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Mining Mineral Exploration and Geoscience 2005

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Page 1: Min ing Mine ral Ex plor ati on and G eosc ien ce 2005 · Min ing Mine ral Ex plor ati on and G eosc ien ce 2005 NTI 2 colour logoNTI 2 co lou r lo g o PMS 541 BluePMS 54 1 B lu e

Mining Mineral Exploration and Geoscience 2005

NTI 2 colour logoNTI 2 colour logoPMS 541 BluePMS 541 BluePMS 124 YellowPMS 124 Yellow

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Contents:Land Tenure in Nunavut .....................................................................................3Indian and Northern Affairs Canada ....................................................................4Government of Nunavut ......................................................................................6Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated ........................................................................8Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office ...................................................................10Summary of 2005 Exploration Activities ............................................................13

Kitikmeot Region ....................................................................................13Kivalliq Region........................................................................................32Qikiqtani/Baffin Region .........................................................................44

Cover photo: Mike Young takes a

break to enjoy the view over Buchan Gulf located

between Pond Inlet and Clyde River on the

East Coast of Baffin Island.Photo Credit: Jamie Boles,

Custom Helicopters Ltd.

About the Nunavut: Mining, MineralExploration and Geoscience 2005This exploration overview is a combined effort of four partners: Minerals & Petroleum ResourcesDivision, Government of Nunavut; Mineral Resources Division, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada;Department of Lands and Resources, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Canada-Nunavut GeoscienceOffice. The intent of this publication is to capture information on exploration and mining activitiesin 2005, and to make this information available to the public. All exploration information was gatheredprior to mid-November 2005.

Prospectors and mining companies are welcome to submit information on their programs forinclusion in the next Nunavut: Mining, Mineral Exploration and Geoscience. We thank the many con-tributors who submitted data and photos for this edition. Feedback and comments are appreciated.

NOTE TO READERSThis document has been prepared on the basis of information available at the time of writing.The authors make no warranty of any kind with respect to the content and accept no liability,either incidental, consequential, financial or otherwise, arising from the use of this document.

2 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

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mineral tenure regime. Mineral rights (mineralclaims or leases) that existed at the time of thesigning of the NLCA – known as grandfatheredrights – continue to be administered by Indianand Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) until theyterminate or the holder transfers its interests tothe NTI regime. For both surface and subsurfaceIOL, access to the land, through a Land UseLicence or Commercial Lease, must be obtainedfrom the appropriate Regional Inuit Association.

The Crown owns mineral rights to 98 per centof Nunavut. INAC administers these rights throughthe Canada Mining Regulations (CMR). Thisincludes surface IOL, for which access to the landmust be obtained from the RIAs as explained above.

Significantly, the NLCA is a final settlementwhereby all land claims in Nunavut have beensettled with the Inuit of Nunavut, thus providing anunmatched level of land tenure certainty. Howeverland claims overlapping Hudson Bay and thesouthernmost Kivalliq are being negotiated withresidents of northern Quebec and northern Manitobarespectively.

For more information on the location of IOLand Crown land in the territory take a look at the2005 Nunavut Exploration and Activity Map onpage 28.

The territory of Nunavut was created in April1999 as a result of the Nunavut Land ClaimsAgreement, the largest Aboriginal land settle-ment in Canadian history. Spanning two millionkilometres, the Territory has 25 communities andan approximate population of 28,000 people.Inuit represent 85 per cent of Nunavut’s population,creating the foundation of the Territory’s cultureand values. This culture is inherently connectedto the land, shaping government, business andday-to-day life.

