Thunder Creek
HighlightsJanuary 26, 2010 - TC09-80 intersects 12.45 gpt over 6.40 m, including 64.69 gpt over 1.20 m, extends northeasterly plunging zone 110 meters. TC09-69b intersects 11.24 gpt over 18.35 m, including 17.17 gpt over 10.50 m, confirms thick high-grade core to mineralization near 650 Level.
November 6, 2009 - Lake Shore Gold acquires remainder of Thunder Creek property through acquisition of all outstanding shares of West Timmins Mining Inc.
August 24, 2009 - TC09-68d intersects 12.17 grams per tonne (gpt) gold (Au) over 9.00 metres (m), TC09-73 extends main porphyry gold system, with gold mineralization, to 1,125 metre vertical depth.
June 24, 2009 - TC09-68b intersects best grades and widths encountered to date, intercepts include 12.75 gpt Au over 83.40 m or 13.73 gpt over 77.50, including 24.68 gpt over 13.00 m, 38.22 gpt over 11.00 m and 26.78 gpt over 8.50 m.
March 31, 2009 - 19.55 gpt over 6.00 m reported in Hole TC09-69, second gold zone reported within porphyry.
As a wholly owned property, Thunder Creek will be developed as a single project with the adjacent Timmins Mine property. Since 2007, a number of encouraging exploration results have been announced at Thunder Creek. Thunder Creek is an exciting project with significant potential based both on the drill results to date and its close proximity to the Timmins Mine shaft and ramp.
Advanced Exploration Program
Following completion of the West Timmins Mining transaction, Lake Shore Gold commenced an advanced exploration program for Thunder Creek, which involves drifting across to the high-grade Thunder Creek gold mineralization from the 200 Level and 650 Level at the Timmins Mine. An extensive underground and surface diamond drilling program will be ongoing throughout the next year, and will support underground development on ore grade mineralization.
Thunder Creek Advanced Exploration Program
The Thunder Creek property represents a primary gold exploration target consisting of 54 claim units. In December 2007, Lake Shore Gold completed the requirements to vest a 60% option interest in Thunder Creek from West Timmins Mining Inc. (“West Timmins”). On November 6, 2009, the Company obtained 100% ownership of Thunder Creek through a business combination transaction with West Timmins. Certain claims are subject to a 2% or 3% NSR royalty.
Review of Exploration Results
During 2007 Lake Shore Gold intersected four new zones of high-grade gold mineralization in hole TC07-30 that returned 10.91 grams tonne gold over 3.65 metres, 5.43 grams per tonne gold over 1.2 metres, 27.6 grams per tonne gold over 0.50 metres and 9.77 grams per tonne gold over 3.95 metres. The character of the mineralization in these new gold zones is similar to the Ultramafic zone that hosts the majority of the gold mineralization at the Timmins project. An additional hole, TC07-36, contained 24.61 grams per tonne gold over 7.0 metres, located 25 metres west of hole TC07-30 and 300 metres below surface.
During the first quarter of 2008, the Company received additional assay results from the ongoing drill program on the property, including an intersection of 8.57 grams per tonne gold over 9.00 metres in hole TC07-43. Other significant intersections include 27.21 grams per tonne gold over 0.90 metres, 8.52 grams per tonne gold over 2.05 metres and 6.33 grams per tonne gold over 2.60 metres (for more details see the press release dated March 31, 2008).
In early August, Lake Shore Gold announced that it was commencing a new drill program at Thunder Creek to involve 36 holes and 22,000 metres of diamond drilling. Consideration is also being given to using geophysical surveys to aid in the definition of this new mineralized zone. Drilling will focus on further expanding and infilling the recently discovered, high-grade Rusk Zone and will also test a number of other high priority gold targets on the Property.
On December 16, 2008, the Company announced encouraging results from the first nine holes (4,000 metres) of the ongoing 22,000 metre drill program. The results included an intercept of 11.20 gold grams per tonne over 10.40 metres in drill hole TC08-54 at a depth of 575 metres, the deepest intercept to date. Included within this intercept were a high-grade zone of 25.99 grams per tonne gold over 3.00 metres and another interval averaging 7.79 grams per tonne gold over 4.55 metres, all of which were in a broader zone averaging 5.90 grams per tonne gold over 26.35 metres. The zone is within 750 metres from the shaft currently being developed as part of the advanced exploration program at the Company´s Timmins project (for more details see the press release dated December 16, 2008).
On March 31, 2009, the Company announced the release of new, high-grade intercepts from six additional holes (4,093 metres) as part of the ongoing 22,000 metre diamond drill program, including an intercept of 8.86 grams per tonne gold over 24.85 metres (including 10.88 grams per tonne gold over 4.05 metres, 19.55 grams per tonne gold over 6.00 metres and 7.95 grams per tonne gold over 5.25 metres) in Hole TC09-69, and 7.41 grams per tonne gold over 3.00 metres, 5.80 grams per tonne gold over 13.65 metres and 5.29 grams per tonne gold over 12.85 metres in Hole TC09-68. These intercepts extended the Rusk and Porphyry zones at Thunder Creek by 200 metres at depth and 100 metres along strike, for a total depth of approximately 775 metres. They also confirmed the presence of a second significant mineralized horizon within the Porphyry zone. The zones remain open at depth and along strike. (For more information see the press release dated March 31, 2009).
