strategic Canadian and international projects
"Explorations In Canada, Greenland, Angola, Mali and Morocco"
Metalex Ventures Limited, Kelowna, B.C., TSX.V : MTX, is a Canadian based exploration company with strategic Canadian and international projects.
The Company’s principle business activity is the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties and it has a skilled management team with an established track record in this area. The long-term growth strategy is to generate substantial capital growth by developing kimberlite hosted diamond deposits.
The Company’s principal projects in Canada are its Kyle Lake (U2), “Ring of Fire”, Attawapiskat, and Wawa projects in Ontario and James Bay Lowlands project in western Quebec. Its overseas projects are located in Angola, Morocco and Mali.
Metalex’s projects in Canada are the James Bay Lowlands “Ring of Fire”, Attawapiskat, Kyle Lake, Wawa and the Quebec Projects. Its overseas projects are located in Angola, Greenland, Mali and Morocco.
KYLE LAKE, JAMES BAY LOWLANDS (T1/U2)
The Kyle Lake Diamond Project is located approximately 100 km west of De Beers’ Victor Mine in an area where five kimberlitic pipes, two of which are significantly diamond bearing, were discovered in the 1990's. These kimberlitic pipes were discovered by drill testing anomalies identified from an aeromagnetic survey flown in the early 1990's.
Metalex flew an expanded aeromagnetic survey in 2005 using greatly improved techniques over an area of approximately 14,500 km2. Interpretation of this data yielded more that 500 aeromagnetic anomalies of which 118 were classified as high priority. Twenty-four anomalies have been tested by core drilling and a diamondiferous kimberlite, referred to as T1, was found at 136 meters depth. A total of 35 diamonds, of which 7 are macrodiamonds, were recovered from 48 kg of 35 mm drill core taken from T1. For such a small diameter drill core, the size and quality of the recovered diamonds is a most encouraging result. Larger diameter drilling commenced in 2005 aimed at collecting a minibulk sample of 3,000 - 5,000 kg of kimberlite. The results warranted the collection of a 300 tonne bulk sample which commenced in 2006. Approximately 180 tonnes have been collected to date and the Company plans to collect the remaining tonnage once a sampling permit extension has been granted by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (“MNDM”). Metalex was advised that the MNDM have a duty to consult with the affected First Nations groups in the area before such an extension has been granted.
Further drill testing of the anomalies on this project has led to the discovery of additional kimberlites. To date, the Company has discovered 3 diamondiferous kimberlites in the vicinity of DeBeers’ Victor Mine. The largest is an estimated 10 hectare pipe (referred to as U2) from which 17 diamonds were recovered from a 142.82 kg sample. The diamonds have a coarse size distribution and are predominantly gem quality similar to those recovered from DeBeers’ Victor Mine.
RING OF FIRE, JAMES BAY LOWLANDS
The James Bay Lowlands properties are strategically located on and around the “Ring of Fire” and cover approximately 36 square kilometres (8,944 acres of ground). The “Ring of Fire” appears to be the most significant base metal play in Canada since the Voisey’s Bay discovery in Labrador in September 1993. Investors continue to speculate on the Ring of Fire, and many juniors are lining up to stake their claim to the rich nickel-copper deposit that Noront Resources Ltd struck here in September 2007.
Many believe that the Noront Double Eagle strike will become a very significant discovery and this district will transform into a major new mining region for years to come. Noront’s discovery of a second massive sulphide occurrence located two kilometers southwest of its Eagle One lends credence to the notion of this region becoming the next big nickel-copper play.
The Company entered into a Letter of Intent,(“LOI”), with WSR Gold, (“WSR”) pursuant to which WSR has been granted the option to acquire up to a 50% interest in these claims. Under the terms of the Letter of Intent, WSR has the right to earn up to a 50% interest in the project by funding up to CDN$20.0 million in expenditures on the Property over a 4 year period. For each CDN$5.0 million in expenditures, WSR will acquire a 12.5% interest in the Property, up to a maximum 50% interest.
The Attawapiskat Project comprises a claimed area of approximately 304 km2 in the vicinity of De Beers' Victor diamond deposit. De Beers have indicated Victor will have a mine life of 12 years at a production of 2.5 million tons per year. It is thought that Victor has a grade of about 25ct/100 tons and an average diamond value of about US$300/ct. Metalex has discovered several unexplained glacial trains of diamond indicator minerals within 10 km of Victor.