In addition to the creation of the new territory, the NLCA gave Inuit fee simple title to356,000 square km of land. There are 944 parcels(16% of Nunavut) of Inuit Owned Lands (IOL)where Inuit hold surface title only (surface IOL).The Crown retains the mineral rights to these lands.Inuit also hold fee simple title including mineralrights to the remaining 150 parcels of IOL (sub-surface IOL), which total 38,000 square km andrepresent approximately 2 per cent of the territory.Surface title to all IOL is held in each region byone of the three Regional Inuit Associations(RIAs) while Inuit subsurface title with respectto subsurface IOL is held and administered byNunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI). NTIissues rights to explore and mine through its own

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 3

Land Tenure in Nunavut

GUIDE TO ACRONYMS

CMR – Canadian Mining RegulationsCNGO – Canada-Nunavut Geoscience OfficeEA – Inuit Owned Lands Mineral Exploration AgreementED&T – Department of Economic Development and Transportation, Government of NunavutEIS – Environmental Impact StatementGSC – Geological Survey of CanadaIIBA – Inuit Impact Benefit AgreementINAC – Indian and Northern Affairs CanadaIOL – Inuit Owned LandKIA – Kitikmeot Inuit AssociationNIRB – Nunavut Impact Review BoardNLCA – Nunavut Land Claims AgreementNTI – Nunavut Tunngavik IncorporatedNT – Northwest TerritoriesRIA – Regional Inuit Association

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Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)administers mineral tenure on Crown land inNunavut. This is done through the Nunavut RegionalOffice (NRO) in Iqaluit, Nunavut, by the MineralResources Division and the Mining Recorder’sOffice (MRO) of the Land Administration Division.

The Mineral Resources Division manages sustainable mineral resource development onNunavut’s Crown land. The division collects, edits,and distributes geoscience data through targetedresearch and economic geology projects and reviewsexploration data filed as assessment work by themining industry. Mineral Resources works on policyissues related to mineral development and explo-ration on Crown lands through the Canada MiningRegulations (CMR), and also provides technical

advice during environmental assessments. As anadvocate of sustainable mineral development inthe territory, the division also collaborates withpartners in outreach programs such as NunavutMining Week and school and community visits.

Other activities supported by Mineral Resourcesinclude:

• Co-managing the Canada-NunavutGeoscience Office (CNGO) together withNatural Resources Canada and theGovernment of Nunavut;

• Participating in environmental reviews, providing technical advice and perspective;

• Maintaining a digital archive of assessmentdata filed in Nunavut dating back to the 1940’s;

4 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada,

Nunavut Regional Office P.O. Box 100, Iqaluit,

Nunavut X0A 0H0

Websitewww.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nunavut

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tenure. As well, the MRO sells claim maps, claimtags and assists individuals and companies ininterpreting the Canada Mining Regulations withinformation on how to keep their properties ingood standing.

Interest in Nunavut’s mineral developmentpotential remained strong in 2005 with industryinvesting close to $200 million to explore forcommodities such as diamonds, base metals and uranium. It was also another busy year forprospecting permits, with 1136 permits issued bythe MRO encompassing 48 million hectares ofland, the largest area of permitted Crown land inthe history of Nunavut.

• Maintaining a library of reference material,rock samples and press clippings;

• Promoting mineral exploration within theterritory through community outreach, publications and professional networking;

• Completing targeted geoscience in conjunction with CNGO and/or Industry.

The MRO administers all other aspects of mineraltenure on Crown land in Nunavut. Administrationof these rights is regulated by the Canada MiningRegulations under the Territorial Lands Act. TheMRO also administers coal tenure under theTerritorial Coal Regulations and is your mainpoint of contact to acquire crown mineral or coal

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 5

STAFF CONTACTS

MINERAL RESOURCES Bernie MacIsaa Manager 867 975 4290 [email protected] Jurate Gertzbein Mineral Development Advisor 867 975 4291 [email protected] Linda Ham District Geologist (Kitikmeot) 867 975 4292 [email protected] Karen Costello District Geologist (Kivalliq) 867 975 4569 [email protected] Paul “Jethro” Gertzbein District Geologist (Qikiqtani/Baffin) 867 975 4279 [email protected] Christianne Lafferty Mineral Archives Administrator 867 975 4293 [email protected] General Inquiries [email protected] Archives Orders or Inquiries [email protected] Mineral Resources Fax 867 975 4276

