NovaGold cuts jaw-dropping copper intercepts in Alaska

NovaGold more than confirms historic drilling results as it steps out and finds exceptional copper-mineralized intercepts at its Bornite property in Alaska.

Author: Kip Keen
Posted: Thursday , 10 Nov 2011

HALIFAX, NS -

NovaGold Resources (TSX: NG) hit immensely high-grade copper in a step-out drillhole on its Bornite property in Alaska.

Around 400 metres below surface NovaGold cut as much as 35 metres @ 11.38 percent copper in drillhole 187. The high grade interval, starting 459 metres downhole, was part of a broader intercept @ 3.89 percent copper over 178 metres.

When NovaGold geologists logged the core Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NovaGold president and CEO, said their jaws dropped.

"They're nothing less than spectacular," Van Nieuwenhuyse said.

While the Bornite property is well-known for copper, having been extensively drilled by Rio Tinto and Kennecott in the past, this rich intercept was no twin to a drillhole brother from decades past. A long section shows that with drillhole 187 NovaGold tested an area between two previous drillholes that hit mineralized zones in multiple intercepts about 250 metres apart at about the same depth. The mineralized area is known as the South Reef and is about 500 metres away from more extensively explored areas to the west.

In those western areas NovaGold said it confirmed historic drilling results cutting as much as 18 metres @ 8.4 percent copper and 7 metres @ 24.47 percent copper. Six more drillholes are pending, NovaGold said.

The latest drilling, NovaGold's first on the Bornite property, will be combined with historic exploration results - core from which Van Nieuwenhuyse said is in good condition and had been relogged by company geologists - to form the basis of a modern resource estimate. Van Nieuwenhuyse said the Bornite resource estimate should be out in the first quarter 2012.

Farther down the road NovaGold will also be able to consider Bornite as part of its nearby Arctic copper-polymetallic project, which lies about 25 kilomtres to the northeast. "Certainly they're close enough together to share infrastructure," Van Nieuwenhuyse said.

In a scoping study of the Arctic project this year NovaGold outlined a 4,000-tonne-per-day underground mine that would produce 67 million pounds copper, 80 million pounds zinc, 12 million pounds lead, 11,000 ounces gold and 866,000 ounces silver a year over a 25-year mine life.

It is, however, far too early to say if the two deposits might share the same processing facilities were they both to go to production, though Van Nieuwenhuyse said NovaGold "will take a look at it."

As for exploration at Bornite next year, Van Nieuwenhuyse said NovaGold would soon plan a significant drill program.

NovaGold leased the Bornite property earlier this year from NANA, a regional native corporation, as part of signing a broader co-operative agreement that encompasses 180,000 hectares of land, including the Arctic project.

We still have more than that, Im inderstanding why Elmer calls us a mining district !