The diamond indicator minerals have diamond inclusion chemistry typical of that found in commercial diamond deposits. These grains are fresh and angular, which is consistent with the grains being derived from nearby undiscovered diamondiferous kimberlites.
Future work will focus on continuing a systematic exploration program of power auger testing and core drilling to find the sources of these diamond indicator minerals.
The Wawa Projects covers 357 claim units immediately north and west of the recent discovery of diamond bearing rock by Dianor Resources Inc. Dianor and Metalex are jointly exploring these claims units and collectively have the right to earn 60% interest (30% each) by sole funding the first diamond deposit to bankable feasibility. Fourteen potentially diamond bearing rock and 138 alluvial samples have been collected by the project operator Metalex and these samples are being processed at the CF Minerals Laboratory in Kelowna for diamonds and diamond indicator minerals. Wawa has the potential for the early discovery of diamond bearing rock.
QUEBEC
In western Quebec, where the Company has a one third contributing interest, some 1069 drainage and loam samples have been collected and analyzed from an area of 360,000 km2. Diamond indicator minerals have been found in several samples, possibly indicating undiscovered diamond bearing kimberlite deposits and samples to follow up these indicators have been collected. As western Quebec is known to contain reserves of a variety of commodities the samples were analyzed for a range of metals. Exceptionally anomalous gold and strongly anomalous copper and uranium values have been found at a number of locations not attributable to known mineralization.
The Quebec Project has the potential for the discovery of diamond bearing kimberlite pipes in the middle term. As seen from Ashton's discoveries in the Otish Mountains, Quebec does contain commercial grade kimberlites.
Metalex's metal results also indicate that Quebec has potential for the discovery of new commercial gold, copper-nickel and uranium mineralization.
The Company was granted exploration licenses totaling over 24,800 km2 in southern Morocco in 2004 and 2005. The licenses cover an area that is one of the only remaining areas of the world that is underlain by an Archean craton (ie; rocks older than 2.6 billion years) that has yet to be explored. Archean cratons are very favorable areas for significant mines. All kimberlite diamond mines are on cratons. Many of the world’s largest gold mines are also located on cratons such as the mines at the Witswatersrand in South Africa, the Yilgarn craton in Australia and the Abitibi and Timmins areas in Canada.
Since being granted the licenses, over 3,000 heavy mineral samples have been collected which have shown that the claims are prospective for gold, base metals, uranium and diamonds. Specifically, strong gold anomalies were found in 38 areas, base metal anomalies (nickel +/- copper +/- cobalt +/- zinc +/- lead) in 59 areas, uranium anomalies in 6 areas and diamond bearing kimberlites in 18 areas.
Following the comprehensive heavy mineral geochemical survey, areas of the licenses that did not show potential were relinquished. All of the aforementioned anomalies are contained within the current 17,100 km2 exploration license.
The Company has a kimberlite license in Angola covering 3,000 km2 in aerial extent over part of the Chitamba-Lulo kimberlite cluster and the Cucumbi and Cuango Rivers. The Chitamba-Lulo kimberlite cluster is thought to be the source area for the abundant alluvial diamonds mined from the Cuango River downstream. Some 11,000 line km of aeromagnetic data was purchased and more than 100 anomalies with the potential to reflect undiscovered kimberlites have been recognized.
Modeling by Canadian geophysicist Scott Hogg has been carried out on 56 of the anomalies and indicates the sources of the anomalies range between 10 meter dykes to large pipe like bodies up to 20 hectares in size.
As the existing aeromagnetic data was found not to be detailed enough to position drill locations, a high resolution helicopter borne magnetic survey was undertaken in 2007. This survey refined the results of the previous survey and drilling of the resultant geophysical anomalies commenced early in 2008.
All of the aeromagnetic anomalies referred to above, and about 70 other kimberlites within and to the east of the Chitamba license (the Chitamba – Lulo kimberlite cluster), are drained by the aforementioned Cuango River and its tributaries. The Company believes it is well placed to discover the source of the abundant alluvial diamonds found downstream in the Cuango River by follow up of the aeromagnetic anomalies referred to above.
Metalex had retained a single exploration license in southwestern Greenland with a total area of 477 km2. Previous exploration has identified ten areas containing diamond indicator minerals with particularly favorable chemistry in drainage and till samples.
Metalex collected two large (1,000 kg+) samples from gravels where high concentrations of diamond indicator minerals had been discovered. These samples were processed to assess whether commercial diamonds were likely to be contained in the source kimberlites. No diamonds were found and the Company has decided to relinquish the exploration license.
See also:
CANTEX Mine Development Corporation