ONTARIO Thunder Bay's METALCORP LTD. says it has found a significant new copper/nickel/platinum/palladium deposit on its 100%-owned Big Lake property near Marathon. Three separate and distinct mineralized zones, including one consisting of predominantly copper-zinc and silver, were intersected during a nine-hole drill program while testing EM anomalies to shallow depths of approximately 100-150 metres.
The most significant of these new zones are the magmatic Cu-Ni and reef-type Pt-Pd mineralization associated with the Big Lake Peridotite, a large mafic-ultramafic layered intrusive believed to be of Proterozoic age. This zone assayed up to 1.0% Cu and 0.7% Ni in two holes (8 and 12). MetalCorp believes the zones share characteristics with the Noril'sk and Talnakh deposits of Siberia as well as the Voisey's Bay deposit of Labrador. Photos of the drill core are available at www.MetalCorp.ca along with a fuller explanation of the mineralization.
The company said a new platinum/palladium zone was intersected by two other holes (5 and 6). Calling this formation the J4 reef, MetalCorp reported assays of 1.1 g/t Pt+Pd, 0.1% Cu and 0.2% Ni over separate intersections of about 2 metres from the two holes.
MetalCorp plans to follow-up on the new discoveries immediately. A program of down-hole geophysics using Crone's borehole Pulse EM system will be used to precisely locate the airborne conductors to allow for more accurate placement of the drill set-ups. Once the results for the geophysical program are received, a Phase 2 drill program will be designed and initiated.
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