Minnova, Laramide plan work on Lara

Laramide’s purchase of the property last year from troubled Abermin Corp. (TSE) was financed by selling 2.5 million of its shares to Minnova which now owns 29.7% of the company; Minnova can earn a further two million shares by spending $2.5 million on exploration work.

Although gold has declined in recent months, Albert Reeve, Laramide president, estimates “the net smelter return of our ore has probably risen 15-20%” given higher base metal prices.

Exploration is expected to resume this April and the joint venture will be drilling down some deeper holes from surface. The underground workings are pre sently flooded. — 30 — file: V:PIERC file: ferro-v danielson March 30/89 Drilling Hits New Zone on Ferro Mine Project

VANCOUVER — The recent and unexpected discovery of a new mineralized zone on the Ferro Mine property near Snow Lake, Man., has given Pierce Mountain Resources (VSE) an important new exploration focus for its 1989 program.

Jonathan George, president, said the Gold Dust Shear zone was encountered along a rhyolite-andesite contact which represents the southern limb of a major syncline. The company estimates the zone has a total strike length of 3,000 ft across the Ferro claims and a recently-acquired adjoining claim block, with the zone still open to the east and west.

Discovery hole 23 intersected 14.8 ft of 0.748 oz gold, while a step out hole 100 ft along strike intersected 11.4 ft of 0.373 oz gold and 15.65 ft of 0.206 oz.

Hole 31 was drilled 600 ft along strike from the discovery hole and intersected 7 ft of 0.743 oz. Hole 24, drilled 700 ft from the discovery hole, intersected 7.2 ft of 0.110 oz and 5.3 ft of 0.076 oz.

“What has us excited is that this is the southern limb of a syncline,” said George. “We have some idea of the potential of the southern limb, and if it repeats itself on the northern side this would be a significant development.”

The new zone is located about 1,500 ft from the Ferro Main zone, described as a narrower vein system with high grade material. Up until the recent discovery, Pierce Mountain was aiming to prove up 250,000 tons of about 0.25 oz in the Main Ferro zone area. This would include previously calculated reserves of 73,000 tons of 0.39 oz and a further 11,000 tons of 0.34 oz gold in the possible category, based on work by previous operators which had sunk a shaft to 543 ft and completed 4,862 ft of drifting on four levels.

“We now feel the Main zone is a later stage system that has travelled along the fault,” said George. “We believe the Gold Dust Shear zone is probably the ultimate source of the mineralization on all this ground.”

An extensive drill program valued at $2.0 million is slated to begin in June, to include about 60,000 ft of drilling concentrated on the Gold Dust shear zone, and on the northern arm of the syncline which is found on the Ferro Mine claims.

Pierce Mountain is earning an 80% interest in the Ferro Mine property, and has an agreement to acquire a 50% interest in the KUS claims which cover some 2,200 acres totally surrounding the Ferro Mine claims. The company is currently negotiating to acquire the remaining interest.

Earlier this year, the company acquired an 80% interest in the 3,165-acre NOC claims which cover the southern portion of the northeast striking volcanic-sedimentary rock sequence which hosts the nearby past producing Rex-Laguna mine. Pierce Mountain’s total holdings in the prolific Flin Flon/Snow Lake greenstone belt now total over 5,000 acres.

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