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Sparton Resources Inc. (TSX
VENTURE:SRI) (the "Company")
reported today that it will shortly begin an exploration program on the
company's wholly owned +150 claim (2400 ha) "Whiskey" copper- uranium
property in
central New Brunswick. The claim areas are easily accessible by
a network of main and secondary roads and trails.
The property
acquisition was made as a consequence of Sparton's research into
non conventional metallic resources, and the association of copper
and uranium occurrences with phosphate rich host rocks.
The area
was the subject of several exploration programs from about 1970
until the early 1980's by various large companies such as BP
Oil Ltd. and Aquitaine Company of Canada, as well as a number of
smaller organizations and private individual prospectors. There
is no record of any significant exploration in the past 20 years.
Limited historical data indicates
that numerous boulders of altered mineralized conglomerate, altered
phosphatic shale and impure sandstones were found in several areas
of the claims which typically assayed (wet chemical analysis) on
average, 1% copper, 0.3 % uranium ( approximately 0.4% U3O8) and
0.1% yttrium (all data from NB Provincial Assessment files) . Despite
at least one drilling program the source(s) for these float fragments
were never located. The mineralization is described as consisting
of copper oxides (chalcocite, covellite) and pitchblende in iron
oxide stained conglomerate with a high content of basement fragments.
Many float fragments were located near the conglomerate contact
with radioactive phosphatic shales. Alteration consists of strong
iron oxide (hematization), secondary calcite, clay alteration
with local sulphides including pyrite.
Elsewhere on the claims
sampling from other work programs has reported values of up to
0.05% lead, 0.04% zinc, 0.095% U3O8, 13.2% P2O5 and 0.04% zinc
with 0.055% U3O8 and 9.1% P2O5.
The various soil water and rock
sample geochemical and surveys that were also completed in the
period 1972-1982 and located several areas of anomalous base
metals and uranium which are within the claim areas. Several of
the showings appear to be associated with fracture and shear zones
in the favourable host rocks.
Past geophysical programs were generally
restricted to radiometric methods and in one case induced polarization
was utilized to locate conductive zones that might be associated
with the metallic mineralization found in the boulder samples.
This latter technique was unsuccessful in locating discrete targets
while the radiometric work did locate numerous anomalous areas.
Geologically the area is underlain
by continental and shallow marine clastic sediments of Carboniferous
and Mississippian age which unconformably overly sheared and fractured
basement rocks of the Kingston Uplift. These rock units and basal
zone of this unconformity are excellent targets for "red bed style" copper
- base metal mineralization as well as unconformity hosted uranium
mineralization analogous to the prolific Athabasca Basin of Northern
Saskatchewan. The base metal and uranium mineralization is co-extensive
and mineralogy is consistent with a structurally or stratigraphically
controlled style of secondary hydrogene type mineral emplacement.
NEW WORK PROGRAM
The winter work program
will consist of detailed ground magnetic and VLF (Very Low Frequency)
geophysical surveys which will be used to locate shallow and
deep seated structural elements which could be related to mineralized
areas. It may also be used to interpret the form of the underlying
unconformity surface. These methods may be useful to locate such
features in both the basement near the unconformity as well as
in the near surface environment. Following interpretation and
compilation of this information and all historical data a summer
field program will be organized and implemented. Locating the source
of the high grade boulders will be the first priority of the program.
Sparton's exploration and evaluation
programs are being carried out under the direct supervision of
A. Lee Barker, P. Eng., P Geol., the Company's President and CEO
who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
FOR
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