LAND ADMINISTRATIONSpencer Dewar Manager 867 975 4280 [email protected] Pikuyak Administrative Assistant for

Lands & Minerals 867 975 4294 [email protected] Holwell A/Land Administrative Specialist 867 975 4283 [email protected] Brett-Miles Senior Land Operations Clerk 867 975 4576 [email protected] Craig A/Land Specialist 867 975 4285 [email protected] Akulukjuk Land Operations Clerk 867 975 4282 [email protected] Roock Land Operations Clerk 867 975 4275 [email protected]

MINING RECORDERS OFFICEAnna North Mining Recorder 867 975 4281 [email protected] Alainga A/Deputy Mining Recorder 867 975 4284 [email protected] Leighfield Senior Mining Clerk 867 975 4275 [email protected] Wyatt Land Operations Clerk 867 975 4580 [email protected] Tucker GIS Technician 867 975 4573 [email protected] Monteith Junior GIS Technician 867 975 4278 [email protected] Administration and Mining Recorders Office Fax 867 975 4286

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in many jurisdictions throughout the world. There-fore, ED&T is committed to working with itspartners, NTI and the Government of Canada,to make the legislation, policies and regulatoryenvironment of Nunavut efficient, internationallycompetitive and attractive to investors.

Current Government of Nunavut initiativesinclude:

Nunavut Mineral Exploration and Mining Strategy To collect and understand stakeholder views on awide range of mining and exploration issues, ED&Tcarried out consultation meetings throughoutthe territory in 2005, with participation fromNunavummiut, Inuit Organizations, Institutionsof Public Government, the Government of Canada,Community Governments, other GN departments,private Nunavut-based businesses, and NunavutArctic College. In addition, in southern Canada,meetings were held with representatives of themining and exploration industries and environ-mental non-governmental organizations.

The views expressed in these consultations havebeen collated and form the basis of the NunavutMineral Exploration and Mining Strategy, whichwill be released in early 2006. This document willclarify the GN’s position on mining and exploration,

The Government of Nunavut (GN), through itsDepartment of Economic Development andTransportation (ED&T), welcomes the interestand investment of progressive-minded mineralexploration and mining companies.

The Department envisages a vibrant and sustainable minerals industry based on the “triplebottom line” concept, where success in the industryis measured by:

• adherence to best environmental practices;• sustained flow of benefits to local residents;

and• return of healthy profits to shareholders.

The past three field seasons have seen unprece-dented levels of exploration undertaken inNunavut. A number of quality discoveries haverecently been made and there will be substantialopportunities to be realized in the territory asexploration continues and as exploration projectsevolve into mines.

ED&T is working to ensure that all Nuna-vummiut are in a position to benefit from thesecoming opportunities, and that they have the optionof becoming full participants in developments inthe territory.

At the same time, it is recognized that explorationand mining companies have the option of investing

Government of Nunavut

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 7

and will guide the government as it deals with theopportunities and challenges that developmentof the territory’s mineral wealth will bring.

Nunavut Prospectors’ Program (NPP)ED&T provides technical and financial assistanceto Nunavummiut with demonstrated prospectingskills to carry out their own prospecting projects.While this program has been in existence since1999, this year the amount of financial assistanceavailable for each prospector has been increasedfrom $5000 to $8000 per year.

Introductory Prospecting CourseEvery year, ED&T geologists present a six-dayIntroductory Prospecting Course to interestedresidents in communities throughout the territory.Since 2000, the course has been offered in eachcommunity, with over 400 graduates to date.Graduates of the course often apply for NPPgrants, and are sought after as field assistants onmineral exploration programs.

