Tagalder's three contiguous Kiglapait licenses consist of 277 claims
covering 6,925 hectares. They are located approximately 100 km
northeast of the original Voisey's Bay nickel-copper
discovery. Tagalder staked the claims in 1996 to cover the
northeast basal part of the Kiglapai intrusion (with a strike
length of 14 km). Diamond Fields Resources staked the
remainder of the intrusion after its Voisey's
Bay discovery. Inco currently takes control of Diamond
Field's claims. The Voisey's
Bay deposit, which has a mineral reserve of over 30
million tons, is hosted by an intrusion of similar age and
type.
Exploration
In July 1998, Tagalder entered into a joint venture with
Regal Goldfields Limited to carry out its 1998 drilling
program. WGM (Watts, Griffis and McOuat, Consulting Geologists
and Engineers of Toronto), was contracted to manage the
exploration program. A diamond drillhole in length of 509
meters was completed to test the basal part of the intrusion
in the area of one of the magnetic anomalies.
In WGM's October 1998 report, it states that the drilling
was successful in confirming there were significant quantities
of sulfides in the basal portion of the intrusion. A large
area of magnetic anomalies, similar to the one drilled, occurs
about 7 kilometers to the southeast. These anomalies occur
within the basal part of the intrusion, at its intersection
with a southeast trending magnetic anomaly, which is
interpreted by WGM was possibly representing a feeder dyke to
the intrusion. WGM has recommended that exploration be focused
in this area, as the greater degree of mixing which could be
expected in this environment favorable for the formation of
more nickel-copper rich sulfides.
All of the data from the project was reviewed
and analyzed by Dr. Tony Naldrett, a noted international
nickel specialist and Professor at University of Toronto. Both
WGM and Dr. Naldrett recommended further exploration work at
the southern end of the Labrador properties. This could
include side scan and vertical sonar, an underwater EM survey,
dredging and further drilling.
Current Status
It is widely expected that the mineral price may soon
start to recover from its low and Inco
will finally reach a favorable settlement with the
Newfoundland government to go ahead with its Voisey's Bay
project. Tagalder decided to hold on to its valuable claims
and wait for the mineral upturn to negotiate further joint
venture drilling program. Tagalder and its partners can hold onto the claims without further
spending until December 2002. |
