By ANDREW WAREING
Precious metals and diamonds are topping the list of mining and exploration targets in Timiskaming.
Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) Kirkland Lake district resident geologist Gerhard Meyer says, in addition to the mining and exploration work already underway by Kirkland Lake Gold, there is considerable exploration work underway elsewhere in Timiskaming.
On July 9, Queenston Mining announced the start of an eight-hole, 3,000 metre diamond drill program on its 100 per cent-owned Lake Abitibi gold project located in northeastern Ontario, approximately 80 kilometres north of Kirkland Lake.
The drilling will target eight gold anomalies that were outlined by a lake-bottom sediment geochemical survey completed during the winter. The targets occur in a geological environment that could host an important gold deposit, the company says.
Apollo Gold Corp. is exploring its Black Fox project, formerly known as the Glimmer Mine, says Meyer. Apollo has completed drilling to define a high-grade, near-surface gold resource amenable to open-pit mining.
Drilling at Black Fox Deep continues to outline new ore shoots along a strike length of 1,000 feet, a recent company report states.
Sudbury Contact reactivated diamond exploration on its properties in the New Liskeard area and is currently conducting a bulk-sampling program on its 92-2 kimberlite pipe. There are a considerable number of untested targets to explore, says Meyer.
Sudbury Contact’s Timiskaming Diamond Project straddles the provincial border in Northern Ontario/northwestern Quebec. The company has a 100 per cent interest in 265 claims that cover over 33,000 hectares (83,000 acres) in these two provinces.
The discovery of kimberlite boulders and kimberlite indicator minerals, in conjunction with geophysics, led to the discovery of two clusters of kimberlite pipes near Kirkland Lake and in the New Liskeard area. About 30 kimberlite pipes have been discovered.
On July 18, Sudbury Contact reported in a press release that there was “large tonnage potential and good diamond recoveries” in kimberlite pipe 95-2. They also reported a mini-bulk sample program was to be extended to western portion of kimberlite 95-2 with total mini-bulk sample of 500 tonnes on the entire kimberlite deposit planned for the fourth quarter.
Several companies are exploring the Temagami area for diamonds. Cabo Mining out of Vancouver has struck an interesting twist in Lorraine Township south of Cobalt with the discovery of diamonds in lamprophyre and associated heterolithic breccias, similar to diamond discoveries made in Wawa, he says.
“They’ve found some diamonds, but it’s a little early yet to know what the potential is,” he says. “Of course, the cost of analyzing a sample takes time and money.”
www.sudburycontact.com
www.cabo.ca
www.queenston.ca
www.apollogold.com
www.klgold.com
www.mndm.gov.on.ca
