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Argosy Gold Mine Property



Commodities: Gold (Au)

Location

The Argosy Gold Mine property is located in the Red Lake Mining Division of northeastern Ontario, 110 kilometres east-northeast of Red Lake.

Property & Ownership

The property comprises 44 patented and 57 unpatented claim units for a total of 101 contiguous claims covering 1,616 hectares. CANGOLD holds a 100% interest in the Argosy Gold Mine subject to a 2.5% NSR.

Property Geology

The Argosy Gold Mine property is situated in the northern part of the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt of the Superior Province of the Precambrian Shield. The Birch-Uchi Belt lies between the prolific Red Lake and Pickle Lake Greenstone Belts and contains similar geology.

The property is underlain by a drag-folded sequence of mafic and intermediate volcanics, greywacke, pyroclastics and iron formation. Carbonate and sericite alteration occur over an area of about 3km x 3km. A large body of quartz porphyry occurs on the southern portion of the property and related dykes are found intruding the volcanic and sedimentary rocks. Quartz veins mineralized with sulphides and gold occur in north-south trending fractures dipping westward between 30 and 85 degrees.

CANGOLD's work has shown that gold mineralization at the Argosy Mine consists of a series of en echelon zones typically showing intense sericite alteration, "sheets" of narrow quartz veins and 1-5% coarse-grained arsenopyrite. Gold occurs as free grains and small clusters in the quartz. In the greywacke host, the quartz is typically a smokey grey colour and arsenopyrite occurs for about 10-15cm into the wallrock on either side of the veins. In the porphyry, the same smokey grey quartz veins are seen to cut an earlier, apparently barren, stockwork of milky white quartz. In the basalt, the gold-bearing quartz veins are milky white and gold occurs in close association with thin ribbons of fine arsenopyrite in the vein within a few centimetres of the wallrock contact. The argillite appears to be a relatively poor host as both alteration and veining are poorly developed in this rock type and gold grades are lower than in other rock types.

In many cases the gold mineralization consists of higher-grade intervals within broader zones of lower grade material. However, both narrow high-grade and broad low-grade intersections can occur on their own and it is common to get several of these zones in close proximity to one another, any one of which could locally blossom into a significant zone of gold mineralization.

In the Casummit Creek area, 2.5 kilometres southeast of the Argosy mine, auriferous zones are characterized by quartz ankerite veins in silicified, sericitized intermediate tuffs, argillite and mafic tuffs. Mineralization associated with the veining and altered host rock consists of disseminated arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, and pyrite with traces of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. The tuffs strike westerly with moderate to steep northerly dips.

Previous Work

The Argosy Gold Mine was mined between 1931 and 1952 and produced 101,875 ounces of gold and minor amounts of silver from 276,573 tons of ore at an average grade of 0.37 ounce per ton (12.7g/t) Au. The mine was only developed to a depth of 900 feet (270 metres); however, and although developed ore reserves had been exhausted at the time the mine closed, it is known that high-grade gold mineralization extends below the old workings (up to 0.46 ounces per ton (15.8g/t) Au over 3.5m). The property lay dormant until 1974 and has been only intermittently explored since.

Diamond drilling programs in 2002 and 2003 confirmed the extension of the gold mineralization below the old workings as well as the continuity of parallel veins. Highlights of the 2002-2003 drilling include:

  • No. 2 Vein Zone - 11.75g/t over 1.55m
  • No. 2 Vein Zone - 14.39g/t over 0.7m
  • No. 3 Vein Zone - 14.67g/t over 1.7m
  • No. 8 Vein Zone - 12.02g/t over 1.29m
  • No. 11 Vein Zone - 17.27g/t over 1.60m
  • P Zone - 75.54g/t over 0.34m
  • P Zone - 9.86g/t over 2.98m
  • Contact Zone - 32.44g/t over 0.48m

    Details of the 2003 diamond drilling programs are presented in news releases of August 5, 2003 and November 19, 2003.

    2004 Exploration Program

    Nine holes totalling 1,814.8 metres were drilled during the 2004 winter drill program. Four holes targeted the No. 5, No. 3 and P Zones at the Argosy Mine, and five holes were drilled into an auriferous zone along Casummit Creek, 2.5 kilometres to the southeast of the mine.

    At the Argosy Mine, AM04-01 was drilled to test the extensions of the No. 5 and No. 3 veins. The No. 5 vein returned 52.73g/t gold over 0.3 metres, but the hole intersected an unknown mine working prior to reaching the target depth of the No. 3 vein . However, a previously unknown vein in the hanging wall of the mine opening was intersected from 75.0 to 76.3 metres and returned 9.15g/t gold over 1.3m.

    AM04-08 was drilled as a 20 metre step out south of AM03-01A (9.86 g/t Au over 2.98m) and was drilled to test the extension of the P Zone approximately 50 metres vertically below the former mine workings. AM04-08 intersected two zones of veining, alteration and mineralization (including visible gold) attributable to the P Zone (Table 1).

    Hole AM04-07 was drilled 75 metres south of holes AM03-1A and 02 to test for extensions of the P Zone system. The hole intersected what is interpreted as a new vein on the P Zone structure from 267.5 to 268.0 metres down hole which assayed 3.66g/t gold. This is the first indication that gold mineralization continues to the south beyond the extent of the old mine workings and is an important development in the search for new zones at the mine.

    Table 1. Argosy Mine Drilling - Highlights
    ----------------------------------------------
Drill      Inter          Core   Gold   Argosy
Hole      section        length  (g/t)  Mine
            (m)           (m)           Zone
----------------------------------------------
AM04-01   49.9  -  50.2   0.3   52.73    #5
AM04-01   75.0  -  76.3   1.3   9.15     New
AM04-08  320.75 - 322.4   1.65  14.2     P
AM04-08  330.3  - 334.25  3.95  1.73     P
AM04-07  267.5  - 268.0   0.5   3.66     P
----------------------------------------------

    In the Casummit Creek area, five holes were drilled over a 100 metre strike length to test a strong Induced Polarization (IP) chargeability anomaly and an intersection in a 1989 drill hole (CC-2) by Goldfields that returned 4.82g/t Au over 7.7m (including 9.4g/t over 2.5m; half core re-assayed by Cangold in October, 2003). Numerous intersections of alteration and veining were encountered over significant widths, and while gold grades were lower than in the Goldfields hole, a substantial zone of gold mineralization is evident. With higher grades indicated by the old hole and mineralization open in all directions, there is room to expand on this new zone with continued drilling.

    Table 2. Casummit Creek Drilling - Highlights
    --------------------------------------
Drill      Inter        Core   Gold 
Hole      section      length  (g/t)
            (m)         (m)         
--------------------------------------
AM04-02   17.0 - 17.7   0.7    1.83
AM04-05   27.9 - 32.6   4.7    1.41
including 27.9 - 28.9   1.0    3.05
AM04-06   25.4 - 25.7   0.3    1.64
AM04-06  115.9 - 116.2  0.3    1.80
--------------------------------------

    Work to date supports the exceptional exploration potential of the Argosy Gold Mine project. CANGOLD is proceeding with its target goal of developing at least a million ounces of gold on the Property.

    CANGOLD's Vice President Exploration, Robert Brown, PEng, is the Qualified Person for the Argosy Project as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
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    This page was created on Thu Sep 9, 2010 at 3:49:00 AM Pacific Time.