Summary
Eureka Resources Inc.'s Lottie Lake property comprises approximately 3,000 hectares and is located 25 kilometres northwest of Wells in British Columbia's historic and mineral-rich Cariboo Mining Division.
The Lottie Lake property covers extensive areas of volcanic rock of the Slide Mountain terrain, which is known to host copper-bearing massive sulphide deposits in other parts of the province. Although Eureka is not actively working the property at present, chairman and president Jack O'Neill continues to believe the site holds great promise.
In Depth
Mention the words "Cariboo" and "mining" in British Columbia, and most people will immediately think of gold, thanks to the Cariboo Gold Rush of 1858-65. But interest in Eureka Resource Inc.'s Lottie Lake property centres primarily on copper, not gold.
The Lottie Lake property consists of 11 claims covering approximately 3,000 hectares and is located 25 kilometres northwest of Wells in British Columbia's historic and mineral-rich Cariboo Mining Division.
The property covers extensive areas of volcanic rock of the Slide Mountain terrain, which is known to host copper-bearing massive sulphide deposits in other parts of the province.
The area has been the subject of intermittent exploration for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits since the mid-1970s. In 1998, prospecting in the Lottie Lake area revealed a single strongly mineralized boulder of VMS mineralization assaying 24% copper.
Based on this find, Eureka conducted a preliminary program of test-pitting, geochemistry, geophysics, and a glacial study in 1999. Test pits revealed the discovery of at least 15 additional boulders of a similar nature to the original discovery.
The following year, Eureka completed an option agreement with Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Ltd., a subsidiary of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd., in turn a subsidiary of Anglo American plc, to further explore Eureka's Lottie Lake properties.
The new exploration eventually confirmed and detailed the occurrence of high-grade copper float and gossan (an exposed, oxidized portion of a mineral vein). Hudson Bay spent approximately $650,000 during 2000 to conduct extensive geochemical, geological and geophysical surveys at the property, including five drill holes.
However, the drilling did not locate the source of the high-grade float discovered by Eureka and, in January 2001, Eureka announced that Hudson Bay would not be exercising its option to conduct further exploration at Lottie Lake.
Nevertheless, Eureka chairman and president Jack O'Neill remained optimistic about the property because of the discovery of several mineral-laden boulders with copper content ranging up to 24%. As well, a detailed assay of one boulder showed 115 parts per billion of gold, six parts per million of silver, and other minerals. Furthermore, west of where the boulders were found (M-7 discovery pit), reefs bearing significant amounts of manganese and barium were discovered. "These are all signs the deposit is VMS," Mr. O'Neill says.
Eureka conducted more exploratory work on the Lottie Lake property through 2001, including the drilling of two holes in the most promising sections of two separate conductive zones. While both holes intersected the target areas, both to depth and width, the results were not VMS; graphite was the predominate conductor.
In 2005, Eureka conducted more trenching on the Lottie Lake property, and confirmed the direction of the flow of the glacier thought to have deposited the copper-rich boulders. To date, however, the source of those boulders has not been located. But Mr. O'Neill remains hopeful that the underlying source will, indeed, eventually be located.
