Copper Lake Resources Ltd. has entered into a contract with Forage Geo-Nord to carry out drilling for the winter 2024 drill program. The Company has concluded the main objectives for the winter 2024 drill program, which are referred to as the Build-up conductor and the MT conductor.
Plan map of the MT conductors (500 m below surface) showing Billiton Stringer Zone and Deep EM target and associated high-grade Cu-Zn-Ag stringer mineralization. Image Credit: Copper Lake Resources Ltd.
The Company had intended to access the property from the north side, using the Ogoki Road, since the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) had decommissioned two bridges in 2023 that had previously been used to access the drill site from the south side of the property.
The exceptionally warm winter has postponed the freeze-up, though, and the current conditions prevent us from accessing the site with the intended drill equipment. The company had intended to use a drill rig that could reach a depth of 1,500 m, but it was too heavy to be transported by helicopter.
Therefore, the company will concentrate drilling efforts on the Build-up Conductor, where the company can use a smaller drill that can be transported to the site by helicopter, and where the targets are probably less than 500 m deep.
The geophysical images that are attached suggest that the Build-up Conductor is a continuation of the MT Conductor, which is trending east.
MT Survey Interpretation
The magneto-telluric (MT) method is a geophysical technique that measures the earth's electrical conductivity using naturally occurring electromagnetic fields (EM). At depths of up to 1,000 m, metallic sulfide deposits are reflected by MT conductors, far below the depth of previous geophysical surveys carried out at Marshall Lake. In July 2021, SJ Geophysics Ltd., a Delta, British Columbia-based company, finished the MT survey.
To define deep drill targets, the company recently had the MT data interpreted and modeled. The survey was finished near the Deep EM target, which the company drilled in 2021 and 2022 and produced high-grade intercepts of, among other things:
- 2.37% Cu, 1.75% Zn, 413.15 g/t Ag & 0.37 g/t Au over 6.00 m
- 8.13% Cu, 7.26% Zn, 240.80 g/t Ag & 0.33 g/t Au over 2.11 m
- 5.81 % Cu, 7.32% Zn, 171.20 g/t Ag & 0.02 g/t Au over 1.95 m
This type of stringer-style mineralization is found about 300 m below the surface. The purpose of finishing the MT survey was to be able to see conductors down to 1,000 m, which is significantly below the stringer mineralization linked to the Deep EM target that was previously reported.
Three strong conductors were identified by the 3D modeling, two of which have their centers about 500 m below the surface. The conductors are high-grade stringer or feeder zones that are located close to the Deep EM target and Billiton deposit. Therefore, it is believed that there is a very good chance of a massive sulfide deposit existing nearby for all three of the MT conductors. No diamond drilling test has been performed on any of the MT conductors.
In close proximity to the Deep EM target, MT conductors 1 and 2 are linked to high-grade stringer mineralization, which may exhibit a down-dip or down-plunge extension. Together, the two conductors are robust and long-lasting at a maximum depth of 1,000 m below the surface and 400 m below it, respectively.
The top of MT conductor 3, a shallower target, is situated 250 m below the surface and could indicate the Billiton deposit's down-dip extension west of its known extent. It might also be an example of a stacked or parallel zone of mineralization. It is unknown if historical drilling has been finished on MT conductor 3.
Build-Up Conductor
Abitibi Geophysics carried out large-loop electromagnetic (EM) surveys in the winter of 2023. About 2 km east of the MT Conductors and Billiton deposit, the survey identified a strong Build-up conductor. It is believed that this conductor is hosted in younger rocks that are stratigraphically above the rocks linked to the MT conductors and the Billiton deposit.
Notably, if MT conductors 1, 2, and 3 were extended eastward, their apparent east-west trend would nearly match the location of the Build-up conductor. Moreover, a syn-volcanic fault and magnetic high transect the conductor, as shown on official maps, enhancing the target's prospects.
Within a week, a geophysical contractor will arrive on site to finish more large-loop electromagnetic surveying to precisely define the dimensions, strength, and orientation of the build-up conductor. The survey should take four to five days to complete, and the results should be available soon after.