New Report on Rocklandhttps://www.vantagewire.com/blasts/20110125rlbottomline/
Leonard Melman
January 2011
Rockland Minerals - All the makings of a Winner in 2011
Click Here for a Free Real-time Stock Quote onTSX-V: RL
Vancouver-based Rockland Minerals Corp. (TSX-V; RL, 18.4 M shares)has positioned itself to take advantage of several important elementswhich could have a significantly positive impact on the company'sfuture.
Positioning. Rockland has 2 properties, both ofwhich are in the right metals at the right time. The company has a Goldproperty and a Copper-Nickel-Platinum Group Metals (PGM) property,both located within 60 kilometers of each other. Price quotes for themetals involved in their projects have been rising steadily over thepast several years and now stand near or at multi-year or historic highlevels as of early 2011.
Infrastructure. Rockland's Schefferville Gold Project and the Retty Lake Project arelocated in NE Quebec in the vicinity of the town of Scheffervillewhich is connected by rail to the St. Lawrence Seaway center ofSept-Isles. Other area infrastructure assets include an airport,seaplane base and hydroelectric power lines. Large iron ore miningprojects are going into production in the surrounding area.
Jurisdiction. The Province of Quebec isconsistently named the one of the world's most attractive jurisdictionin the highly-regarded Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies.Quebec offers explorers and developers a valuable "Tax ExplorationRebate" program.
People.Both Rockland projects have been optioned from legendary geologistErnest D. Black, P. Eng., P. Geo., who has 55 years of experiencedeveloping mines and making discoveries. Most recently his originalPeppler Lake and Lamalee Iron deposits (now owned by Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd.- takeover target at $17.25 per share) were classified as indicatedand inferred resources. Mr. Black is a Senior Advisor to Rockland andlarge shareholder.
Results. Rockland has been quietly working awaysince its IPO a few months ago, and both properties have produced earlyresults that could make 2011 a huge year for the Company. Read on…
SCHEFFERVILLE GOLD PROPERTY
TheSchefferville Gold Property was only discovered in the mid-1980'sthrough sophisticated lake-bottom geochemical surveys by the Québecgovernment. Gold mineralization in this area had lain hidden untilthat time, because its finely disseminated nature did not favourdevelopment of placer gold nuggets at the surface. There was only onewave of serious exploration in the area, with limited drilling in1987-1989. Some important names like Hemlo Gold, Soquem, IOCC andNorthern Dynasty took land positions, but gold values that werediscovered at the surface and in the drilling did not supportdevelopment at the prevailing gold price.
Fast forward to 2010 and Rockland is starting to uncover what could be Quebec's next major gold play.
Rockland acquired its option on the Schefferville Gold in lateAugust, 2010 from fellow explorer Western Troy Capital Resources Inc.and quickly moved forward with first phase drilling on IP targets onthe Arséne block of the property.
First phase drilling results have confirmed widespread disseminated gold mineralization.Among the highlights from recent drill programs are 2.03 metersassayed at 10.21 g/t Au at Hole No. WT09-04; 1.10 meters assayed at9.92 g/t Au at Hole No. RL 10-17; and 1.20 meters assayed at 6.63 g/tAu, also at Hole No. RL 10-17. These results are highly encouraging andRockland is planning its next round of drilling on the property for2011.
Table 1--Highest Gold Values--Rockland/Western Troy--2009-2010*
|
Hole
|
starting from
|
intercept length
|
Au
|
|
Number
|
(metres)
|
(metres)
|
g/t
|
|
WT09-04
|
53.85 m
|
2.03 metres
|
10.21 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-17
|
57.30 m
|
1.10 metres
|
9.92 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-17
|
11.45 m
|
1.20 metres
|
6.63 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-04
|
57.91 m
|
2.02 metres
|
5.93 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-02
|
25.40 m
|
1.01 metres
|
2.43 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-13
|
146.50 m
|
4.80 metres
|
1.03 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-16
|
113.50 m
|
1.00 metres
|
1.09 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-03
|
5.79 m
|
1.92 metres
|
1.21 g/t Au
|
Table 2--Longest Anomalous Gold Intercepts--Rockland/Western Troy--2009-2010*
|
Hole
|
starting from
|
intercept length
|
Au
|
|
Number
|
(metres)
|
(metres)
|
g/t
|
|
WT09-04
|
40.39 m
|
19.50 metres
|
2.23 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-17
|
11.45 m
|
8.25 metres
|
1.24 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-17
|
49.70 m
|
12.55 metres
|
1.05 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-02
|
22.35 m
|
3.04 metres
|
0.957 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-13
|
145.30 m
|
9.50 metres
|
0.611 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-18
|
9.40 m
|
4.38 metres
|
0.285 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-05
|
44.20 m
|
21.81 metres
|
0.227 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-18
|
35.43 m
|
6.50 metres
|
0.223 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-10
|
101.48 m
|
16.02 metres
|
0.202 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-06
|
30.47 m
|
10.10 metres
|
0.153 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-03
|
4.57 m
|
6.58 metres
|
0.145 g/t Au
|
|
RL10-14
|
33.55 m
|
17.30 metres
|
0.136 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-04
|
25.38 m
|
9.09 metres
|
0.117 g/t Au
|
|
WT09-06
|
44.70 m
|
21.26 metres
|
0.094 g/t Au
|
* Note: this is an area of complex structural geology. In all cases, sample
lengths shown here are core lengths only, and not necessarily true lengths.
