RE: News...here it isDRILLING COMPLETED AT THE WESTPORT GOLD PROJECT BARKERVILLE, B.C.
An exploration drill program has been completed on Williams Creek Explorations' historic Westport gold project located near Barkerville, B.C. The program consisted of five diamond drill holes totalling 1,007.1 metres. A quality control program was put in place which included the insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the sample stream. Analyses were carried out by ALS Chemex Labs of North Vancouver, B.C. Vin Campbell, PhD, PGeo, was the qualified person on the project under the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.
The holes were designed to test geophysical anomalies that were generated by an induced polarization (IP) geophysics program carried out by the company earlier this year. The anomalies were high-chargeability and low-resistivity features that were interpreted to represent elevated concentrations of sulphides. High sulphide contents are associated with gold mineralization in the recently discovered Bonanza Ledge deposit, which is located on ground immediately adjacent to the company's property holdings. The most significant IP anomaly is situated along the projected strike, and to the southeast, of the Bonanza Ledge and spatially associated BC Vein, which produced some of the first gold-quartz ore in the district.
The Westport project consists of 28 Crown granted claims wholly owned by the company that straddle two of the most productive alluvial gold streams of the Barkerville gold camp, Williams Creek and Stouts Gulch. The company's holdings also include the Black Jack claim where some of the earliest lode gold mining was carried out in the province of British Columbia. The property directly adjoins that of International Wayside Gold Mines Ltd. (Wayside) which announced in 2000 the discovery of high-grade-gold Bonanza Ledge deposit hosted in a new geologic setting from that of previously recognized to host gold mineralization in the area.
Drilling results
The following table lists the significant intersections from the drill program:
TABLE 1
SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS
OF 2003 DRILL PROGRAM
Hole From To Interval
(m) (m) (m)
DDH-03-01 71.60 74.30 2.70
Including 72.80 73.70 0.90
DDH-03-01 80.90 82.10 1.20
including 80.90 81.30 0.40
DDH-03-01 111.90 119.00 7.10
Including 111.60 117.15 0.55
DDH-03-02 203.90 204.50 0.60
Including 203.90 204.10 0.20
TABLE 1
SIGNIFICANT INTERSECTIONS
OF 2003 DRILL PROGRAM
Hole From To Gold Recovery
(m) (m) (g/t) (%)
DDH-03-01 71.60 74.30 1.80 75%
Including 72.80 73.70 1.21 22%
DDH-03-01 80.90 82.10 156.30 100%
including 80.90 81.30 468.00* 100%
DDH-03-01 111.90 119.00 3.13 100%
Including 111.60 117.15 33.80 100%
DDH-03-02 203.90 204.50 3.51 80%
Including 203.90 204.10 10.05 80%
*A metallics check assay carried out on this sample interval returned 660 grams per tonne (19.25 ounces per ton) gold.
All five drill holes encountered significant amounts of pyrite, confirming the source of the geophysical anomalies. Correlating the geologic logs of the drill holes with the assay data has revealed that gold is associated with only certain varieties of pyrite, namely pyrite in quartz veins and zones of fine-grained massive pyrite. Volumetrically, the dominant forms of pyrite are interpreted not to be associated with the genesis of gold mineralization, however. This understanding suggests that the drill holes, which were designed to test the geophysical anomaly, may not have been oriented in the best way to intersect gold mineralization.
Holes DDH-03-03 and 05 were drilled from south to north, more or less down dip, subparallel to the compositional layering. Both of these holes reached their high-chargeability, low-resistivity geophysical targets which are associated with faulted, very pyritic and graphitic argillaccous rocks with insignificant gold values, however they were poorly oriented to cross these same geologic units that are considered prospective for gold mineralization. Holes DDI-1-03-01, 02 and 04 were drilled from north to south, oriented almost perpendicular to the compositional layering. All of these holes intersected pyritic quartz veins of up to 1.5 metres in width. One quartz vein (DDH-03-01, 80.9 to 81.3 metres) contained visible gold. The assay from this 0.4-metre section returned a value of 468 g/t (13.65 ounces per ton) gold. A metallics assay of this same section returned 660 parts per million (19.25 ounces per ton) gold. Hole DDH-03-01 is located closest to the boundary of the property with the holdings of Wayside and intersected a 0.90-metre section of massive pyrite which returned 1.21 g/t gold. This intersection is considered significant as it closely resembles the style of mineralization which constitutes the Bonanza Ledge discovery. As a result of the friable nature of the pyrite there was about 20-per-cent recovery over this intersection. Hole DDH-03-02 was located roughly 400 metres to the southeast from hole DDH-03-01.
Holes 01 and 02 were drilled very close to historic trenching carried out on the property in 1995. The trenching encountered significant gold mineralization hosted in a similar geologic setting to that of the Bonanza Ledge discovery. The results are tabulated below:
TABLE 2
RESULTS OF 1995 TRENCHING PROGRAM
Sample
Trench length Gold Gold
(m) (g/t) (ounce/ton)
WC95-01 1.4 23-4 0.68
WC95-03 1.8 23.7 0.69
WC95-03 7.7 12.0 0.35
WC95-03 3.3 15.4 0.45
WC95-3N 1.2 21.8 0.63
WC95-3N 1.8 17.1 0.50
The company will use the geologic information from the drill program to update the geologic database on the property, including the results of this past trenching, in order to better plan a program to follow up the results of the drilling.
Future plans
Williams Creek Explorations has held the Westport property since its purchase in 1946. In light of the new Bonanza Ledge discovery by International Wayside on ground immediately joining the property, and subsequent to a review of the past work on the property, management is excited by the potential of the property to host a significant gold deposit. The drill results reported today confirm the presence of significant gold mineralization in this area of the property. The data will be examined by the management and the geologic team to better understand the setting of the mineralization intersected in order to design a program to follow up the results of this work.