Promising drill results at Eagle Plains's Iron Range
dailytownsman.com
December 8, 2010
Gerry Warner
gerry@dailytownsman.com
Eagle Plains Resources Ltd., a Cranbrook-based Jr. exploration company is riding high on the TSX Venture Exchange these days, after some promising drill results from its Iron Range property 15 km northeast of Creston.
The company's share price, was languishing in the 10 to 12 cent range last summer, but has since soared as high as $1.08-a-share, creating a flutter on the market and in Kootenay mining circles.
The stock began to climb after news was released about drill intercepts containing massive and semi-massive sulphides along with gold mineralization from the autumn drill program. Drilling is currently suspended for the results to be analyzed more closely, but is expected to resume early in the New Year.
The 56,200 hectare Iron Range Property is located on the same mineralized horizon as the incredibly rich Sullivan mine 70 km to the north, which produced close to $50 billion at today's metal prices over its 100 year lifetime. "The partners are encouraged by observations made to date of existing drill cores," says Eagle Plains President and CEO Tim J. Termunde.
However, in a release issued Dec. 1, he also said "past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Iron Range property."
Mike Labach, director of investor relations for Eagle Plains, says the results are exciting just the same. "There's an assemblage of rock in the drill core that's indicative of a vent system and it was a vent system that created the Sullivan deposit. This has encouraged us to continue our drill program further."
The discovery occurred on hole two of a two-hole drilling program and if it hadn't happened "it would have been back to the drawing board," says Labach. The program ended up being a 10-hole program, the results of which will have to be analyzed closely, before determining where to drill and how many holes will be drilled in the New Year.
Over the years, exploration companies have spent around $100 million looking for another Sullivan deposit in the area, Labach says. "But to date this has been the best hole and we think there are indications of a bigger ore body yet. It's obviously a very good sign that we may be close to something."
The Iron Range deposits were originally staked in 1897 and were covered by Crown Grants held by Cominco Ltd. and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Past work on the Iron Range deposits by Cominco focused on the considerable iron oxide resource with trenching and very shallow (20m depth) diamond drilling along the Iron Range Mountain ridge.
Eagle Plains staked the current claims immediately after the Crown Grants reverted in 2000 and have been exploring the property since then. Exploration work to date includes geological mapping, geochemical surveys, diamond drilling and a 690 line-km airborne geophysical survey.
Providence Capital Corp., another TSX Venture Exchange listed company, is partnering with Eagle Plains on the project, and is funding the project under terms of an option agreement.
The Iron Range project is owned 100% by Eagle Plains and holds no underlying royalties or encumbrances. Providence holds the option to earn a 60% interest in the Property by spending $3,000,000 on exploration, making $500,000 in cash payments and issuing 1,000,000 shares to EPL over 4 years.
The company says the claims are well-situated with respect to infrastructure with a high-pressure gas pipeline, high-voltage hydroelectric line, railway and major highway all located within property boundaries.
Additional staff have been added to the project crew to assist in core-logging and sampling operations. Analytical results will be released as they are received, compiled and interpreted. |
