Shamrock Enterprises Inc. (SRS:CSE) recently announced the signing of an option-to-purchase agreement to acquire the Stellar property, bringing its holdings in British Columbia to three. The agreement is for a "100% working interest in Stellar 1-4 mineral tenures covering 2343.58 ha." Stellar is contiguous to the west, north and east of the ML Gold Corp. (MLG:TSX.V) Stars property.
What makes the Stellar project especially noteworthy is that on Feb. 28, ML Gold announced that a significant porphyry copper-gold molybdenum discovery at its Stars property. The company stated that it has found "a new discovery on its Stars project where hole 4 (DD18SS004) has intersected 0.45% Copper (0.50% CuEq) over 204 metres (m) including 1.02% CuEq (0.93% Cu) over 40.2m from surface."
ML Gold also noted that it believes this confirms a porphyry system, noting comments from Dr. Paul Johnson, an independent porphyry expert who recently reviewed the project drill core comments: "'Mineralization [observed in the Stars drill core] is consistent with features associated with a porphyry system' and suggests that 'the [current] drilling is in a marginal position relative to the porphyry centre' where it is reasonable to expect higher copper grades."
Shamrock noted that "the ML Gold discovery appears to be associated with a NNE trending chargeability signature which is open to the north and located approximately 1 kilometer south of the purchased mineral tenures. The chargeability signature is interpreted to continue to the north."
"The proximity of the chargeability signature on the Stars property, the continuation of the positive magnetic signature, and the similar geology (including intrusive stock) makes these mineral tenures an extremely attractive exploration target," Shamrock noted.
A little background to this discovery: In January, ML Gold put out a series of releases on its drill program on the Stars Project. On Jan. 11, that company announced that its first drill hole "intersected 311 metres of veined and variably disseminated copper sulphide mineralization consisting predominantly of chalcopyrite."
ML Gold's Jan. 23 release stated that three additional drill holes "intersected three long intervals with visible copper sulphide." In this release, the president of ML Gold, Adrian Smith, commented, "We are extremely pleased with first four holes of the program. Hole four is the most impressive hole to date and there is no indication we have drilled within the best zone of this porphyry system yet."
Two days later, on Jan. 25, ML Gold reported that it had begun geophysical surveys on its property, noting, "the primary focus of the geophysics program will be to collect detailed airborne magnetic data around the recently drilled "hole 4" (DD18SS004) which intersected significant visible chalcopyrite mineralization over 300 metres."
ML Gold again noted that "recent drilling has discovered the presence of a large copper zone within a porphyry system occurring in host rocks similar to those associated with the Huckleberry mine to the south of the project."
Bob Faris, president and CEO of Shamrock, stated, "We are pleased to have been able to secure these strategically located mineral tenures in an area that appears to be an emerging porphyry copper discovery. Based on the information from ML Gold Corp and other regional studies, our interpretation is that the mineralization is associated with a coincident north trending positive chargeability and magnetic signature."
Portland Project
Shamrock also holds rights to land in British Columbia's Golden Triangle, which is known as "elephant country" because it is home of some of the world's largest precious metals discoveries, including the Eskay Creek mine, (160 million ounces of silver and 3 million ounces of gold), Seabridge Gold's KSM project with Proven and Probable reserves of 38 million ounces of gold and 10 billion pounds of copper, and Pretium Resources' Brucejack mine with reserves of 8.7 million ounces of gold.
Shamrock's Golden Portland Project consists of three areas, the Portland project, with 14 contiguous mineral claims totaling about 2,400 hectares, and Kimball Like and American Creek, which together comprise 359 hectares. All three border Pretium Resources' vast acreage. Pretium's Brucejack mine began commercial production in the summer of 2017.
Pretium has been exploring on its vast tract of land and in December 2017 announced that its American Creek Zone is "dominated by kilometer-scale north-south structures and localized east-west stockworks, which host elevated gold values of up to 62.5 grams of gold per tonne in rocks of the Lower Hazelton Group, Unuk River Formation, the same formation that hosts the Brucejack Mine. Geophysical conductors identified in the American Creek Zone are supported by coincident pathfinder minerals and trace elements associated with epithermal mineralization."
Pretium's American Creek zone is only two kilometers from Shamrock's Portland property, and Shamrock is ready to start exploring. On Feb. 1, the company announced that its initial 2018 exploration program will consist of:
- Airborne geophysical surveys to identify and delineate structural control of mineralization
- Systematic geochemical sampling (soil and lithogeochem)
- Field evaluation to ascertain viability of detailed property scale alteration and structural mapping
Shamrock's third asset is an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Topley-Richfield gold/copper/silver/lead/zinc project located in the Bulkley Valley, 100 km southeast of Smithers, B.C., and also located approximately 70 km east of its Stellar property.
Faris told Streetwise Reports that he believes that now is a good time to be investing in metals. "Copper has turned a cycle and is on an upswing. I expect a positive commodity cycle for copper for a considerable length of time due to lack of exploration, lack of discoveries and lack of new builds; there have been no new copper mine starts since 2012. I think the prices of copper, gold, silver and zinc are going higher."
Faris also explained that Shamrock's properties are "very strategically located in British Columbia, which is a very safe, mining-friendly jurisdiction. The accessibility of Shamrock's properties is relatively good and the company has just the right number of plays in a very close area so there are lots of synergies for the logistics of exploration."
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Disclosure:
1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Seabridge Gold and Pretium Resources. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with Shamrock Enterprises.
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