by Greg Klein | August 8, 2017
Even before the drill core reached the lab, Arctic Star Exploration TSXV:ADD announced a discovery that’s both rare and potentially associated with several metals. The company found a carbonatite-syenite complex on its Cap project in east-central British Columbia.
The potential rewards associated with a new discovery such as at Cap cannot be overstated.—Jody Dahrouge
“Carbonatite is an extremely rare rock type with only around 550 complexes identified worldwide,” explained Jody Dahrouge, president of Dahrouge Geological Consulting, which oversees the exploration program. “In addition to their rarity, they are also well known for being the source of production for a plethora of commodities, including being the dominant source for niobium and rare earth elements. The potential rewards associated with a new discovery such as at Cap cannot be overstated.”
Also associated with mineralized carbonatite systems are tantalum, copper, nickel, iron, titanium, zirconium, platinum group elements, gold, fluorspar, lime, sodalite and vermiculite, Arctic Star added.
Some of the world’s better-known carbonatite deposits include Palabora in South Africa (copper, nickel, gold and PGEs), Bayon Obo in China (REEs, iron ore, niobium and fluorspar), Araxa in Brazil (niobium), Cargill in Ontario (phosphate), Niobec in Quebec (niobium), Mountain Pass in California (REEs), and Mount Weld in Western Australia (REEs).
Carbonatite in drill core from hole Cap17-004.
The discovery prompted Arctic Star to stake another 7,657 hectares, expanding its property to over 10,482 hectares. The new turf covers a ridge that extends towards the Wicheeda REE deposit, about 50 kilometres northwest.
Cap’s exploration has so far focused on an area of about 3,000 by 1,000 metres, the site of prior geophysics and anomalous niobium-REE geochemical samples. This season’s work consisted of mapping, sampling, prospecting and four drill holes. Assays are pending but carbonatite and/or alkaline rock types were found in two holes.
Carbonatite in outcrop has been mapped approximately 90 metres in strike, with an estimated thickness surpassing 50 metres. Additional outcrops of carbonatite and related rocks have been found across an area measuring about 800 by 200 metres, the company added.
Last month Arctic Star announced plans to acquire Timantti, a Finnish diamond project on the Fennoscandian Shield, which also hosts Russia’s Lomonosov and Grib diamond mines. Due diligence revealed 58 small diamonds in an 18.9-kilogram sample from Timantti’s White Wolf kimberlite. More recent assays on 48.65 kilograms of historically extracted split core showed 111 microdiamonds.
In late July the company offered a $1.25-million private placement.
Read Isabel Belger’s interview with Arctic Star president/CEO Patrick Power.