Community Minerals Education and TrainingED&T works with many other stakeholders,including the Department of Education, theGovernment of Canada, and the mining andexploration industries, in a number of programsdesigned to inform Nunavummiut of all ages ofthe opportunities in the minerals industries. ED&Tprograms and information include:

• Nunavut High School Math and ScienceAwards Program;

• Earth Sciences and Mining TeacherWorkshops;

• Careers in Mining school and communitypresentations;

• Mineral exploration company contact list forcommunities; and

• Nunavut Science Outreach Network.

STAFF CONTACTS

HEADQUARTERSGordon Mackay Director, Minerals & Petroleum Resources Division (867) 975-5917 [email protected] Smith Manager, Mineral Resources (867) 975-5914 [email protected]

ARVIAT OFFICEClaudia Riveros Community Benefits &

Education Specialist (867) 875-2298 [email protected] Berniolles Resident Geologist (867) 857-2297 [email protected] Kappi-Gawor Community Mining Advisor (867) 857-2297 [email protected] of Economic Development & Transportation, Minerals & Petroleum Resources DivisionP.O. Box 120, Arviat, NU X0C 0E0Fax: (867) 975-2986

KUGLUKTUK OFFICEResident Geologist (867) 982-7482 [email protected] Ford Community Mining Advisor (867) 982-7482 [email protected] of Economic Development & Transportation, Minerals & Petroleum Resources DivisionP.O. Box 316, Kugluktuk, NU X0B 0E0Fax: (867) 982-3701

Department of Economic Development & Transportation, Minerals & PetroleumResources DivisionP.O. Box 1000, Station 1560, Iqaluit, NU X0A 0H0

Fax(867) 975-5982

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Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) is theInuit corporation responsible for overseeingimplementation of the Nunavut Land ClaimsAgreement (NLCA). NTI’s mandate includessafeguarding, administering and advancing therights and benefits of the Inuit of Nunavut topromote their economic, social and cultural well-being through succeeding generations. The Landsand Resources Department of NTI is responsiblefor the implementation of Inuit responsibilitiesrelated to the management of Inuit Owned Lands(IOL), the environment, minerals, oil and gas,and marine areas.

There are two forms of mineral tenure thatgrant exclusive rights on subsurface IOL admin-istered by NTI. These are the Inuit Owned LandsMineral Exploration Agreement (usually referredto as the “Exploration Agreement”, or “EA”)and the Inuit Owned Lands Mineral ProductionLease (referred to as the “Production Lease”).The Exploration Agreement grants a company orindividual the exclusive right to explore andprospect for minerals (excluding oil and gas, andspecified substances such as construction materi-als and carving stone) on a portion of subsurfaceIOL. This area, referred to as the “ExplorationArea”, is similar in many ways to a mineral claimunder the Canadian Mining Regulations (CMR).A Production Lease grants the holder of anExploration Agreement the right to produce mineralsfrom a portion of the Exploration Area known asthe Production Lease Area.

Since 1999, NTI has had in place a system ofapplication that does not require staking whenapplying for an Exploration Agreement. Rather,the application requires only a description of theExploration Area based on latitude and longitude.The applicant must submit to NTI a completedApplication for an Inuit Owned Lands MineralExploration Agreement (available upon requestfrom NTI or from the NTI Lands Departmentwebsite). The completed application should includea description of the proposed exploration area

defined by latitude and longitude of the boundariesas well as a map showing the proposed explorationarea. Applications are received during designatedmonths and are processed at the start of the subsequent month, at which time NTI willdecide whether to accept an application and issuean Exploration Agreement. Applications are keptconfidential until the close of the applicationperiod in which they are received, thus ensuringthat all applicants are treated fairly. Further detailson the application process are included on theapplication form.

It should be noted that although the processand documents described here normally apply,NTI, as a private organization, has complete dis-cretion as to whether it will issue an ExplorationAgreement (or other agreement), what the processwill be for obtaining an agreement, and what theterms of the agreement will be. The terms mayinclude, for example, NTI holding a direct interestin a project.