It is important to note that these results were obtained fromnear-surface drilling at depths ranging only to approximately 100 - 150meters and this conforms with company geologists' ideas that thedeposit could become amenable to bulk-tonnage exploitation from thesurface. Two files can be downloaded from the Rockland website showing graphical illustrations of the truly disseminated nature of the gold within these broad intercepts.
"Sweet Spots"
Rockland believes that these broad envelopes of consistentlyanomalous gold values found in the recent drilling campaigns arepointing to the presence of a bulk mineable, disseminated gold depositon the Arséne block. Supporting this conclusion are the "sweet spots"of higher grade gold mineralization within these anomalous gold zones.
Rocklandbelieves that continued exploration will expand these zones of highergrade, and that many of the low-grade envelopes discovered in thedrilling are within typical cutoff grades being used worldwide for openpit gold deposits.
Geologists indicate that gold in the project regions is found inassociation with sulphides in silicate iron formations which appear tobe analogous with known gold-bearing iron formation of the Homestake,Jardine and Cotowayto Lake mines, with South Dakota's Homestake beingthe best-known, having produced 28 million ounces of gold during itslong life span. Information gleaned from the two recent drillprograms indicates that mineralization is associated with strongarsenopyrite.
In his analysis of the Fall 2010 drill program, company DirectorGeorge F. Sanders, P. Geo. (a Qualified Person under NI 43-101) stated,"...It is very important to emphasize that there are absolutely noquartz veins anywhere on the Schefferville Gold Project...We willdevelop new drill targets in a short time to chase these broad goldenvelopes, and find the higher gold grades which we now know to exist."
2011 Exploration
Rockland now plans to use the spring and summer of 2011 for mapping,sampling and ground geophysics to determine further drilling targets andplans to conduct another drill program as soon as possible in 2011.
RETTY LAKE PROJECT
Retty Lake is a Copper, Nickel, Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)property in the heart of the Labrador Trough. Company geologistsbelieve the property has the capability for the discovery ofeconomically important massive and disseminated Cu-Ni-PGE bearingsulphide deposits. The reason is simple, the Retty Lake Property is on trend with 4 known adjacent Copper-Nickel-PGMlenses (known as the "Blue Lake Lenses") and the goal of Rockland isto discover additional mineralized lenses along a NW trend.
Retty Lake Cu-Ni-PGM Property and "Blue Lake" lenses.
Thecompany completed an airborne survey over the Retty Lake property in2010. The survey greatly enhanced Rockland's targeting along the baseof the favourable middle peridotite unit -- the ore-maker at the BlueLake cluster of Cu-Ni-PGE sulfide lenses (Blue Lake, Centre and Pogolenses). The100-metre helicopter flight-line spacing providednever-before seen views of the conductors, extending along strike, fromthe Blue Lake
sulfide lenses onto the Rockland claims.
2011 Exploration
Rockland plans to develop a 2011 drill program to test the lowercontact zone of the middle peridotite unit in the NW Retty Lake area,also located close to the Blue Lake lenses.
Retty Lake Deposit?
Under the old rules, companies weren't required to file theirexploration results, but the Québec government reports that there arefour main sulfide lenses comprising the Blue Lake cluster, and thateach lens contains about 1 Mt of mineralized material, averagingapproximately 0.5% Ni and slightly less than 1% Cu, and about 1 g/tcombined Pt-Pd. There are repeated postings of a "Retty Lake Deposit"in the Québec literature on the shore of Retty Lake, squarely withinRockland's claims, rumoured to contain over a million tonnes at similargrades. Needless to say, this area will be Rockland's first drilltarget! (These estimates are historical in nature, do not comply with NI 43-101 requirements and may not be accurate.)
Investors should be aware of what could be a major developing story in and around Retty Lake. In late 2010, Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd invested $1 Millionin neighboring company, Western Troy Capital. The main reason behindthe $1 Million investment according to the news release is the newlydiscovered Deborah Lake Gold-Copper property located a few kilometerseast of Rockland's Retty property. This cash injectionfrom Agnico-Eagle will translate into a lot more activity in thisemerging area of Quebec's Labrador Trough.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Rockland's properties are located in an areawhich has shown similarities to other major deposit regions such asMalartic, Cadillac and Val d'Or. While the Schefferville area has beenunder-explored for decades due to unfavorable metals prices duringearlier years, that is now changing due to much more favorable recentmetals prices and the potential exists for the development of an "areaplay" psychology.
Early analysis of recent drill programscombined with historic data at both Schefferville Gold and Retty Lakehas suggested targets for future drilling programs and companygeologists continue to focus on finding continuously mineralized zones,with a good possibility of discovering economic tonnages at today'smetals prices.