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30 SEG NEWSLETTER No 65 • APRIL 2006... from 29Exploration Reviews (Continued)EXPLORATION REVIEWSa till sample from the Sedna Corridor.Follow-up detailed ground magneticsand potentially drilling are planned.The Aviat Joint Venture is a partnershipbetween Stornoway (70% and operator),BHP Billiton (20%), and HunterExploration Group (10%) that coversapproximately 4 M acres of the MelvillePeninsula. To date, a cluster of ninekimberlite bodies within a confinedarea have been identified, all of whichare significantly diamondiferous, withfavorable early-stage microdiamonddistribution. Diamonds North will continueto be active in Nunavut, and withthe recently acquired 100% interest inthe 5-million-acre Amaruk property,work in 2006 will include drilling,prospecting, and geophysical surveys.In the Kitikmeot (Slave province)region of Nunavut, Miramar Mining isstarting a 34,000-m drill program on itsHope Bay project. The final EIS hearingon the Doris North project was conductedin Cambridge Bay in lateJanuary 2006 and the results areexpected by early March. In 2006,Dundee Precious Metals will be conductinga 25,000-m drill program on itsBack River project, mainly testing theGoose and George Lake deposits.Wolfden Resources is rapidlybecoming the major landholder inNunavut, with the recent acquisition ofthe Izok, Hood, and Gondor basemetal projects from Inmet and theacquisition of the Lupin mine fromKinross. In the last several yearsWolfden’s main focus as been the HighLake base metal project and the Ulugold project, both in the High Lakegreenstone belt in the northern Slaveprovince. The Izok deposit is one of theworld’s highest grade undeveloped basemetal deposits. The acquisition ofLupin provides significant infrastructurein the region, as well as potentialfor near-term production. Also withbase metal projects, Sabina Silver willbe commencing a winter drill programon its Hackett River silver-zinc projectin March-April.Strongbow Exploration had a successful2005 season in the Regan Lakeand Anialik belt, optioned fromNunavut Tunngavik Incorporated(NTI). This will allow them to focustheir efforts in 2006 on priority targetswithin these prospects. TaheraDiamond completed construction andbegan production from the Jerichodeposit in 2005, following in the footstepsof the Ekati and Diavik diamondmines in the NWT. This has becomeCanada’s third diamond mine andNunavut’s only producing mine.Tahera is planning further explorationon the Rockinghorse property and theHood River claims along with bulksampling of the Muskox kimberlite,part of Tahera’s Polar project.NORTHWESTTERRITORIESIn the NWT, Seabridge Gold started a15,000-m drill program at its 100%-owned Courageous Lake gold project.This project covers 53 km of theMatthews Lake greenstone belt whichhosts the 2-km-long FAT deposit. TheFAT deposit contains an estimated 3.72Moz in the measured and indicated categories(plus an additional estimated5.23 Moz in the inferred category). TyheeDevelopment continues to advance theYellowknife gold project with a prefeasibilitystudy on the Ormsby zone.Fortune Minerals continues to advancethe NICO gold-cobalt-bismuth deposittowards a bankable feasibility studyand recently announced an agreementto purchase the Golden Giant mill forthe project. The deposit is proposed tobe mined by a combination of undergroundand open pit methods, and theore would be processed in a 3,000 tpdmill and hydrometallurgical plant toproduce gold doré, cobalt cathode, andbismuth concentrate.De Beers is developing the SnapLake project—an underground diamondmine in the NWT, with constructionthrough 2006 and productionscheduled for 2007. In addition, DeBeers has an advanced evaluation projectat Gahcho Kué in the NWT.Peregrine Diamonds is completing abulk sample on the DO-27 kimberliteand has started a drill program at thePellatt Lake property. Both of theseprojects are located near the Diavik andEkati mines.SASKATCHEWANThe year 2005 was a stellar year formineral exploration in Saskatchewan;estimated expenditures are CAN $120M, up from $60 M last year.Approximately $67 M (56%) of thetotal exploration expenditures werespent in the search for uranium. Theuranium spot price has ballooned from$7 (US) per pound in 2001 to $37 (US)currently. Consequentially, in the twoyears since Dec. 1, 2003, land dispositionshave almost doubled in number,and quadrupled in area from 1,300totaling 1.4 M ha to 2,355 totaling 5.6M ha. There are more than 70 registereddisposition holders in theAthabasca region, mostly concentratingon grassroots exploration and depositdelineation.Exploration results in 2005 wereimpressive. COGEMA and UEX havefound more high-grade uranium attheir Shea Creek project south of theformer Cluff Lake mine. Recentlyreported intersections included 5.4%U308 over 37.7 m and 5.8 U308 over13.7 m, among the best ever intersectedin the Athabasca basin. Under its participationagreement, UEX can earn a49% interest in 10 western Athabascaprojects, including Shea Creek, by funding$30 M in exploration over 11 years.Cameco’s exploration efforts in theAthabasca basin remain a combinationof brown-field (around existing mines)and green-field (throughout the remainderof the basin) targets. Brown-field oradvanced exploration programs werecompleted at Rabbit Lake, Dawn Lake,Cree Extension, and McArthur River,with all programs encountering significantresultsThe Millennium discovery on theCree Extension project 35 km north ofKey lake remains Cameco’s mostadvanced exploration project. Diamonddrilling last year was concentrated onthe deposit and directed towards increasingthe indicated resource inventory.Green-field exploration continues toget encouraging results at theCentennial discovery on the VirginRiver project located 125 km westnorthwestof Key Lake. Intersections ofup to 5.83% U308 over 6.4 m have beenreported from this zone.UEX’s Hidden Bay project, haveannounced results of 4.93% U308over10.1 m at their West Bear depositand 4.52% U308 over 0.5 ms at thenewly discovered Telephone Lakedrilling area.JNR Resources Inc. and lnternationalUranium Corp. (IUC) havereported results from summer drilling atMoore Lake, southeast of Key Lake.Two new zones of unconformity-style