Under the standard terms, successful applicants,upon executing the new Exploration Agreementand submitting the first year’s annual fees, will begranted the exclusive right to explore for mineralson the Exploration Area. In order to gain accessto the land, however, the applicant must obtain asurface right issued by the RIA.

NTI currently has 54 active ExplorationAgreements with prospectors and explorationand mining companies. These cover more than 12per cent of the total subsurface IOL. (In addition,grandfathered claims and leases comprise approx-imately two per cent of all subsurface IOL.)Holders of Exploration Agreements are requiredto submit annual exploration work reports toNTI that remain confidential for a period of upto three years

Many of the advanced exploration projects inNunavut fall on subsurface IOL. The followingtable summarizes the current active ExplorationAgreements and their locations.

8 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated

NTI Lands PO Box 1269

Cambridge Bay, NUX0B 0C0

Phone(867) 983-5600

Fax(867) 983-5624

Websitewww.ntilands.com

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PROJECT/DEPOSIT HOLDER(S) IOL PARCEL(S) EXPLORATION AGREEMENTS

QIKIQTANI REGIONPiling Project1 BHP-Billiton, Commander Resources BI-35 Qimmiq 1,2,4,5,6; Talik (6 EAs) Melville Comaplex HB-15, HB-16 Melville 1-2 (2 EAs)

KIVALLIQ REGIONMeliadine2 Comaplex, Cumberland RI-01, RI-12 Ant 1-4, Fay 1-4, W1,

Tan 1-4, Felsic (14 EAs)Meadowbank3 Cumberland BL-14 Meadowbank 1-3 (3 EAs)Spi Lake Comaplex AR-16 Spi LakeSquare Lake Comaplex BL-21 Square LakeSedna 4579 Nunavut Ltd RI-01 Sedna 1 - 5 (5 EAs)Cache Full Metal Minerals WC-08 CacheSDS Adam Vary RE-27 SDS 1-3 (3 EAs)

KITIKMEOT REGIONHope Bay4 Miramar Mining BB-57, BB-60 Akungani 1-3, Aimaokatuk,

Tok 1-3 (7 EAs)Doris Production Lease (application)

Contwoyto Tahera CO-08 Contwoyto agreements (4 EAs)Hood River Tahera CO-20 Hood River High Lake5 Wolfden CO-29 HilkMuskox7 Gordon Addie CO-62 Muskox agreements (3 EAs)Arcadia Bay Full Metal Minerals CO-31 Arcadia BayRockinghorse8 Kennecott CO-44 RockinghorseStrongbow Strongbow Resources 1800 km2 in the Kitikmeot Strongbow

Note: All projects referenced below are discussed in this report.

1. Overall project involves Crown land and subsurface IOL.2. The project involves land held under NTI Exploration Agreements as well as grandfathered claims and leases. 3. The project involves land held under NTI Exploration Agreements and grandfathered leases. 4. The Boston deposit is located on surface IOL, while the Doris, Madrid, South Patch, Naartok and Suluk are on subsurface IOL, distributed among

grandfathered leases and NTI Exploration Agreements. Potential extension of the Boston deposit down-dip or along strike to the north will also be onsubsurface IOL.

5. The project involves Crown land and land held under NTI Exploration Agreements and grandfathered leases. 6. The project involves Crown land, surface IOL, and subsurface IOL under NTI Exploration Agreements.7. The project involves Crown land, surface IOL, and subsurface IOL under NTI Exploration Agreements.8. Near the edge of the project referred to later in this report.

