Interesting article...
> Exploration breathes life into Buchans camp
> By James Whyte
>
> Millertown, Nfld.-The Buchans base metal camp in central Newfoundland has
> historically been one of relatively small but high-grade massive sulphide
> deposits. The original Buchans deposit, to take only one example, was just
> over half a million tonnes but averaged nearly 15% zinc, 7.7% lead, and 1.4%
> copper; the largest, Lucky Strike, was only 6 million tonnes but sported
> higher grades still.
> Camps with mines like that can produce some exciting drill holes.
> Recent drilling by Phelps Dodge (PD-N) near the northeastern corner of Red
> Indian Lake has revived interest in the camp. Phelps Dodge is believed to
> have made a significant discovery of massive sulphide mineralization 5 km
> southwest of Buchans Junction. The discovery-and the response by junior
> exploration companies-means the area is being explored more intensively than
> it has been since the mid-1980s.
> The mid-1980s was when Noranda (NOR-T) drilled off a significant resource at
> the Duck Pond massive sulphide deposit, 15 km south of Millertown, a deposit
> now undergoing a feasibility study funded by Thundermin Resources (THR-T)
> and Queenston Mining (QMI-T). During that same period, BP Resources and Inco
> (N-T) held extensive land positions in the mineral belt, and each discovered
> base metal prospects in the Buchans area.
> The new activity is largely being driven by smaller companies, many of which
> are based in Newfoundland and all of which are keenly interested in
> developments at Phelps Dodge's property and at Duck Pond.
> Celtic Minerals (CME-V) and joint-venture partners control a large land
> package immediately south of Millertown, in the Victoria River volcanic
> belt. With Jilbey Enterprises (JLB-M), exploration is under way on the
> Victoria River and Hungry Hill projects, where previous drilling turned up
> altered and slightly mineralized volcanics.
> Billiton, which has mounted a major exploration effort in Newfoundland in
> the past year, optioned several properties in the area from Celtic, Buchans
> River (BUV-V) and Altius Minerals (ALS-V). The deals with Celtic cover
> properties immediately around Buchans Junction, as well as a larger property
> on the volcanic belt to the northeast, toward Badger.
> Billiton started work on the properties in April and will be testing
> electromagnetic (EM) and induced-polarization anomalies discovered in
> previous geophysical surveys.
> Phelps Dodge has also started drilling on its own Mary March property, from
> a collar on the partners' Millertown property. Phelps Dodge will be giving
> the core from that part of the hole on the Celtic-Billiton ground to Celtic
> and Billiton for their own use.
> Billiton's work on the Altius properties, in the Victoria River belt,
> southwest of the Celtic land package, has also started. The program includes
> drilling, trenching and geophysics. Four holes on the Victoria River North
> property did not find any mineralization, and interpretations of the geology
> suggest that a separate faulted block, about 1 km away, may hold the
> favourable volcanic horizon.
> Nearby, at Taylor Brook, trenching is investigating recently discovered EM
> anomalies. Also at Taylor Brook, a very-low-frequency EM anomaly, trenched
> this season, turned out to be a disseminated sulphide showing in mafic
> rocks, which returned low nickel-copper-cobalt values with some platinum and
> palladium.
> Meanwhile, on the southern shore of Red Indian Lake, immediately southwest
> of the Celtic land package, privately owned Kelmet Resources optioned a
> 161-sq.-km property from Noranda that includes the Daniel's Pond zinc
> deposit. Based on drilling by Noranda, Calgary-based Taiga Consultants has
> estimated a resource of 4 million tonnes at Daniel's Pond, grading 3.15%
> zinc, 0.17% copper and 1.36% lead, plus 98 grams silver and 0.35 gram gold
> per tonne. A higher-grade core zone of 1 million tonnes has average grades
> of 7.71% zinc and 4.13% lead.
> Kelmet's agreement with Noranda, signed in February 1999, allows it to earn
> a full interest in the property by spending $1.8 million over five years.
> Noranda will receive 500,000 Kelmet shares once the interest is earned, as
> well as 1 million shares should anything be brought into production. The
> major also retains a 1.5% net smelter return royalty, and it has entered
> into a back-in agreement (similar to its Duck Pond option) that allows it to
> form a joint operating company with Kelmet if the junior finds an economic
> reserve of 15 million tonnes or more.
> Kelmet's own work on the property has centred on another showing, Parking
> Lot, which lies southwest of the Daniel's Pond deposit, about 2 km along
> strike. There, some preliminary drilling revealed stringer-style
> pyrite-sphalerite mineralization near the Daniel's Pond horizon, as well as
> a chlorite-altered zone with stringers of chalcopyrite stratigraphically
> below.
> Another private company, South Coast Ventures, holds a property immediately
> southeast of Kelmet, covering a 1.8-km strike length of Victoria River Belt
> volcanics. Earlier work by Noranda indicated rock-geochemical signatures
> suggestive of massive-sulphide mineralization, but these were never followed
> up. EM anomalies coincide with the favourable stratigraphy, which is along
> strike from the Bobby's Pond deposit, previously outlined by Inco.
> South Coast, headed by St. John's-based geologist Charles Dearin, also holds
> the Burnt Pond prospect, which adjoins the Duck Pond-Boundary property on
> the northeast. Burnt Pond, a 1970s Noranda discovery, yielded some narrow
> intersections of massive sulphide on the Duck Pond horizon.
> Farther to the southeast, Cornerstone Resources (CTP-V) has staked around
> the Haven Steady base metal prospect, another Noranda discovery. The
> property, called Noel Paul's Brook, covers a 12-km belt of felsic volcanic
> rocks with numerous northeasterly striking EM conductors. In the
> northeastern part of the property, boulders made up of massive to stringer
> pyrite and chalcopyrite (unlike the Haven Steady mineralization, and
> therefore likely from another showing) have yet to be traced to their
> source. Linecutting is planned for this field season.
>
>
>
> Copyright Northern Miner
>
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