Kootenay Resources Inc has reported positive results from the magnetotelluric (MT) survey at its Moyie Anticline project in southeastern British Columbia as part of its program to discover a tier one deposit.
The Vancouver-based exploration company said the program has been “very successful in identifying numerous deep conductive 'feeder' zones within which are at least 29 individual strong conductors”. Seven of the strongest anomalies are of a size and conductive strength thought to be comparable with that of a large sulfide deposit similar to the expected magnitude of the famous Sullivan Mine, added the firm.
Subject to financing, the company plans to conduct further MT surveying around the stronger and larger anomalies to establish 3D imaging for drill targeting. The resulting targets will be evaluated against Kootenay's existing database of geological and geochemical information and ranked in order of priority based on features indicative of Sullivan-style mineralization.
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Features considered important in the region include local stratigraphy, structure, alteration, and geochemical signature. Kootenay expects to start drill testing of high priority targets in 2023.
The Moyie Anticline region of the Purcell basin has long been considered prospective for the discovery of base metal deposits similar in style to the Sullivan deposit in Kimberley, British Columbia.
In Fall 2021, Kootenay commissioned a survey comprising 86 MT stations dispersed across the Moyie Anticline project area and readings were taken over a period of three to four weeks. The survey was designed as a first-pass test of the large prospective land package for deep-seated (greater than 5 kilometer (km) depth) conductive 'feeder' zones that originate at great depths (> 10 km) and continue to shallow depths or even to the surface.
Kootenay explained that in Australia, the application of MT surveying has led to the understanding that detectable, crustal-scale conductive feeder-like zones can host significant ore deposits such as the super-giant polymetallic Olympic Dam Deposit.
The method is proving increasingly useful in mineral exploration by allowing the evaluation of large areas of prospective ground for crustal-scale features that may indicate the presence of hidden ore bodies, said the company. Once prospective zones are identified, follow up work including more tightly spaced surveys are expected to increase the resolution to allow for effective drill targeting.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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