May/June 2008

Looking Ahead

Eagle Plains staff have planned the 2008 field season and have in large part completed compiling and interpreting results from the 2007 exploration programs.  We continue to focus on drilling projects and generating drill targets during the 2008 exploration program and following up with the developments of 2007 and previous years.  Click here to view the planned schedule for the 2008 field season.

Exploration Operations

Karin Lake Uranium Project - The first exploration field project of 2008 has been completed in conjunction with joint venture option partner Blue Sky Uranium Corp.   A 700m drill program has been conducted at the Karin Lake Uranium Project and was finished in late March.  The project focussed on drill targets established as a result of airborne surveys and ground based exploration conducted in 2006 and 2007.

2008 Exploration Plan

With the exception of the completed Karin Lake drill program, Eagle Plains has planned the 2008 exploration program.  This plan includes work on the following projects:

South Eastern British Columbia Projects

Iron Range - Diamond drilling an IOCG (iron oxide/copper/gold) target and geological mapping

Findlay - Diamond drilling and geological mapping a Sedex target north of the world class Sullivan deposit. 

Black Diamond - Diamond drilling a vein/shear hosted Ag, Zn, Pb target

Wildhorse - Diamond drilling a multiple vein hosted Au target

Bohan - Diamond drilling a carbonate hosted Pb, Zn, Ag target

Other British Columbia Properties

Acacia - Airborne geophysical survery and possible drilling later in the season of this VMS - Au                 target

Kalum -  Geochemical survey of this intrusion related Au target

Elsiar - Geochemical survey of the Porphyry Au, Cu, Mo target

Yukon Properties

Drag - Diamond drilling the Skarn Au target

Fin - Geochemical survey of the Sedex Ag, Zn, Pb target

MM - Geological mapping the VMS target Ag, Zn, Pb

Northwest Territory Properties

A very exciting development for Eagle Plains has been the strategic alliance formed with Teck Cominco on the Mackenzie Valley Zinc Project.  On May 7, 2008 Eagle Plains announced that the Strategic Alliance with Teck Cominco had been amended where Teck Cominco agreed to fund an addition $2m, via a private placement of EPL shares, for the 2008 field program and extend the property rights for another year, until December 31, 2009.

Mackenzie Valley Zinc Project - The primary focus in 2008 will be the discovery of SEDEX type deposits using grassroots exploration techniques and our advanced geochemical database. 

In addition, our intent is to develop drill targets on our existing carbonate hosted and shale hosted SEDEX properties using groundbased geophysical surveying (Induced polarization) and advanced geological interpretation.

Finally, Eagle Plains plans to evaluate the sedimentary hosted copper potential on this project.

Bronco Occurance - Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb - Geological modelling and further ground based exploration are planned for 2008.

History of Eagle Plains Exploration at the Mackenzie Valley Zinc Project - In 2007, work was conducted by a 12 person team to evaluate the 5600 sqkm prospecting permit area using maps generated from our proprietary database that covers 19,000 sqkm.  This proprietary database resulted from assaying, analyzing and compiling the 5700 stream sediment samples acquired in June 2006.  Funding for this program was provided by way of our strategic alliance partner Teck Cominco.  Data collected from these exploration programs has been used to determine future drill targets, assist in future ground based exploration and to refine the geological mapping completed to date.

Saskatchewan

Eagle Plains controls three uranium projects located approximately 30 km SE of the Athabasca basin totaling over 111,000 ha.  These projects are called Eagle Lake, Kulyk Lake and Karin Lake. Two of the three properties are currently under option to Blue Sky Uranium Corporation.

As a result of the geological information and modelling made possible by previous ground based exploration programs and airborne geophysical surveying, a 700m drill program was conducted in the spring of 2008.

Geological Surveying Explained

Geochemical - There are basically two types of geochemical surveys, lithogeochemical and biogeochemical.  Lithogeochemical, the most common, is the sampling of rocks, soils and silts.  Biogeochemical is the sampling of plant material.  Samples for both types of surveys are collected, there location recorded for future reference, then sent to labs for analysis.

A geochemical survey area is normally focussed around a mineral showing or an anomalous value that was collected in a broader scope survey commonly known as a regional geochemical survey. 

These regional geochemical surveys cover large areas of land where samples of creek sediments are collected and analyzed for anomalous mineral values.  Stream sediment samples are utilized because water tends to mobilize these minerals where they ultimately collect in the sediments.

Once an anomalous mineral value has been identified either in an outcrop (showing) or in a sediment sample, a more focussed survey can be conducted in the area to determine the extent of this anomalous value.  Upon completion, considering all the information, drill targets are identified and prioritized.

This is exaclty the proceedure followed by Eagle Plains at the Mackenzie Valley zinc project where the regional geochemical survey data was obtained by EPL as a result of a survey conducted by Rio Tinto in the 1970's.   Analysis and mapping of this data provided information to conduct more focussed surveys around areas returning anomalous values.

Geophysical - There are two ways to conduct geophysical surveys, ground based and airborne. 

Employing sophisticated electronic equipment, these surveys are conducted using magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric resonance to measure the variations in the earths magnetic field.  Different kinds of rocks and mineralization will return different values as they change the way the magnetic field resonates through them.  Changes in this conductivity are then mapped to provide a three dimensional view of these of values.  In general, areas of interest to geologists are where two distictly different types of resonance values border each other.  This is indicitive of an event where an alteration may have occured in the rocks and alteration is what we look for.

Processing Drill Results and Other Samples

It takes approximately 2-3 months to have assay results of the drill core and other samples received from the laboratories. Prior to sending material to the labs, surface samples must have specific details recorded in our database and the drill core must be logged then split in half where one portion is sent to the labs and the other is stored for future reference.  Once assayed, the results must then be interpreted by senior geologists and compiled by technicians.  The results of this process are then reported in news releases.  The turn around time from drilling to news being released can take 4 to 5 months during peak times, much of this being dependent on preparation time of the samples and core, volume of samples at the assay lab and the availability of senior geologists to interpret the results as they may be occupied on another project.  Given some latitude due to these factors, Eagle Plains has begun to issue news regarding the 2007 exploration efforts during 2007 and will continue through the winter of 2008.

In January 2007, Eagle Plains announced the acquisition of a controlling interest in a diamond drilling company, Apex Diamond Drilling Ltd.  This very important development will again make Eagle Plains master of its' own destiny by allowing the ability to choose when and where the drilling programs will be conducted.  EPL will no longer be subject to the unavailability of drill crews and rigs due to increased market demand.

In 2007, Eagle Plains Resources and it's joint venture option partners in conjunction with Apex Drilling, conducted an aggressive program.   Over thirty thousand feet (9150m) were drilled on 7 projects in and ground based exploration programs on a total of 13 projects.  Most notable is the extensive exploration program conducted on the Mackenzie Valley Zinc Project which covers approximately 5600sqkm.  An exploration plan for the 2007 field season can be viewed by clicking the link.

Updated June 3, 2008