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 Hope Bay (100%) Click here for 2006 Madrid Drill Hole Location Plan Gold production from mines in Canadian greenstone belts have been significant wealth creators over the past 100 years. However, with the exception of the Hemlo camp in the early 1980's, there has been a long hiatus in the development of major new gold camps in greenstone belts since WWII - until now, that is. The Hope Bay greenstone belt, Miramar's flagship gold project on the Arctic coast in the territory of Nunavut covers a huge area - over 1,000 square kilometers - on which three separate mineralized districts have been found containing substantial gold resources, and there is excellent potential to much more. Miramar has been exploring the Hope Bay belt since 1999 and believes that gold resource identified to date (approximately 9 million ounces of gold) may be just the beginning of a new gold camp that could see Hope Bay become the next great mining district in Canada and transform Miramar into a significant gold producer. ) Hope Bay is a typical Archean greenstone belt, comparable to the Yellowknife, Kirkland Lake and other prolific gold belts; it extends over 80km in a north-south direction and is between 7 and 20km wide. The belt comprises mafic meta-volcanic and meta-sedimentary rocks that are bound by Archean granite intrusives and gneisses. The greenstone package has been deformed during multiple events and is transected by major north-south trending shear zones that appear to exert a significant control on the occurrence of mineralization, particularly where major flexures are apparent and coincident with antiforms. Similar features are the locus for major gold deposits in other Archean greenstone gold camps (e.g. Kirkland Lake). Three gold deposits have been defined on the belt thus far. Boston, is located near the south end of the belt and is associated with a flexure in the Hope Bay structural break. Gold is associated with sulphide mineralization (mostly pyrite) that forms in clots within the veins and as a halo in the wall rock around the veins. The best auriferous development occurs in zones of extensive hydrothermal alteration within a large iron-rich carbonate altered shear system. Three gold-rich mineralized zones sub-parallel to the shear have been defined, each of which consists of several en echelon, higher-grade lenses that have significant vertical continuity. ) The Doris deposit is typical of the "Archean lode" or "greenstone-hosted" deposit style. It consists of a steeply dipping, over 3km long quartz vein system in folded and metamorphosed pillow basalts and is situated at an inferred inflexion in the regional Hope Bay Break. At the north end, the veins are folded to create a high-grade anticlinal hinge zone lying close to surface (Doris North -- the first anticipated mine on the belt). As part of the same vein system, 1.2 km to the south, an intersection of two structures creates a high-grade zone (Doris Central). The Doris Connector zone spans approximately 500m in strike extent and is approximately 100m north of Doris Central resource area. Alteration is defined by carbonate, paragonite, pyrite and sericite. Gold is found at quartz vein and wall rock contacts and is associated with dark-coloured tourmaline-pyrite septa or ribbons. ) Prior to 2001, Madrid was seen as a lower grade target, associated with interbedded basalt, komatiitic volcanic flows, gabbros and black argillites, and was not a focus of activities. After major exploration success, the 2006 program focused on Madrid as a large open pit opportunity. Exploration in 2006 has been focused on establishing mineralization between the gaps of the four ore bodies that make up the current Madrid resource. This exploration has been largely successful and technical economic studies are underway to determine the optimal scenario for mining at Madrid looking at production that ranges from 300,000 ounces to 650,000 ounces per year. In early 2007, the optimal scenario will be announced and feasibility studies and permitting will commence on this phase of production. For the latest information on the Hope Bay project click here.
* Inferred resources are in addition to indicated resources |
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