On January 30th, 2005 Eagle Plains Resources Ltd (EPL:TSX-V) was granted the exclusive exploration rights to over 1357 sq. kms of lands straddling the Yukon/NWT Territorial border, considered to be highly prospective for the presence of large silver-lead zinc deposits. Additional permits have been acquired in 2006 and 2007 for a total of over 8550 sq. kms.
In June 2007, Eagle Plains formed a Strategic Alliance with Teck Cominco to explore the permit areas excluding the Bronco claim group. As a result of our grass roots exploration efforts, 8 new properties have been staked in the project area.
These permit tenure rights occur in the form of NWT-government-granted “prospecting permits” which enable the holder to complete exploration activity over large tracts of ground for a period of three years, with the exclusive right to acquire mineral tenure title within these lands during that period.
In June 2006 EPL announced that
it had retained maps and
5700 stream-sediment sample pulps collected during the 1970s in the area now covered by prospecting permits obtained by EPL. It is estimated that the samples and associated data have a replacement cost of well over $1,000,000 in today’s dollars.
Analysis of the samples in the 1970's was very limited due to technological restraints resulting in measuring for only a few elements, whereas, the recent reanalysis of the samples has been conducted to I.C.P. geochemical procedural standards resulting in an analysis of a wide spectrum of elements.
By the summer of 2006, EPL geologists had interpreted some of the anomalous values resulting from the analysis and mapped these values over a portion of the prospecting permits. The results of this mapping were used to guide a 5-man, $700,000 multi-disciplinary regional reconnaissance program.
Due to the extensive area covered by the stream samples, only a small proportion of the anomalies were followed up with the 2006 fieldwork
The results of this reconnaissance program was fantastic. The discovery of
previously undetected high-grade silver with associated copper, lead and zinc mineralization was located in outcrop over significant widths in an area within 70km of the Canol Road. Named “Bronco”, the occurrence consists of sedimentary-hosted mineralization that appears to be part of a larger mineralized system some 7km in length. The discovery area has been subjected to virtually no historic exploration activity, and presents an unprecedented opportunity for Eagle Plains to head a district-scale exploration campaign in a highly prospective region.
Bronco Highlights
-Bronco showing returns continuous-chip assay results of 420g/T silver, 0.9% copper and 2.8% lead over 13m, including 3.0m grading 1313g/T silver, 2.7% copper, 10.2% lead, and 1.1% zinc.
-grab samples from three separate float occurrences up to 2km from Bronco occurrence return assay results of 14.4%, 12.7% and 24.4% zinc.
-rock samples taken 7km along strike of the Bronco occurrence return assay results of 17.5%, 19.8%, 12.7%, 25.4%, 21.3%, 18.5% zinc over an area of 300m x 700m. As a result of thisground based program, a drill program is planned for 2007 field season.
-the 2007 exploratory drill program at the Bronco project area indicates the presence of a large scale mineralized system. The 5 hole (888m) drill program has provided three dimensional information enabling more refinment of the geological model. The Bronco project area hosts potential for both shale hosted Sedex and carbonate hosted Manto type deposits.
Permit Area Highlights
-Strategic Alliance formed with Teck Cominco in June 2007 to explore permits. Excludes Bronco project.
-Permit area consists of 49 permits - 8,550 square kms.
-Proprietary geochemical data held by EPL covers a regional area of over 19,000 sq/km.
-The encouraging results generated by the fieldwork in 2006 and 2007 has resulted in 8 new projects being staked. A field program for 2008 is being planned.
History
The area now controlled 100% by EPL was once subject to extensive exploration during the 1970s and early 1980s and was site of numerous drilling programs, dozens of grassroots examinations, and thousands of individual claims held by various junior and major exploration companies such as RTZ, Placer Dome Inc., Bethlehem Copper, Cominco , Noranda , Amax, Serem and others. As a result of the area's remote location and languishing metal prices over the past decade, EPL was able to secure the entire district, complete with all public data associated with millions of dollars of exploration activity carried out. Recent announcements regarding the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline suggest that the entire area must now be looked on in an entirely new economic framework.
Geology
The prospecting permits held by Eagle Plains overlie mesozoic -aged platformal miogeosinclinal sediments of the Selwyn basin, a stratigraphic sequence known to host such giant base-metal deposits as Howards Pass (indicated resource of 113 million tonnes grading 5.4% zinc and 2.1% lead with >15 g/t silver plus an additional reported inferred resource in excess of 360 million tones), in addition to resources identified at the Tom (9.283 Mt @ 69.4 g/t Ag, 7.55 Pb and 6.2% Zn using a 7% combined Pb -Zn cutoff) and Jason (14.1 million tonnes grading 7.09% Pb , 6.57% Zn and 79.9 g/t Ag, using a cutoff grade of 8% Pb -Zn), and others. |
