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The Massicotte property is adjacent to the Detour Lake Property, which is at an advanced stage of development with resources (measured and indicated) estimated at 21 million ounces of gold.
The Massicotte property covers a total area of 22,114.64 hectares in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt in northwestern Québec. The 556 claim property is located 12 km east of Detour Gold Corporation’s several million ounce Detour Lake gold deposit. Based on a revised mineral resource estimate by SGS Geostat Ltd., on May 25, 2010, Detour Gold Corporation announced measured, indicated and inferred gold resources in excess of 21 million ounces of gold at Detour Lake, using a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t. The regional gold-bearing Detour, Sunday Lake and Massicotte deformation zones cross from the Detour Lake mine property onto the Massicotte property.
Previous exploration work and drilling on the Massicotte property identified the Lynx, Rambo and Lap 3 showings, which respectively yielded drill intersections with values of 7.8 g/t Au over 7.2 m, 6.3 g/t Au over 2.7 m and 24.1 g/t Au over 2.4 m.
Two relatively unexplored, highly prospective gold zones cross the Massicotte property, covering a favourable horizon nearly 40 km long: the eastern extension of the Sunday Lake Deformation Zone, hosting the Detour Lake mine, and the Grasset Deformation Zone.
The property is located on generally low ground; outcrop exposure is poor. The area is covered by a thick layer of overburden. The rocks on the property are Archean in age and belong to the Harricana-Turgeon Belt (HT) of the Abitibi Subprovince.
The HT Belt is divided into bands of volcanic and sedimentary rock oriented east/west. From north to south:
- Manthet volcanic domain (tholeiitic basalt)
- Matagami Group (sequence of turbidites composed of conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and shale)
- Brouillan-Nord volcanic domain (tholeiitic basalt)
- Brouillan volcanic complex (basalt and rhyolite)
- Enjalran volcanic domain (basalt)
- Taïbi Group (amphibole-biotite schist)
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Several gold and base metal deposits have been identified in the HT Belt, including the Detour Gold mine (past production: 1.84 M oz gold, current global resource: 17.3 M oz gold), the Selbaie mine (past production: 45 M tonnes grading 1% Cu, 2% Zn and 39 g/t Ag) and the Casa Berardi gold mine, currently being operated by Aurizon Mines Ltd. (production: 688,000 ounces, current measured and indicated reserves: 1.87 M oz gold).
An option agreement and a joint venture agreement have been entered into with Balmoral Resources Ltd., a seasoned and very well funded exploration company.
The option agreement provides for Balmoral to be granted two options by Radisson. Under the first option, Balmoral can earn an undivided 51% interest in the property by (i) spending $325,000 on the property in the first year and an additional $1,475,000 over the next two years for a total of $1,800,000, (ii) paying Radisson $50,000 within 10 days of exchange approval, (now received), $50,000 before the first anniversary of exchange approval, and $50,000 prior to the second anniversary of exchange approval and (iii) issuing 50,000 common shares of Balmoral to Radisson within 10 days of exchange approval and 50,000 common shares prior to the first anniversary of exchange approval.
Under the second option, Balmoral can earn an additional 9% interest in the property, provided it has exercised the first option. Balmoral will then have a period of 90 days to elect to exercise the second option whereby it must produce on or within the next three years (the second option deadline) a 43 101 report showing a measured and indicated resource of at least 500,000 ounces of gold on the property or complete additional expenditures on the property of no less than $1,500,000 prior to the second option deadline.
A joint venture will be formed in accordance with industry standards. Balmoral will be the operator, whether it exercises only the first option (should Balmoral elect not to exercise the second option) or whether it exercises the second option. Any party to the JV which falls below 10% ownership will automatically be reduced to a 2% net smelter return royalty.
It should be noted that initial exploration work by Balmoral Resources Inc. has also commenced on the Company’s Detour East project. Line cutting has commenced on the eastern portion of the property in advance of a planned induced polarization survey and a ground based magnetic survey is also underway on the western portion of the property in advance of drilling this year.
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