Camel Creek Project

Distant Ridge Project

Camel Creek Project

Northwest’s assessment of previous exploration efforts within the Camel Creek Project has revealed a long history of non-coordinated and variable exploration efforts with shallow drilling coverage over the majority of the project area. Northwest now has the opportunity to unlock significant value through the application of advanced targeting techniques and modern systematic exploration.

 

Currently, the project area hosts a number of small open-pitable gold deposits. Northwest’s identification of these deposits has confirmed the high-value, near-surface, virgin potential of the Camel Creek Project.

Northwest is currently advancing larger target settings within the Camel Creek Project for drill testing in 2007.

Geology

The mineralisation within the Camel Creek Project is quite distinct from the mineralisation found on the Blue Spec Shear. The mineralisation is characterised by medium grades (2-5g/t Au), near surface and hosted by stock work and sheeted vein systems in fault controlled mineralisation settings. The mineralisation also exhibits high grade (>5g/t Au) plunging shoot components.

Gold mineralisation within the project area is associated with subordinate pyrite and is treatable with standard cyanidisation techniques presenting no metallurgical issues.

Northwest’s high resolution electromagnetic survey over the Camel Creek Project highlighted a number of structural and stratigraphic trends where distinct conductivity contrasts exist. This has provided Northwest with a clear picture of the sub-cropping geology in the area which will greatly assist ongoing exploration programmes.

JORC Resources

The resources contained within the cluster of Camel Creek Project deposits located in the north-western corner of the project area are amendable to open pit mining with only the economically exploitable components of each deposit delineated into resource categories.  

	Indicated			Inferred			Total
	Tonnes	Au g/t	Au oz	Tonnes	Au g/t	Au oz	Tonnes	Au g/t	Au oz
Junction	35,887	3.1	3,614	40,478	3.6	4,567	76,365	3.3	8,181
Round Hill	17,564	4.8	2,703	43,801	4.0	5,653	61,365	4.3	8,356
Little Wonder	146,129	1.9	8,843	17,114	1.6	865	163,242	1.8	9,708
Roscoe's Reward	247,866	2.0	15,685	52,319	2.5	4,159	300,185	2.1	19,844
Total	447,446	2.1	30,846	153,712	3.1	15,243	601,157	2.4	46,089

All resources are located at surface resulting in very low strip ratios for development. Resource development was based on economic modelling which will ensure a very high resource to reserve conversion.

Deposits

Northwest has identified four gold deposits within the Camel Creek Project, namely: Junction, Round Hill, Roscoe’s Reward and Little Wonder.  Gold mineralisation at each of these prospects has potential for further extension along strike and at depth. Given the shallow nature of these resources, further economic gold mineralisation will add considerably to these high-value resources.

Junction

Mineralisation at the deposit is defined by two parallel, steeply south-dipping lodes and is currently drill-tested over a strike length of 120m along the Junction shear zone, which has been mapped in outcrop over a strike length of 300m. Current drilling has only tested the near surface portion of mineralisation and indicates true widths on both lodes varying between 8m and 3m and displays a steep easterly plunge control.

Recent drilling results have also confirmed a link zone of mineralisation between the two interpreted lodes, while also confirming the depth continuity of high-grade mineralisation. The sedimentary host unit comprises an alternating sequence of shales and quartz-rich lithic arenites. Higher-grade mineralisation is associated with high quartz-carbonate vein frequency and a fresh alteration assemblage comprising silica-sericite-pyrite.

Round Hill

Mineralisation at Round Hill is dominantly controlled by a NE-trending fault zone, cross-cut by a series of NW-trending fault sets. The two high-grade shoots; the southern and northern, have a strike extent of 50m and 90m, respectively. Both shoots have true widths varying from 2-6m and down-dip extents varying from 15-35m. Wider zones within the orebody morphology are interpreted to be related to vein swarming around fault intersection locations.

Recent extensional drilling has also identified new moderate grade shear-hosted mineralisation at Round Hill East and West. Drilling confirmed an overall northeasterly dip to near-surface shoot-style (interpreted) mineralisation. At Round Hill West a northwest orientation to mineralisation was also confirmed, similar to that recorded at Round Hill East.

Roscoe’s Reward

The Roscoe’s Reward deposit comprises a series of mineralisation positions along a 1km strike continuous shear. Shallow ore-grade mineralisation over a strike extent of 1km is contained in eastern, central and western zones, each of which dips moderately towards the south and southwest with varying plunge controls.

Definition and extensional drilling has doubled the know strike extent of the Roscoe’s Reward deposit to over 300m. At present, the majority of the resource remains open at depth with current drilling focusing on defining the near-surface component. True thickness of ore-grade mineralisation varies between 14m and 3m (average 6m) and the extents of the main resource have now been defined to a vertical depth of 50m.

Little Wonder

Gold mineralisation at Little Wonder is shear hosted within a thick package of metasediments comprising an alternating sequence of shales and lithic arenites. Northwest has identified two closely spaced lodes which merge with depth. Recent drilling results have confirmed the continuity of shallow ore grade gold mineralisation over good widths and significant strike length at this deposit.

 

Page last updated: 29.01.2007