BP reports base metal find on property in Newfoundland

A new base metal discovery has been reported by BP Canada (TSE) on the company’s Daniel’s Pond prospect, about 20 km south of Buchans, Nfld. Although still at an early stage of exploration, the new massive sulphide find at Daniel’s Pond has yielded some encouraging polymetallic intersections in 16 shallow drill holes completed during a 1,900-metre winter program.

The best result reported to date is 5.5 metres grading 18.8% zinc, 1.12% copper, 10.9% lead and 399.5 grams of silver per tonne in hole 5. The zone is comprised of zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold mineralization in discontinuous high- grade bands that have been traced by drilling over a strike length of roughly 1,000 metres.

The discovery lies within BP’s extensive Victoria Lake claim group which covers some 530,000 hectares (2,070 square miles) of prospective base metal and gold terrain in central Newfoundland.

The property is about 20 km west of the Tally Pond joint venture where BP has a 40% interest in another base metal deposit being explored by Noranda. Preliminary reserves for Tally Pond stand at 4.2 million tonnes grading 3.56% copper, 6.55% zinc and 68.14 grams of silver. More tonnage is required to make that deposit economically viable, however.

Meanwhile, at Daniel’s Pond, work is at too early a stage to permit calculation of tonnage and grade, and no metallurgical testwork to assess recoveries has been done yet.

According to BP, the initial discovery at Daniel’s Pond was made in 1989 when high-grade massive sulphides were exposed in a trench over a soil geochemical anomaly. Subsequent drilling located steeply dipping massive sulphide bands which occur in a sericite and carbonate altered host rock.

John Auston, BP’s vice-president of mining, said the discovery at Daniel’s Pond is an outgrowth of a comprehensive base metals program conducted by BP on the prospective Tulks Hill volcanic belt.

The Tulks belt is a 100-km long highly mineralized zone south of the former Buchans base metal deposits. Numerous other base metal showings are known along the Tulks belt, also.

“The company has a long-term commitment to base metals exploration in this area, and Daniel’s Pond represents an early affirmation of this strategy,” said Auston.

Robert Horn, vice-president of exploration for BP, said a follow-up drilling program is planned for May. Field activities are currently on hold until the end of spring breakup, he said. This summer’s work program will include drilling for extensions at depth and along strike as well as investigation of nearby targets.

Inco (TSE) has also been drilling another base metal find about 10 km north of Daniel’s Pond.

Highlights from the recently announced drill holes are as follows: Length Copper Zinc Lead Silver Hole (m) (%) (%) (%) (g/t) 2 4.9 — 7.31 3.62 155.4 3 1.4 — 11.50 4.65 312.6 5 5.5 1.12 18.82 10.92 399.5 7 3.2 — 7.46 3.64 130.4 8 2.7 0.43 5.51 3.44 45.4 4.65 0.30 3.46 2.36 101.6 9 2.95 — 0.92 0.76 1,928.0 11 4.85 0.30 5.12 2.76 86.7 12 4.7 0.55 10.41 4.76 217.4 15 7.2 0.22 1.31 0.23 14.3 4.5 0.42 7.56 5.02 226.2 16 15.75 0.25 1.25 0.15 17.2