Cartier Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ECR) has announced the start of a diamond drill program totalling 4,500 meters on the Xstrata Option and MacCormack properties.
The program's objectives are the discovery of new base metal (Copper-Zinc) and precious metal (gold and silver) zones. The properties are located 65 kilometers northwest of Val d'Or and 20 kilometers to the north of the La Ronde mine (4.8 Moz Au). This particular location, situated along the Porcupine-Destor gold-bearing corridor (80 Moz Au produced), is favorable for the discovery of deposits and justifies the continued focus by companies for this area of the Abitibi.
Presently, several companies are conducting exploration programs for an aggregate amount of 100M$. According to Philippe Cloutier, president and CEO of Cartier, "such investments demonstrate that Cartier was ahead of the pack when it generated these properties."
The drill program targets the discoveries made in 2010 on the Xstrata-Option and MacCormack properties which include two massive sulphide lenses that graded up to 4.81% Zn, 0.41% Cu, 28.70 g/t Ag and 0.27 g/t Au over 1.30 meters, including 11.50% Zn, 1.24% Cu, 65.10 g/t Ag and 0.29 g/t Au over 0.40 meters (drill hole MC-09-01). Furthermore, Cartier will test its new copper-zinc-silver-gold zone (South Rhyolite), located less than 1.5 kilometers to the southwest of the original discoveries. Other drill targets will test the gold potential of the Porcupine-Destor corridor in the MacCormack showing area.
In addition to the drilling, the company has initiated a deep probing geophysical survey (InfiniTEM) for a total of 14 kilometers centered along the South Rhyolite mineralized Zone. The objective of the survey is to detect massive sulphide lenses at depth and to identify additional drill targets.
Qualified Person and Quality Assurance/Quality Control
The exploration programs on the Xstrata Option and MacCormack properties are conducted under the supervision of Mr. Philippe Berthelot, P. Geo., Cartier's Vice President – Exploration, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. The scientific and technical information presented in this press release has been reviewed by Mr. Berthelot. Cartier has implemented and adheres to a strict Quality Assurance/Quality Control program which includes mineralized standards and blanks for each batch of samples. Assay samples are taken from drill core sawed in half with one half sent to a commercial laboratory and the other half retained for future reference. Analyses are either performed by Techni-lab S.G.B. Abitibi inc. in Sainte-Germaine, Quebec, or by ALS-Chemex in Val-d'Or, Quebec, both of which are accredited laboratories.