The Conversation (0)
Foran Mining (TSXV:FOM) confirmed and expanded massive sulphide mineralization at the Thunder Zone on the Balsam property which is southeast of Foran’s McIlvenna Bay deposit in east-central Saskatchewan.
Patrick Soares, President and CEO, said: “Our 2015 winter exploration program has successfully achieved its goal of expanding the Thunder Zone massive sulphide mineralization on the Balsam property. The Thunder Zone is thickening down plunge to the northwest and is open, both to the northwest and to the southeast. Drilling is underway on the historic Bigstone Deposit, 25 km to the west, with results expected in the coming weeks.”
- Follow-up drilling intersects additional massive sulphide mineralization, including 5.0% Cu, 2.1% Zn, 0.84g/t Au and 41g/t Ag over 2.62m in an ~12m thick sulphide-rich interval in BA-15-80 & 2.0% Cu, 3.5% Zn, 0.37g/t Au and 12g/t Ag over 3.46m, followed downhole by 0.7% Cu, 7.2% Zn, 0.29g/t Au and 43 g/t Ag over 3.70m within an ~15m thick sulphide-rich interval in BA-15-831
- Thunder Zone open — only a portion of the anomaly has been tested
- With three deposits, Hanson Lake shows potential to develop into a new VMS camp
- Drilling at Bigstone underway — results in the coming weeks
1Cu = copper, Zn = zinc, Au = gold, Ag = silver, m = metres.
… In 2013, a single hole drilled by Foran into a newly identified geophysical anomaly hit high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (“VMS”) mineralization in the Thunder Zone, with 4.1% Cu and 0.43 g/t Au over 3.66m, including 10.6% Cu and 0.70 g/t Au over 1.1min BA-13-77. Drilling in the current program stepped out from BA-13-77 and cut thick intercepts of copper- and zinc-rich VMS mineralization in four of the five holes drilled, confirming a significant new blind discovery close to McIlvenna Bay. The Thunder Zone is open along strike, where drilling to date has only begun to test the extent of this deposit.
Patrick Soares, President and CEO of Foran commented “Based on Foran’s exploration and discoveries of VMS mineralization around McIlvenna Bay, we believe the Hanson Lake Camp will develop into a long-lived mining camp similar to Flin Flon and Snow Lake.” Soares continued “Our 2015 winter exploration program has successfully achieved its goal of expanding the Thunder Zone massive sulphide mineralization on the Balsam property. The Thunder Zone is thickening down plunge to the northwest and is open, both to the northwest and to the southeast. Drilling is underway on the historic Bigstone Deposit, 25 km to the west, with results expected in the coming weeks.”
The 2015 Thunder Zone drilling followed-up 2013 drill hole BA-13-77 and continued to test a conductor plate modeled from a 2013 deep-penetrating time-domain electromagnetic geophysical (“DEEP-EM”) survey.
Mineralization in holes BA-15-80 to -83 is comprised of massive to semi-massive and stringer to disseminated sulphide mineralization with various combinations of pyrite-pyrrhotite-spalerite-chalcopyrite-arsenopyrite-galena-magnetite. Alteration intensity and mineral assemblages of the host volcanic strata are similar to those at McIlvenna Bay. Significant assay intervals are summarized in Table 1 and drill hole data is presented in Table 2.
… Drilling to date indicates the Thunder Zone massive sulphides strike northwest, dip approximately 35-45o to the southwest and lunge gently (approximately 7o) to the northwest. Drill indicated thicknesses of mineralization at the Thunder Zone range from approximately 4 to 15m. True thickness is interpreted to be approximately 85% of drill indicated. Mineralized intercepts start at depths of 265 to 350m below surface.
Click here to read the Foran Mining (TSXV:FOM) press release
Click here to see the Foran Mining (TSXV:FOM) profile.