RFM:
Rimfire begins drilling at RDN project
Rimfire Minerals Corp RFM
Shares issued 12,184,621 Aug 1 2002 close $ 0.36
Friday August 2 2002 News Release
Also Barrick Gold Corp (ABX) News Release
Also First Au Strategies Corp (FAV) News Release
Mr. David Caulfield of Rimfire reports
DRILLING COMMENCES AT THE RDN
Barrick Gold has notified Rimfire that drilling has commenced at the RDN project, northwest British Columbia. Barrick is financing a 3,000-metre (10,000-foot) drill program at the RDN property, 40 kilometres northwest of Barrick's Eskay Creek gold-silver mine in northwest British Columbia. In April of this year, a letter of agreement was signed granting Barrick an option to earn a 75-per-cent interest in the property, in return for $1.5-million in exploration expenditures (as reported in Stockwatch April 25, 2002). After vesting, Barrick must finance all exploration and engineering until a positive decision to mine has been reached. Exploration will focus on testing Eskay-equivalent stratigraphy at the RDN. Previous work by Rimfire and its partners has identified a number of target areas that are highlighted by gold-arsenic+/-silver, copper, lead, zinc in soil geochemistry and the presence of gold-bearing, footwall feeder-style quartz-sulphide veining. Drilling will continue at the Wedge zone, where drilling in 2001 intersected strong footwall-style alteration and mineralization in three holes on section 9400N (as reported in Stockwatch Nov. 30, 2001). On this drill section, footwall dacites are pervasively potassium feldspar and sericite-altered with local zones of silicification. Mineralization hosted within this alteration includes pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and importantly, sulphosalts (tetrahedrite/tennantite). This alteration and mineralization, combined with chalcedonic quartz, orpiment, pyrobitumen and elevated mercury in the footwall rocks, are characteristic of shallow marine precious metal-rich systems such as Eskay Creek.
In addition to the Wedge zone, Barrick will be testing other zones including the Jungle anomaly. Previous work at the Jungle in 1999 targeted a 100-by-450-metre gold-arsenic soil anomaly overlying favourable stratigraphy, where a boulder sample of a pyritic argillite assayed 25.4 grams per tonne gold. Two holes in 1999 did not reach target depth, but one did intersect 5.19 g/t gold over 1.1 metres.
Other exploration activities
Thorn project, northwest British Columbia
First Au Strategies will be financing a 450-metre (1,500-foot) drill program on the Thorn property. First Au is earning a 51-per-cent interest in the high-grade gold-silver-copper epithermal vein target in northwest British Columbia by incurring $1.2-million in exploration expenditures, and paying $190,000 and 250,000 shares by Dec. 31, 2004. The property is host to 17 significant mineralized vein showings, geophysical and geochemical evidence suggests that additional mineralization may be present on the property. Prospecting within a multielement soil geochemical anomaly earlier in 2002 identified a new zone, the Oban zone, where a float sample assayed 6,149 g/t (179 ounces per ton) silver, 3.5 g/t gold, 40 per cent lead and 3.5 per cent zinc. A total of six holes is planned to test the I zone (two holes), Tamdhu zone (two holes), MP vein (one hole) and the L zone (one hole). Further surface work will also be conducted to advance other targets on the property to the drill stage.
Pogo district, Alaska
In March of this year, AngloGold (U.S.A) Ltd. optioned two properties from Rimfire in the Goodpaster district of Alaska, in the vicinity of TeckCominco/Sumitomo's Pogo gold deposit (5.5 million ounces at 0.55 of an ounce per ton). AngloGold can earn up to a 70-per-cent interest in the two properties (Eagle and ER-Ogo-Fire) by making staged cash payments totalling $100,000 (U.S.) per property and conducting $900,000 (U.S.) in exploration expenditures per property. AngloGold is currently completing mapping, prospecting, and soil and rock geochemical surveys, to aid in identification of targets for future drill testing.
William's gold project, north-central British Columbia
Stikine Gold Corporation recently optioned the William's Gold project (formerly the Bill project). Stikine will be exploring this gold target located 290 kilometres north of Smithers, B.C., in August of this year with ground-based IP geophysical surveying, prospecting and mapping, to refine targets for diamond drilling in 2003. The William's gold project is host to two styles of mineralization; high-grade gold in quartz-carbonate-sulphide veins and low-grade, disseminated and fracture-controlled mineralization peripheral to high-grade veins. Previous operators conducted diamond drilling programs in 1983 and 1984, targeting the core of a structural dome that lies within a 2,100-by-3,000-metre gold (approximately 100 parts per billion) and arsenic (approximately 200 parts per million) soil geochemical anomaly. Results of this drilling include two metres of 35 g/t gold, four metres of 11 g/t gold and two metres of 24.8 g/t gold. Encompassing the high-grade intercepts are long intersections (148.7 metres of 1.17 g/t gold) of disseminated and fracture-controlled mineralization, which point to the bulk-tonnage potential of the property.
Adam property, northwest British Columbia
Rimfire staked the Adam property in the spring of this year, based on the large size of a coincident copper-gold soil anomaly, the extent of gold mineralization reported on the property and the excellent exploration potential for copper-gold porphyry-style mineralization indicated by previous workers. Rimfire will be initiating a field evaluation of this target to assess the potential of the project in mid-August.
Tide property, northwest British Columbia
The Tide property, located 36 kilometres from tidewater at Stewart, B.C., covers a large polymetallic mineralized system in the heart of the Stewart-Unuk-Iskut metallogenic belt. Rimfire purchased a 100-per-cent interest in the property from Newmont Canada Limited subject to a 1.5-per-cent net smelter return royalty and a three-year first right of refusal. Preliminary fieldwork in September, 2001, resulted in the discovery of massive sulphide vein float assaying 105 g/t gold and 598 g/t Ag associated with a prominent linear, the Arrow fault, trending 1,600 metres in a north-south direction. The company is in advanced negotiations with a third party to option the property.
Yukon Reconnaissance
Rimfire has accessed a grant made available to companies exploring in the Yukon under the Yukon Mineral Incentive Program (YMIP), whereby qualified groups may receive a grant for up to 75 per cent of qualified expenditures (maximum of $15,000) for reconnaissance programs. Rimfire has been approved for four of these programs. These work programs have been completed and the company is awaiting geochemical results.
Warrants exercised
In addition to the recently announced financings (as reported in Stockwatch July 9, 2002, and April 16, 2002), Rimfire has received $581,333.30 through the exercise of 1,411,333 share purchase warrants in fiscal 2002. At present, the company has 12,184,621 shares outstanding and over $1.1-million in working capital. |
