Base Metal Exploration

JV Agreement With First Quantum Minerals And Adventus Exploration Limited (AEL) In West Cork To Conduct Staged Regional Targeting Via Geochemical Sampling, Mapping And Geophysical Surveys.

Adventus Exploration Limited (AEL) holds 100% of the 114,000 hectares West Cork licence block in SW County Cork, Ireland. First Quantum Minerals under an Earn-in & JV Agreement have been conducting staged regional targeting via geochemical sampling, mapping and geophysical surveys on behalf of AEL. The work completed to date has been highly encouraging identifying areas for secondary follow up prior to potential drill testing of targets and base metal exploration.

The block lies within the South Munster Basin and AEL considered the area to possess the criteria required to form a sediment-hosted, stratiform copper deposit based on studies of geology, mineralization, stratigraphy, and structure.  Particularly prospective areas were considered to occur along an inferred fluid pathway situated along, and up-plunge, into folds through and from a NW-SE transverse structure between the Sheeps Head and Glandore basinal highs. The principal target is for sediment-hosted Cu-Ag deposits comprising interbedded mineralized sandstones, and possibly high-grade quartz veins with Cu-Ag(-Au-Se), which is comparable to several other world-class SSC deposits (e.g. Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan, or Udokan in Russia).

Aurum Geologists Identify New Uranium Play In Mauritania

A group of private of investors, familiar with the petroleum industry in Mauritania, were seeking to expand their business on-shore. Recent favourable changes in the country’s Mining Law led the company to enlist Aurum Exploration Services to review the mineral potential of Mauritania and to identify any key commodities for future mining.

Mauritania is an arid, West African country. The range of challenges included its geological and topographic features; logistics; and a newly-introduced, sixteen-point mineral exploration permitting process. Aurum Exploration Services put together a three-person geological team, led by Dr Sandy Archibald, which travelled to Mauritania to oversee the project.

Preliminary Research

• The team visited the Mauritanian Geological Survey to gain as much background information on the geology of the country as possible.
• It made contact with the Mining Department in order to fully understand the processes required to acquire mineral exploration and mining permits, and to review the mining law to determine how favourable the country is for foreign companies.
• Team members also consulted with the Cadastral department (the mineral licensing board) in order to identify areas of the country that were currently under licence by other mining companies, and for which specific commodities.

Discovery

After collating the preliminary information, the team began processing the data using GIS software. This enables Aurum to assess the facts across layers such as topography, geology, mineral occurrences, geophysics, radiometrics and satellite imagery. The team was able to identify the specific areas of the crust that were more favourable for various commodities.

The team determined there was good potential for gold, copper and uranium in several areas. The best potential for uranium was determined to be in the north of the country and, based on this information, the team made eight licence applications on behalf of Mauritania Ventures Limited (MVL; at this point a 50:50 joint venture between the private investors and AIM-listed exploration company)

Exploration

• Using the data collected during the preliminary targeting stages, the field team ventured into the Sahara Desert to follow up on the best targets.
• In an eight week period Aurum’s geologists used a combination of airborne radiometric spectrometry data, sampling and mapping to verify their initial findings
• By targeting airborne gamma ray anomalies of only nine counts per second (CPS), further excavation of pits and trenches produced results up to 22,000 CPS and the the visible presence of uranium mineralization. Subsequent geochemical analysis showed that the mineralization contained up to 0.29% U3O8
• Aurum presented this result to the client, who subsequently asked the team to undertake further exploration in additional areas. The company’s geologists returned to the field and defined more uranium mineralized zones

Results

Using carefully gathered data, innovative thinking and expert field exploration, Aurum Exploration Services was able to discover uranium mineralization in an area of Mauritania that had not previously been investigated – and to do so quickly, accurately and effectively.

Canadian-Irish Funded Adventus Enlists Aurum For Regional Target Generation Studies

Adventus Exploration enlisted Aurum to conduct regional target generation for base-metals in specific European jurisdictions.

Historical databases were compiled allowing a study of the results of historical exploration within the geological context of the areas.

A series of exploration projects targeting specified mineralization were identified and the client continues work with further assessments, licence acquisition and active exploration programmes.

Challenges

For these desktop studies, data collection is always a challenge, as acquisition of required information can be extremely time-consuming. A particular consideration when undertaking data review and target generation in non-English speaking countries is the language barrier. 

Solution

Once the team was briefed by the client, the members began assessing the data available to them on their internal system, before moving onto external resources.

Historical data was compiled into a digital database and areas assessed based on the results of historical exploration, as well as the geological environment.

The results of initial research identified the areas with the greatest potential to host specified type of targeted mineralization. Desktop studies like these often evolve into a field study and this was the case with the Irish copper project. After considering the recommendations of the initial review, Adventus enlisted Aurum to carry out verification mapping and sampling. This was followed-up with a field visit by a team of Aurum geologists and a leading expert in the field of sediment-hosted copper mineralization.

This project involved senior geologists, junior geologists and the Aurum IT department. Senior geologists assisted with data acquisition, assessment and interpretation; junior geologists and the IT department assisted with data acquisition, assessment, initial field sampling and generation of field maps. 

Results

The client is continuing with further assessments, licence acquisition and exploration programmes for all areas.

Arctic Resources – Maarmorilik (Maarmorilik Zn-Pb)

Aurum provided exploration management services to Arctic Resources (ARC), an Icelandic mining company focused on exploitation of high grade resources in Greenland.  ARC are currently operators of the Maarmorilik Zn-Pb and Nalunaq Au projects in Greenland.   Aurum have been involved with the historical Black Angel mine at Maarmorilik since 2007 completing drilling management, core logging, ground geophysics and geological mapping.

Work focused on developing new exploration targets in the vicinity of the old mine using a combination of airborne and ground geophysical surveys to help target exploration drilling.   Geological modelling and the re-examination of the historical underground records helped identify areas which may host extensions to the known zones of mineralisation or identify new, as yet untested, targets.

Adventus – Target Generation In Ireland (Ireland Zn-Pb And Cu-Ag)

Aurum is currently carrying out a programme of reviews for base-metal prospectivity over selected areas of Ireland for Adventus Exploration Limited, a strategic partner company of Altius Minerals Corporation.

Adventus engage in focussed programmes of target generation for Cu-Ag and Zn-Pb, appraising and developing new projects and advancing their existing ground holdings. All its exploration projects are selected using appropriate exploration model knowledge in tandem with local expertise, such as that available through Aurum, to produce prospective targets ready for on the-ground-exploration and drill testing.