Imperial Metals, a mine development and operating company, has announced the exploration results from the 2011 surface diamond drill program conducted at its Ruddock Creek property, which is situated 155 km northeast of Kamloops in British Columbia.
Apart from this drill project on the Lower E zone, the company used four surface diamond drills to finish the surface drilling of the Q, V and Creek zones. Highlights of the drill testing comprise Q zone drill hole RD-11-Q8 that intersected 6.88 m grading 2.12% lead and 12.49% zinc, and V zone drill hole RD-11-V10 that intersected 16.52 m grading 1.61% lead and 9.62% zinc.
Although the company is focusing on the core E zone, it is also exploring other identified zones along the Ruddock Creek Sulphide Horizon. Drilling on the V and Q zones has validated lead or zinc mineralization across mineable thicknesses over 4 km west of the E zone, substantiating the possibility to additionally extend the resource. So far, on the E zone 19,579 m of underground drilling and 27,496 m of surface drilling have been completed by the company, in addition to 180 m of incline and 1,291 m of decline for underground exploration purposes.
The drill project analyzed the Q and V zones and further outlined the Creek zone. The Q and V are situated at the Ruddock Creek Sulphide horizon’s western end. The project included 5 drill holes totaling 1,893 m in the Q zone, 8 drill holes totaling 3,147 m in the V zone, and 17 drill holes totaling 5,701 m in the Creek zone.
The company started the surface drilling project in July and completed it by mid-October 2011. Till date, the drilling has defined the mineralization for 400 m in a north-south direction and 600 m in an east-west direction to a vertical depth of about 400 m.
The Q zone is found 4.5 km to the west of the E zone outcrop. It is a rotated block 1 km in strike length with mineralization plunging northeast at about -30°. The V zone is situated 3.0 km west of the E zone outcrop. It is also a rotated block 1 km in strike length where the mineralization is striking east-west and plunging north at -65°. The Creek zone is situated 1.5 km to the west of the E zone outcrop. The 2011 drill program successfully intersected the mineralization over a vertical depth of 300 m and a strike length of 120 m from surface.
A detailed report will be completed in early 2012 that will be used to assess the next phase of exploration on the Ruddock Creek property. Drilling samples from the Ruddock Creek were evaluated at Acme Analytical Laboratories in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Source: http://www.imperialmetals.com/