Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (EPL:TSX-V) and Providence Resources Corp. (TSX-V:PV) have completed 5 additional diamond drill holes since the re-commencement of drilling on the Iron Range project in January 2011, for a total of 15 drill holes and 7,165m of drilling to date.
The 2011 holes (IR11-011 to 015), have been systematically testing the Talon Zone in which significant gold and base-metal mineralization was reported in Hole IR10-010 by Eagle Plains/Providence (see news release Dec 21, 2010). All 5 holes completed during the 2011 program have intersected base metal and gold-related mineralization.
Highlights from Hole IR10-010 included 14.0m grading 5.1g/t gold and 75.3g/t silver from 192.0 to 206.0m and 8.5m grading 6.0g/t gold and 47.8g/t silver from 272.0 to 280.5m. Accompanying base metal values include 13.24% combined lead-zinc over 1.6m from 196.9-198.5m, and 9.24% combined lead-zinc over 2.0m from 277.5-279.5m, the latter of which is interpreted to lie at Sullivan Time.
A total of 450m of new road has been constructed and a second drill will commence work immediately. The budget for the winter 2011 program is currently $1.6M, and is planned to consist of 12-16 holes for a estimated 5,000m (16,000') of drilling. The receipt of permits and construction of new roads will give the partners the ability to utilize step-out drill pad locations, and if warranted, work towards definition of an inferred resource. Additional staff have been added to the project to assist in core-logging and sampling operations. Analytical results will be forthcoming as they are received, compiled and interpreted.
Additional drill targets within a 2.5km radius will continue to test structural features and geochemical signatures for Sullivan-style SEDEX and precious metal mineralization.
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. As announced on November 2nd, an additional 35,800 ha of claims were added to the existing land package, resulting in a total of 56,200 ha - an area approximately 11km x 50km.
Iron Range Project Summary
The Iron Range property consists of 56,200 hectares. 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.
The Iron Mountain structure has been mapped with widths of up to 150m and a strike length of over 50km. Claims held by Eagle Plains cover over 30km of the structure, with significant iron-oxide mineralization occurring over 15km. Copper and gold mineralization have been discovered along the structure, highlighting the potential for iron-oxide copper-gold ("IOCG") mineralized systems associated with the structure. The claims also overlie rocks of the Aldridge Formation, including the same stratigraphic time horizon which hosts the world-class Sullivan Deposit located 70km to the northeast. Over its 100 year lifetime, Sullivan produced approximately 150,000,000 tonnes of ore including 300,000,000 ounces of silver, 8,000,000 tonnes of zinc and 8,000,000 tonnes of lead, collectively worth over $25 billion at current metal prices. The parties caution that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the Iron Range property.
Property History
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.
Drill programs were carried out by Eagle Plains in 2005 and 2008. Swift Resources optioned the property in late 2009 and completed a total of 580m of drilling in 7 holes. One hole was drilled in close proximity to IR 08006 and returned 1.0m grading 7.53 g/t gold. (see EPL news release dated March 5th, 2010). Swift subsequently relinquished their option on the property.
Fieldwork on the Iron Range property is being carried out under the supervision of geologist J.K. Ryley. C.C. Downie, P.Geo. is hereby identified as the overall project supervisor. Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed and approved by T.J. Termuende, P.Geo., hereby designated as a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.
Source: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.