magnetic signatures remain to be tested.
BHP Trench Results - Ofi Creek
From To Interval Au Cu
Trench (m) (m) (m) ppm %
------ ---- --- -------- --- --
BNT001 60 170 110 1.25 0.10
BNT001 106 128 22 2.21 0.15
BNT002 40 42 2 1.35 -
BNT002 48 54 6 0.77 -
BNT002 60 74 14 1.17 0.22% Pb
BNT002 96 100 4 0.96 -
BNT002 104 108 4 2.52 -
BNT004 0 32 32 0.57 0.15
BNT004A 0 58 58 0.63 0.14
BNT006 0 98 98 0.62 0.19
The porphyry mineralization occurs in a potassic alteration zone, mapped to
date by BHP, over 600m on the southeastern margin of the Miocene Pliocene
Porphyry Bini Porphyry Complex, a body of intrusive granodiorite and
monzonites. Epithermal gold and associated base metal mineralization occurs
up to 900m west of the Bini porphyry stock associated with altered
porphyritic dykes.
The mineralized body at Ofi Creek occurs on the intersection of compressive
arc front and dilatant transform structures, similar to those which control
mineralization on projects in Papua New Guinea held by Placer on Porgera
14M oz mine, BHP on Ok Tedi 32M oz mine and Highlands on Freida River 41M
oz.
The project is 17 minutes by helicopter from Port Moresby, Papua New
Guinea's capital and is accessible in 3.5 hours from WPI's head office in
Brisbane, Australia. If development proceeds, WPI estimates that the
project requires only 20km of vehicular access to be constructed from the
town of Sogeri. Initially, WPI will use helicopters for access. WPI
believes the Ofi Creek project offers some of the best available
development logistics in Papua New Guinea at present.
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