On May 5, 2009, the Company announced the results from one additional hole and two wedge holes at Thunder Creek, including wedge Hole TC09-68a with an intercept of 10.09 grams per tonne gold over 4.70 metres (including 17.16 grams per tonne gold over 2.25 metres) and wedge Hole TC09-69a, which intersected 7.97 grams per tonne gold over 19.45 metres in the Rusk Horizon (including 9.88 grams per tonne gold over 6.90 metres and 11.44 grams per tonne gold over 6.00 metres). Both wedge holes plus step out Hole TC09-70 also intersected multiple Porphyry horizons similar to those previously announced on March 31, 2009 in holes TC09-68 and TC09-69, confirming a minimum 175 metre strike length for these Porphyry zones and the Rusk zone along a north-northeasterly trend. (For more information see the press release dated May 5, 2009).
On June 24, 2009, Lake Shore Gold announced the results from six holes and one wedge hole (5,900 metres). The results include wedge Hole TC09-68b, which intersected the best widths and grades encountered to date at Thunder Creek. TC09-68b intercepted 12.75 gpt Au over 83.40 m or 13.73 gpt over 77.50 m, including 24.68 gpt over 13.00 m, 38.22 gpt over 11.00 m and 26.78 gpt over 8.50 m. The broad intercept in TC09-68b, which spans the full width of the Porphyry unit, contains many of the features from other holes including strong alteration, intermittent quartz veinlets, local visible gold and accessory minerals such as molybdenite, galena, sphalerite and scheelite. TC09-68b also intersected mineralization in the Rusk Zone, with an intercept of 5.62 gpt Au over 4.90 m, including 9.50 gpt over 2.20 m, and also intercepted 1.01 gpt Au over 6.00 m in a new, second Porphyry unit discovered near the bottom of the hole. TC09-68b is located approximately 50 metres above the previously released wedge Hole TC09-68a, which included an intercept of 10.09 gpt Au over 4.70 m, including 17.16 gpt over 2.25 m. (For more information see press release dated June 24, 2009).
On August 24, 2009, the Company announced results for three new holes, TC09-68c, TC09-68d and TC09-73, (2,447 metres). TC09-68c intersected multiple zones of mineralization including 21.86 gpt over 1.70 m, 9.13 gpt over 0.70 m and 3.17 gpt over 15.70 m, including 23.20 gpt over 0.50 m from the Rusk Zone and 4.17 gpt over 13.35 m from the Porphyry Zone. The best intercepts in Hole TC09-68d included 4.85 gpt over 15.70 m from the Rusk Zone, and 12.17 gpt over 9.00 m in the Porphyry. Along with previously release holes TC08-54 (5.90 gpt over 26.35 m) and TC09-68 (2.87 gpt over 71.75 m), the intersections in Hole TC09-68d define a thick mineralization envelope over a minimum 250 m vertical height incorporating the entire porphyry and portions of the Rusk zones, which adds a prospective new target with bulk and/or high grade potential for the project. Hole TC09-73 was a major step-out hole, drilled 245 metres (approximately 800 feet) down dip from our previous deepest hole. While high grades were not encountered, Hole TC09-73 successfully extended the mineralized porphyry unit to a vertical depth of 1,125 metres and confirmed that several good indicators for higher grade mineralization found in holes above were still present at this depth. As such, the potential for high-grade intercepts at this depth and deeper is considered excellent.
On January 26, 2010, the Company announced results 7 holes and 11 wedge holes, for a total of 12,883 meters drilled. Among significant intercepts were 13.45 gpt over 6.40 m, including 64.69 gpt over 1.20 m, and 6.89 gpt over 7.65 m in TC09-80. The intercepts confirmed the extension of the zones at least 110 m to the northeast and down plunge of previously reported TC09-68. TC09-69b intersected 11.24 gpt over 18.35 m, including 17.17 gpt over 10.50 m or 31.67 gpt over 4.30 m, followed by 12.88 gpt over 8.85 m approximately 50 m above TC09-69. TC09-69c intersected 5.30 gpt over 10.05 m, including 10.01 gpt over 3.30 m and 11.81 gpt over 3.65 m, 43 m further above TC09-69b. TC09-69d intersected 4.50 gpt over 17.25 m, including 10.50 gpt over 5.30 m in the Rusk Zone, while TC09-69e had multiple intersections highlighted by 6.16 gpt over 11.20 m in the area 50 m below previously reported TC09-69a. These results confirm the presence of a high-grade core to the mineralization near the 650 m level and along the north-east plunge line which is the main target for development currently being driven from the Timmins Mine 650 Level to Thunder Creek.
