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Eagle Plains Completes Fieldwork on
Titan Property, Discovers High-grade Mineralization
Cranbrook, B.C.: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.
(EPL:TSX-V) announces that the Corporation has completed
the first phase of 2003 fieldwork on it’s Titan
property. Field observations and analytical results
indicate the presence of a high-grade mineralizing system
within the claim area.
The Titan claims are located approximately 50 km west
of Atlin, BC at the south end of Tagish Lake. The
32 unit (1944 acre) claim block covers a high grade
molybdenum
copper porphyry occurrence that has been recently
exposed by the retreat of glacial ice. Mineral exploration
in
the area was initiated in the early 1900’s targeting
gold and silver vein occurrences, with the nearby Engineer
Mine producing small tonnages from high grade quartz
veins. In 1980 United Keno Hill Mines (UKHM) staked
the Fee claims in the area of the current Titan claims.
The claims saw sporadic work until 1989 and although
fieldwork was directed toward assessing gold-silver
vein potential, field crews noted that the ongoing retreat
of glacial ice at the headwaters of Buchan Creek had
begun to expose porphyry copper – molybdenum mineralization.
UKHM continued to hold the Fee claims until the late
1990’s when the company was dissolved due to financial
duress. The 4 unit Titan claim was staked by an ex UKHM
geologist in August 2002 who carried out a one day field
program confirming the high grade nature of the molybdenum
occurrences. An option to acquire a 100% interest in
the claims was acquired by Eagle Plains in late 2002.
To earn its interest, Eagle Plains must make cash payments
totaling $75,000 and complete exploration expenditures
of $150,000 over 5 years. A 1.5% NSR is reserved for
the vendor, two thirds (1%) of which may be purchased
at any time for $1,000,000.
2003 fieldwork by Eagle Plains included prospecting,
rock and soil sampling, and staking of additional
claims to cover prospective stratigraphy. Prospecting
in the
area exposed by retreating glacial ice located massive
to disseminated molybdenite in Cretaceous granodiorite
boulders and in quartz veins within the granodiorite.
By tracing the mineralized boulders upslope, molybdenum
mineralization was located in place near the contact
between metasediments and Cretaceous granodiorite.
This is the first known in situ molybdenum occurrence
discovered
on the property. Analytical results from high-grade
porphyry boulders include CDT03R03, which returned
a value of 1.877% molybdenum; CDT03R04, which returned
0.597% molybdenum; and CDT03R07, which returned 1.144%
molybdenum. Sample CDT03R08, collected from outcrop,
returned a value of 0.966 % molybdenum. A sample of
high-grade vein type molybdenum found in float, DOTR01,
returned a value of 0.72 % molybdenum. Eight of the
ten rock samples collected returned greater than 0.1%
molybdenum. Some samples are also associated with
elevated
copper (up to 2873 ppm), tungsten (up to 93.1 ppm),
and bismuth (up to 60.7 ppm)values.
Field observations indicate that higher grade molybdenum
mineralization appears to occur along the intrusive – metasedimentary
contact zone, with associated chalcopyrite, malachite
and a broad zone of disseminated pyrite. Argillic-,
sericite- and abundant epidote alteration were noted
up to 1 kilometer from the contact zone. The presence
of high grade molybdenum mineralization within the limited
outcrop exposure combined with an abundance of locally
derived high grade float boulders indicate the potential
for a large mineralized system.
Molybdenum is a hard, malleable, ductile, high-melting,
silver-white corrosion resistant metal. Steel making
accounts for about 80% of molybdenum production, with
the remainder used in the manufacture of high-speed
cutting tools, aircraft parts, forged automobile parts,
X-ray tubes, electronic tubes and electric furnaces,
rocket and missile parts, lubricants and pigments.
British Columbia molybdenum mines and deposits include
the Endako
Mine (182 Mt at .0785% Mo,) Kitsault Lake (95 Mt at
.112% Mo), Boss Mountain (6.7 Mt at 0.13% Mo) and
the Adanac (152 Mt at 0.063% Mo) (reference: Geology
of
Canadian Mineral Deposit types 1995).
Eagle Plains has retained Aurora Geoscience who are
currently planning an Induced Polarization geophysical
survey program on the Titan property to better define
the extent of mineralization along the intrusive – sedimentary
contact zone.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Tim J. Termuende, P.Geo.
President and CEO
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