RE: Worth a look....junior next doorAlexander Project, Red Lake, Ontario
Conquest's Red Lake property in northwestern Ontario is located immediately east of Goldcorp's Red Lake mine and bounded on three sides by Goldcorp's claim holdings. The Company's property boundary lies approximately 1,000 metres east of Goldcorp's head frame and immediately adjacent to Goldcorp's Far East Zone exploration target. Conquest's property covers over 4,000 metres of favourable geology located in the heart of the Red Lake camp. The property lies almost entirely within the southeast-trending deformation zone known as the "Mine Trend", one of three regional structures identified with the major gold deposits in the Red Lake camp. The property also is associated with complex folding of the Red Lake "Unconformity", potentially another major gold association in the Red Lake camp.
Conquest acquired 27 patented mining claims adjacent to the Goldcorp mine in March 2002, pursuant to an Option/JV Agreement with Energold Minerals Inc. The central Balmer Township claims are contiguous with and immediately adjacent to Goldcorp's prolific Red Lake gold mine, one of the richest gold deposits in the world with over 4,000,000 ounces of historic production.
There has been no exploration carried out on the Property since the early 1980s. Previous work by Alexander Red Lake Mines Ltd. in 1945-47 identified several discontinuous zones of gold mineralisation with up to 0.34 ounces per ton gold (10.6 g/t) over narrow widths. In 1981 and 1982, Getty Canadian Minerals completed 5 shallow drill holes which extended one of the gold zones for over 1,600 metres (~5,250 feet) across the Property.
Adjacent to Goldcorp's Far East Zone
Conquest believes that the surface expression of Goldcorp's Far East Zone mineralization is in close proximity to the southwestern corner of Conquest's claim block. The Far East Zone is one of Goldcorp's main exploration targets in the Red Lake Mine area. The Far East Zone was located by drilling in 1998 and 1999 to the east of the main mine workings, and was found in an area previously thought to have limited potential. The following information is extracted entirely from Goldcorp's public information and published exploration results:
In 2002, Goldcorp launched their biggest ever exploration programme at Red Lake with a budget of US$12million. The programme had four target areas, two which have potential for extensions of known mineralization and two with potential for new areas of mineralization. The Far East Zone is one of these four targets with the potential for new areas of mineralization.
As reported in Goldcorp's 2002 Outlook in describing the Far East Zone Goldcorp "believes that the geological conditions hosting the Red Lake mine may be repeated to the east, in this area, which may continue for up to 5,000 feet (1,534m) east to the property boundary." In describing the potential of the Far East Zone, Goldcorp stated "we believe the Far East Zone has the potential to host both sulphide and high grade style mineralization comparable in size to the Red Lake mine. A repetition of the Red Lake mine mineralization in this area would justify a new mine development."
Goldcorp have issued two announcements of the results for their summer 2002 exploration programme. On May 29, 2002, in its first exploration update, Goldcorp announced "some very significant results", including intersections of sulphide mineralization in the Far East Zone were encountered 400 feet (121.9m) further east than any previous results, with results of up to 1.12 opt (38.3g/t) over 9.6ft (2.9m).
Goldcorp reported that initial results for 2002 from the underground 16 level were very encouraging. The work was able to test the Far East zone over a vertical extent of 1,000 feet (305m) and a lateral distance of 700 feet (213m). These results include a number of highly anomalous intersections and the most easterly intersections of gold mineralization to date in the Far East Zone, 400 feet (122m) to the east of the previous most easterly intersection.
On September 6, 2002, Goldcorp announced continuing exploration success at its Red Lake mine including the suggestion of two (or more) parallel linear structures in the Far East Zone. Goldcorp stated: "the Far East Zone has the potential to host another Red Lake mine. The exploration models suggest that gold mineralization in this area could be controlled by two (or more) parallel linear structures. The first is an upwards projection of the structures hosting the HGZ (Red Lake high grade zone), and the second is interpreted to be to the east and parallel to this first structure."
Goldcorp described the results from underground drilling as encouraging. "Drilling from the 16 level targeted the upward projection of the structure hosting the HGZ (high grade zone). The most impressive intersections were 0.34 opt (10.6g/t) over 37.5 feet (11.4m)including 1.06 opt (33.1m)over 2.5 feet (0.76m). The fact that gold mineralization was encountered over substantial widths and that some holes encountered multiple zones of mineralization is particularly encouraging."
Goldcorp's drilling from the 34 level targeted the projection at depth of the second structural trend which is interpreted to occur in the Far East Zone. "The latest results provided increased confidence in that interpretation and in the continuity of mineralization in that area."
Conquest understands that 47% of Goldcorp's mine exploration budget for the remainder of 2002 is targeted at the Far East Zone. Conquest believes that Conquest's Red Lake property lies immediately to the north and northeast of Goldcorp's Far East Zone target area. Diagrams extracted from 2002 Outlook - Goldcorp Inc.
