FIRST POINT MINERALS CORP ("FPX-V;FPOCF-0") - Management Discussion For The Three Months Ended March 31, 2002
Management Discussion and Analysis
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2002
Description of Business
First Point Minerals is a natural resource company engaged in exploration of gold-silver, platinum- palladium, and silver-zinc properties in North and Central America. The Company is exploring for gold- silver on the Cacamuy property and for silver-zinc on the Cedros property, both in Honduras, CA. For platinum and palladium the company is currently exploring in Ontario (the Mann project near Timmins, the Puddy Lake claims near Armstrong and the Arcadia claims near Sudbury), and in Quebec in the Lac Watts area in the Ungava region.
Discussion of Operations and Financial Condition
During the first quarter of the year the company has focused its resources on advancing the Cacamuy gold-silver property in southern Honduras in Central America by initiating a mechanical trenching programme. Prior to this time trenching has been entirely by hand, and while effective in some areas there are several very prospective areas where the overburden is too deep for hand trenching. In these areas an excavator, capable to trenching to a depth of 7 meters is proving effective. However the majority of trenches only need to be 3 and 4 meters deep. A combination of machine and hand trenching has been used during the quarter.
A total of 644 meters of excavator and 88 meters of hand trenching were completed on the Filo Lapa bulk tonnage target. This area is considered an excellent exploration target for high-level, oxidized, bulk mineable mineralization similar to Glamis' San Martin deposit, also in Honduras, plus deeper seated, structurally-controlled, high grade, feeder type mineralization such as at El Pe_n in Chile, or the Sleeper deposit in Nevada. The northeast trending Filo Lapa Target, using a 0.5 grams/tonne gold cut off, has been expanded to about 300 meters long and between 20 and 80 meters wide, more than double the previously announced area. The average gold grade is 0.9 grams/tonne, more than 30% higher than the previously announced grade of 0.67 grams/tonne. Continuous channel samples have been taken ranging from less than one to up to 12 meters depending on alteration or rock type characteristics. Hand trenches and the deeper machine trenches give very similar results, but the machine trenches allow better mapping of geology and can be dug much more rapidly. Within the 0.5 grams/tonne gold cut-off area the maximum value is 1.62 grams/tonne gold indicating a uniform grade distribution, which reflects the pervasive nature of the strong alteration and mineralizing event. Selective samples of intensely silicified intervals returned a similar range of values confirming the disseminated nature of the mineralization.
In the D5 Target area, which starts 200 meters north of the high grade Cerro Chachagua structure, continuous channel samples were taken over 356 meters in 6 machine trenches. Sample intervals ranged from less than 1 to up to 10 meters depending on alteration characteristics. Values in trench 2, which ran north-south, returned a weighted average of 8.1 grams/tonne gold and 23 grams/tonne silver over a 19.4 meters apparent width. The D5 Target is a zone of intensely altered and oxidized volcanics with varying proportions of small quartz fragments and local quartz veins, in an area at least 400 meters long.
Near the southern end of the D5 Target other trenches across the western margin returned 0.73 grams/tonne gold over 22 meters and 0.36 grams/tonne gold over 69.4 meters. The only hole close to this target was drilled by Battle Mountain Gold in 1996 on the southeast margin and returned 1.2 grams/tonne gold over 7.6 meters. The characteristics of the D5 area indicate excellent potential for oxidized bulk mineable mineralization with high-grade sections.
Eighty meters northeast of trench 2, in the D4 Target area, a single 64 meter trench intersected a quartz vein with a moderate southerly dip which carried 15.7 grams/tonne gold over 0.52 meters true width.
The company also completed a ground magnetic survey over part of the Frederick House property, which is part of the Man platinum-palladium project in Ontario. This data will be combined with the data from the previous IP geophysical survey and the geological mapping to select drill targets.
The Company expended $106,239 on its mineral properties in the current year to March 31. Of this amount, $96,610 was incurred on Cacamuy and the balance was spent on the platinum group element projects in Ontario.
The Company issued 1,347,500 shares and 723,750 share purchase warrants in the period from January to the date of this report. Of these shares, 1,322,500 were issued as private placements shares with funds earmarked for exploration and administrative costs and 25,000 shares were issued on the exercise of a stock option.
Working capital as at March 31, 2002 was $250,700. The ability to meet its ongoing obligations is dependent on the Company raising funds by the issue of equity. All of the Company's short and medium term operating and exploration expenditures must be derived from such equity funding or from entering into farm-out arrangements with major mining companies. Should market conditions limit the amount of funds available for planned ongoing activities, the Company will review its exploration holdings and work programs to prioritize project expenditures. Tel: (604) 681-8600 First Point Minerals Corp. Fax: 1,604,681-8799 Email: firstmin@helix.net Website: www.firstpointminerals.com
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