STAFF CONTACTS: MINERALS, OIL AND GAS

Carson Gillis Director of Lands and Resources [email protected] Lopatka Senior Adviser – Minerals, Oil and Gas [email protected] Morrison Administrative Geologist [email protected]

MINING PROJECTS

There are currently two mining projects located in Inuit-owned mineral rights, Miramar’s Doris North project and Cumberland’sMeadowbank project. Both are undergoing the review process leading to permitting and construction.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 9

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The Canada – Nunavut Geoscience Office (CNGO)is a partnership between the Geological Survey ofCanada (GSC), Indian and Northern Affairs Canada(INAC), and the Government of Nunavut’s (GN)Department of Economic Development andTransportation (ED&T). The mandate of CNGOis to provide accessible geoscience information andexpertise in Nunavut in support of sustainabledevelopment of mineral and energy resources,informed land-use decision-making, geoscienceeducation, and capacity building. In 2005,CNGO participated in field-based geoscienceprojects, provided Geographic Information Systems(GIS), cartographic and Remote Predictive Mapping(RPM) support and services, and contributed topublic outreach activities.

CNGO PROJECTSCNGO projects are anticipated to improve thequality of life for Nunavut residents by allowingthem to derive economic and social benefits resultingfrom responsible development of mineral andenergy resources in Nunavut. The purpose of eachproject is to reduce risk of investment by mineraland energy exploration companies, and increase

and/or sustain current levels of exploration inthe regions studied and reported on. Projects aredesigned to make a significant contribution tothe geoscience knowledge base of Nunavut, andaddress a critical knowledge gap in the currentgeoscience database. The projects are multi-facetedand may consist of components of ground-basedfield activities, including mapping bedrock andsurficial geology, geophysical, geochemical andgeochronological surveys, and comprehensivedata compilation activities. In addition, the field-based projects include components of communityconsultations and public outreach activities. Theoutreach activities are intended to increase publicconsciousness of the importance of mineral andenergy resources, to promote awareness of employ-ment opportunities in geosciences, and to promoteEarth Science education for students.

The North Baffin Project: Surficial Geology,Quaternary History and ProspectingIn 2005 CNGO, in collaboration with the GSC,the University of Alberta, and Dalhousie University,expanded the 2003 North Baffin Project fromIce Bound Lakes (NTS 37G) to Conn Lake (NTS37E) and south Buchan Gulf (NTS 37H/South).The study area lies along the northeast coast ofBaffin Island between Bylot Island and the Clydeforeland, areas with contrasting ice sheet recon-structions and chronologies. The study area provides an opportunity to resolve critical issues,and will have significant implications for regionaldrift prospecting programs.

The primary goal of the project is to reducemineral exploration risk in the northeast BaffinIsland region by improving the existing geoscienceknowledge base. The project involves mappingthe surficial geology at a scale of 1:100,000, aswell as collection of drift, stream and bedrocksamples, and detailed bedrock mapping of keylocalities. In 2005, more than 300 samples werecollected for till geochemistry and KIM analyses;31 stream sediment samples were collected for

10 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

Canada - Nunavut Geoscience Office

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 11

geochemistry and KIM analyses; more than 100bedrock samples were collected for assay, and 90for lithogeochemical analyses. In addition, theproject collected data for about 1400 ‘ground-truthing’ sites, as part of ongoing developmentof an RPM protocol, 314 paleo-ice movementmeasurements, collection of 27 cosmogenic samplesand 41 radiocarbon samples for geochronologyand research into glacial dynamics influencingthe surficial geology of the region.

Based on preliminary results and regional icereconstructions, the area was likely glaciated tothe shelf margin by ice flowing from the Foxe IceDome at the last glacial maximum (LGM), untilthe initial stages of deglaciation at ca. 14 ka.Deglaciation was interrupted by a re-advance(Cockburn) at ca. 9.6 ka, forming extensive morainesin the study area. As deglaciation continued, anice mass informally referred to as the paleo-BarnesIce Cap, retreated onto Baffin Island. Continueddeglaciation resulted in the damming of severallakes in the study area and formation of DeGeeror cross-valley moraines. The complex glacial history resulted from overprinting of both erosiveand non-erosive basal thermal regimes at variousstages of the deglaciation, as well as overprintingof LGM-related geomorphology with those ofthe paleo- and modern-day Barnes Ice Cap. Toresolve this, new applications were developed thatcompare the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in glaciolacustrine deltaic sediment,till, and large boulders to quantify variations inthe plateau-wide erosion rate and to qualitatively

assess the duration of glacial transport and icevelocity.

