Significant Assays Leads to Rare Metals Exploration
by Gregory Reynolds
RED LAKE/Mining North, January 2000
Economically significant assays of rare metals has led Houston Lake Mining Inc. (HLM-CDNX) to consider a $500,000 exploration program. The property is known as the Pakeagama Lake Rare Metal Prospect and is located approximately 170 km northwest of Red Lake.
Company spokesperson E. Grayme Anthony said "recently, the surface exposure of this rare metals pegmatite has been extended to a minimum strike length of 260 metres, which is open along strike to the northwest and southeast, and with strong indications that the southeastern extension continues for an additional 300 m to the shores of Pakeagama Lake, and a width of 30 to 70 metres."
The rare metals are tantalum, cesium, rubidium, beryllium, lithium and germanium. "Assay results from 19 channel samples and five bulk samples taken on the Pakeagama Lake property have been received from Chemex Labs of Mississauga, Ontario," he said.
A $500,000 exploration program has been recommended which would involve line-cutting, geophysics, soil and litho-geochemistry, geological mapping and diamond drilling. It would be carried out by the summer of 2000, subject to financing.
Since 1998, field-based and laboratory data amassed from the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) and the Open University in the U.K., include 1648 electron microprobe analyses, 50 bulk chemical analyses, 21 analyses of potassium feldspar and X-ray diffraction mineral identification work conducted upon 30 samples.
In 1999, follow-up field investigation was undertaken to: further characterize the internal mineralogical zonation in terms of mineralogy and chemistry; assess the distribution of economically important minerals such as the tantalum minerals stibiotantalite and wodginite and the cesium mineral pollucite. The results on these studies have been published by the OGS. The summary report on Pakeagama Lake has been reproduced on the company's web site.
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