TerraX Options Sunbeam-Pettigrew Gold Property, Atikokan Area, Northwest Ontario
TerraX Minerals Inc. has entered into an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Sunbeam-Pettigrew gold property in northwest Ontario. The property consists of 27 claims totalling 350 claim units (~55 km(2)) located 25 km northeast of the town of Atikokan, 180 km west of Thunder Bay and 15 km from Brett Resources’ Hammond Reef deposit, which contains a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource of 141.5 Mt (at) 1.05 g/t Au (approximately 4.8 Moz Au). The geology and known mineralization on the Sunbeam-Pettigrew property are similar to the Hammond Reef deposit where Brett Resources has reported wide zones of mineralization, such as 154.5 m (at) 1.21 g/t Au.
The option agreement provides for an immediate non-refundable payment of $10,000 to the vendors, followed by a due diligence period that ends on May 30, 2009. TerraX can earn a 100% interest in the property over a three year period by making option payments totalling $210,000, issuing 600,000 shares, and funding $450,000 of exploration and development work. The vendors will retain a 2.5% NSR, 1% of which can be purchased by TerraX for $1,000,000. An annual pre-production royalty of $20,000 will also be in effect, commencing on April 15, 2013.
The property occurs in the Archean Marmion Batholith, which contains a number of phases, varying from tonalite to quartz diorite. Gold mineralization is associated with northeast-trending lineaments traceable for up to 80 km within and along the margin of the batholith. The lineaments are thought to represent faults or shear zones. Mineralization occurs in and adjacent to quartz vein systems within the shear zone, and is associated with pyrite and alteration consisting of sericitization, saussuritization, carbonatization and chloritization. The Hammond Reef deposit occurs on the western edge of the Marmion Batholith.
The Sunbeam-Pettigrew property occurs in the central part of the batholith, 15 km from the Hammond Reef deposit. The property contains two northeast-trending intermittently mineralized zones: the so-called Sunbeam-Atiko Shear Zone and the Pettigrew-Jack Lake Shear Zone. Both shear zones contain significant gold occurrences, including past producers, over approximately 15 km of strike length. Historic gold values from these showings reportedly range from less than one gram per tonne to 898 grams per tonne (sample collected by Ontario Geological Survey). The majority of the previous work on the property was around 1900; exploration activity since then has been highly intermittent, and no work has been completed since 1990. A 1982 drill hole on the property intercepted 8.5 m (at) 4.8 g/t Au, including 1.8 m (at) 15.8 g/t Au. The presence of regional shear zones as controls on mineralization does not appear to have been recognized during previous exploration, and all previous work was concentrated on exposed quartz veins. Exploration for a large low grade deposit similar to Hammond Reef has not been undertaken. Although the over-riding target for TerraX is a large, low grade gold deposit, the grade reported from some of the showings on the property suggests that a smaller, higher grade deposit might also be present.
TerraX’s initial plans for the property include following up known mineralization and mapping/prospecting of structural targets. The discovery of the Rubble showing (up to 48.6 g/t Au grab sample) during staking in 2008 attests to the strong possibility of finding additional mineralization at surface on the property. Results from a government-sponsored airborne magnetic survey, justified in part by the results of Brett Resources’ exploration, will be released in the next several months. This data should help TerraX develop additional targets on the property.
