Introduction
In 2011, Laurentian secured an option to acquire 100% of Teck Resources Ltd.'s (Teck's) interest in the Thundercloud gold property, located 50 kilometres southeast of Dryden, Ontario and within the emerging underexplored Wabigoon belt, host to the Hammond Reef and Rainy River deposits. Recent drilling by Teck, combined with historic exploration suggested that Thundercloud has the potential to host a bulk tonnage gold deposit.
In mid-2011, Laurentian completed a 4,800 metre drill program designed to test and expand broad zones of known gold mineralization in the Pelham zone, located in the northern part of the Property. This first phase of drilling targeted an interpreted east-west trending, north-dipping mineralized zone with a total of 16 holes. Highlights from this program include:
- 1.55 g/t Au over 68.80 m (incl. 3.69 g/t Au over 17.55m);
- 1.45 g/t Au over 39.00 m (incl. 2.49 g/t Au over 13.00m);
- 1.68 g/t Au over 39.05m;
- 1.31 g/t Au over 81.00m (incl. 3.31 g/t Au over 23.12m)
Location
The 2,160 hectare property consists of 135 units in 15 claim blocks, and is located 50km southeast of Dryden, Ontario. The Property is accessible from the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 17) with logging roads dissecting the property that provide excellent access and new outcrop exposure.
History
Historic exploration activities on the Thundercloud Property date back over 80 years, with the most significant work, conducted in the 1980s by Teck, Esso and Noranda. Up until 2004, the area around the Thundercloud property was considered relatively remote. In recent years, the Thundercloud property has been made readily accessible through the development of logging roads into the area.
Exploration Activity and Results by Teck
Teck completed exploration programs on the property in 2007 and 2008. Geological work completed in 2008 included an induced polarization (IP) survey, ground magnetic survey, detailed geological mapping (at 1:5000 to 1:1000 scale) and outcrop sampling. Surface grab samples were collected as part of the mapping and prospecting program, 23 of which returned results in excess of 1 g/t Au. Geophysical IP surveying suggests the presence of additional, untested zones of mineralization on the Thundercloud Property.
A total of 8,135 m2 of trenching was completed by Teck. Of the 926 trench samples collected, individual samples returned up to 89 g/t Au and select channel samples returned 3.25 m @ 2.20 g/t, 9.33 m @ 0.58 g/t Au, and 6.15 m @ 0.31 g/t Au.
A total of 3,989 m of diamond drilling, in 15 drill holes, was completed in 2007 and 2008 to test two zones, the 'Pelham' and 'West Contact'. Highlight drill results from historic work and the 2007 and 2008 Teck programs include:
- 113.0 m @ 1.72 g/t Au (88-10) [Noranda drill hole, 1988];
- 60.30 m @ 1.46 g/t Au (88-05) [Noranda drill hole, 1988];
- 55.25 m @ 2.19 g/t Au including 21.73 m @ 4.63 g/t Au (TC08-11) [Teck drill hole, 2008);
- 29.66 m @ 0.77 g/t Au including 9.04 m @ 2.20 g/t Au (TC08-09) [Teck drill hole, 2008]
Geology and Mineralization
The Thundercloud property is within the Manitou-Stormy Lakes Greenstone part of the western Wabigoon Subprovince of the Archean Superior Province. The greenstone belt is 20 km in width by 80 km in length, and extends from Lower Manitou Lake in the southwest to Bending Lake in the east. A number of thick volcanic-sedimentary sequences consisting of mafic to felsic lavas and associated intrusions and pyroclastic rocks, all of which are generally overlain by sedimentary sequences, characterize the belt.
The oldest mafic rocks are interpreted to have formed between 2732 and 2722 Ma. These rocks are unconformably overlain by the predominantly sedimentary Stormy Lake Group, which was deposited between 2703 and 2696 Ma. in a north-south corridor within the central portion of the property.
Gold-bearing mineralized zones are focused in a structurally complex central corridor between the intermediate-composition Taylor Lake stock (2695±4 Ma: Davis et al. 1982) to the west and the felsic Thundercloud quartz-feldspar porphyry ("QFP") to the east. Host rocks comprise tholeiitic basalts overlain by a suite of clastic rocks of the Stormy Lake Group, including conglomerates, breccias and sandstones with a wide range in matrix and clast compositions.
Metallic pathfinder elements (including silver, copper, molybdenum, bismuth and tellurium) show differing correlations to gold between the north of the property (the Pelham area) and the southern portion (West Contact), indicating either a) the presence of multiple stages mineralization within the property or, b) a system of sufficient size to develop zoned hydrothermal alteration over several kilometres.
2011 Exploration
Laurentian completed a three-phase exploration program on the Thundercloud Property in 2011. The first phase of exploration included a 4,800 metre, 16-hole, diamond drill program that focused on the Pelham zone, located at the northern part of the Property. Assay results from this program confirm the potential for the Property to host a bulk tonnage gold deposit with gold mineralization plunging from surface to the northeast within a broader east striking, north dipping mineralized zone.
Highlights from the Phase 1 Drill Program Include*:
- 1.55 g/t Au over 68.80 m (incl. 3.69 g/t Au over 17.55m);
- 1.45 g/t Au over 39.00 m (incl. 2.49 g/t Au over 13.00m);
- 1.68 g/t Au over 39.05m;
- 1.31 g/t Au over 81.00m (incl. 3.31 g/t Au over 23.12m)
*For a complete table of results,
please see news release dated July 18, 2011.
Upon completion of the drill program, Laurentian commenced a second phase of exploration that included structural mapping and a property-wide surface geochemistry program of rock, soil and lake sediment geochemical sampling. A third phase of exploration was recently completed that included three-dimensional interpretive modeling of mineralization and pathfinder elements returned from the Phase 1 drill program. Results from Phase 2 and 3 exploration demonstrate potential for stacked mineralization at the Pelham zone, have delineated new targets for drilling at the West Contact zone and have identified potential for the Pelham East extension.
Follow-Up
Laurentian is currently focused on further defining targets for drilling in 2012. The drill program will include additional strike, dip extension and infill drilling on the Pelham zone and reconnaissance drilling on priority targets defined by the 2011 program. In addition, a 3D IP survey is proposed.
Option Agreement with Teck
Laurentian signed an option agreement with Teck in early 2011 to acquire 100% of Teck's interest in the Property. Under the terms of the agreement Laurentian must issue 500,000 shares to Teck on signing (complete), 500,000 shares following Year 1 (complete), 1,000,000 shares on vesting, and complete $6,000,000 in exploration expenditures over four years. Teck has retained a 60 day time-limited back in right. Should they elect to back in, the vesting share obligation terminates, and Teck must spend three times Laurentian's expenditures ($18,000,000) within 4 years to retain a 60% interest.
Mr. Mark J Pryor, Pr.Sci.Nat., is Laurentian's "Qualified Person" as defined in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 with the ability and authority to verify the authenticity and validity of the data herein. Laurentian has not verified the historic exploration results reported herein and has confirmed neither grades nor tonnages described.