Mineralized Zones & Structures
Conquest's studies have also identified a number of mineralized structures on the Conquest property itself. These mineralized zones have the same southeasterly trend as the regional "Mine Trend" deformation zone and other structural features which are known to have an important relationship with economic gold mineralization in the Goldcorp and Campbell mines.
It is hypothesized that the surface trace of the extension of the Campbell Fault Zone, a host to significant mineralization at the Campbell and Goldcorp mines, may cross the southwestern corner of the Conquest claim block and may be reflected by a DIGHEM electromagnetic anomaly.
Conquest's property has not been explored since the early 1980s when a 1,600 metre long zone of intermittent gold mineralization was discovered. The gold mineralization is dominantly associated with carbonatized and silicified mafic volcanic rocks (andesites and basalts) as well as with minor mafic and ultra-mafic intrusive bodies and chemical metasediments.
On the Conquest property, there is a noticeable intensity of carbonate veining in the area of the 1981 drilling and associated gold mineralization. Regional distribution of gold mineralization and associated alteration in the Red Lake camp indicates that proximal ferroan-dolomite alteration zones, accompanied by intense potassic metasomatism, and the presence of arsenic and gold, even at trace levels, are prime targets for economic gold mineralization.
Helicopter-borne, DIGHEM electro-magnetic (HEM), VLF-EM, resistivity and magnetic surveys carried out in the 1980s indicate at least 10 conductors present on different parts of the Conquest property, all of which are parallel, or sub-parallel, to the main regional structural trend (the "Mine Trend").
one HEM conductor is associated with the 1,600m gold zone defined in the earlier drill programmes;
a second HEM conductor has been indicated in the southwest part of the Property coincident with the postulated easterly projection of the Campbell Fault Zone;
a third HEM conductor occurs along the northern contact of the Balmer metabasalts and the Bruce Channel metasediments in the west-central part of the property;
other conductors may represent parallel, or sub-parallel, fractures and shear zones; and
an area of high magnetic response coincident with an area of anomalous resistivity lies over the eastern part of the mafic intrusive along its northern, mineralized contact.
These together make up at least six different exploration targets and which will be the subject of Conquest's ongoing exploration programme.
Historical Work
Previous work on Conquest's property occurred in three phases: in 1945-1947, in 1971 and again in 1980-1981, carried out by Alexander Red Lake Mines and Getty Canadian Minerals respectively, and comprised geological mapping, airborne geophysical surveys (DIGHEM EM and magnetics), lithogeochemical sampling and three phases of diamond drilling.
Drilling
In 1946, Alexander completed approximately 23,000 feet (7,000m) of diamond drilling in a 49 shallow hole campaign, not all of which were drilled on the present claims. Approximately 16 of the holes returned anomalous gold values in a series of sub-parallel zones associated with chemical sediments, altered mafic volcanics and ultra-mafic intrusive rocks. The highest intersection was 0.34 ounces per ton gold (10.6 g/t) over 1.4 feet (0.43 m) at a depth of 92 feet (28.0 m). The most continuous zone (approximately 600m) was associated with the northern contact of an ultra-mafic intrusive body and the overlying mafic volcanics.
The mineralized zones are parallel to the "Mine Trend", a three kilometre-wide, southeast-trending zone of structural deformation with which the Cochenour, Campbell and Red Lake Mines are associated, and parallel to the main fault zones and vein trends at the Red Lake and Campbell mines.
In 1971, Alexander drilled four shallow holes totalling approximately 1,440 feet (439m) with only trace gold being intersected (best intersection 0.32 oz/t Ag over 2.5 ft).
In 1980 and 1981, the last time work was carried out on the property, Getty completed airborne and ground geophysical surveys, lithogeochemical sampling and completed approximately 917 metres in five shallow drill holes which yielded trace to weakly anomalous gold values (up to 0.056 oz per ton - 1.75 g/t over 1.0m) and silver values up to 0.35 oz per ton (10.9 g/t) over 4.5m in a series of southeast-trending zones.
This phase of drilling extended the main zone of gold mineralization for a further 1,000m, for a total of >1,600m (5,250 feet). None of the zones have been explored below 100m vertical depth and they remain open along strike and to depth.
A helicopter-borne DIGHEM EM, VLF-EM, resistivity and magnetic survey was completed in March 1980. A total of 252 line kilometres were flown using a Lama helicopter with an average airspeed of 130 km/h and EM bird height of 35m. Flight line spacing appears to have been a nominal 200m. The EM data indicates at least 10 conductors present on the Conquest claims - HEM #1 to #10, all of which are parallel to the regional structural trend of 135-145 degrees. HEM #8 is spatially associated with the 1,600m gold zone defined in the 1946 and 1981 drill programmes. HEM #10 may represent the southeast continuation of the Campbell Fault Zone, east from the Goldcorp mine. HEM #4 appears to represent the northern contact between the Balmer metabasalts and the Bruce Channel metasediments.