The Boothia Mainland Project: Bedrock and Surficial GeologyThis multi-year geoscience program focusing onthe Boothia Mainland area, and including partsof NTS map sheets 57A, 57B and 57C, waslaunched in 2005. Field work in the 2005 fieldseason included 1:250,000-scale bedrock mappingin addition to local, detailed surficial mapping andice-flow studies. The mapping follows acquisitionof an aeromagnetic survey completed in March2005 (released April 2005). In advance of thefield work, a comprehensive RPM for the regionwas produced, which assisted in developing amore strategic approach to bedrock mapping.The region has significant exploration potentialfor diamond and precious-metal deposits.

The study area includes part of the north-centralRae domain of the Northwest Churchill Province.The bedrock geology can be broadly divided intothree main lithologic associations including: 1)supracrustal rocks of presumed Archean age andpossibly equivalent to the Prince Albert Group;2) variably deformed and metamorphosed meta-plutonic rocks that intrude the aforementionedsupracrustal rocks and dominate the bedrock geologyof the region; and 3) rare occurrences of a marble- quartzite dominated succession provisionallyinterpreted to be Paleoproterozoic and tentativelycorrelated with the Chantrey Group. The Archeansupracrustal rocks form narrow, northeast striking

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and highly dismembered belts consisting mainlyof psammite, semi-pelite, metabasite, local ultramafichorizons, and sulphide-bearing (lean) iron for-mation. The metaplutonic rocks, inferred to be lateArchean, are dominated by biotite +/- hornblendemonzogranite, but are polyphase and range incomposition from diorite to syenogranite. Thestate of strain varies regionally: rocks are mainlymassive in the south-western part of the studyarea, and are strongly gneissic and highly strainedin the east and north.

Metamorphic grade varies from middle to upperamphibolite facies in the southwest, to granulitefacies in the north and northeast. The granulite-facies rocks are characterized by opx-cpx-grt inmetaplutonic rocks, and bio-grt-sil-crd-ksp inmetasedimentary rocks. In the central and southernportions of the study area, there is local preservationof granulite assemblages, suggesting that granulatefacies rocks may have been more widespread thantheir present distribution.

Granular Aggregate ResourceAssessment ProjectA supply of high-quality granular aggregate isvital to meet the infrastructure requirements ofany community or construction project. In 2005,an assessment of potential granular aggregateresources was carried out in the area around theCity of Iqaluit. The survey was necessitatedbecause of resource depletion and environmentalconcerns at the existing source of granular aggre-gate for Iqaluit. The 2005 survey also developed

a protocol that can be applied towards futureaggregate assessment projects in Nunavut.

In the 2005 field season, potential source areasfor granular aggregate occurring within 10 km ofIqaluit were provisionally identified by interpre-tation of detailed air photographs. This preliminarydata, combined with a review of previous assessmentreports and regional surficial geology data provideda focus for follow-up field work. Target areas withthe best potential to yield economic aggregateresources were visited in the field, and informationwas collected on the nature, extent, volume, andphysiography of the deposits, and access. GroundPenetrating Radar (GPR) was employed to imagethe subsurface character of deposits and depth tothe bedrock contact.

The results of the assessment identified two areashaving high potential for resource development.The Northwest Area, located approximately five kmnorthwest of the existing aggregate quarry, containsgood quality aggregate, including high qualitygravel. The Northwest Area has an estimatedminimum volume of 1,000,000 m3 of gravel andmore than 4,000,000 m3 combined sand andgravel. Total potential aggregate may be in excessof 14,000,000 m3 for the Northwest Area. Thesecond potential resource, near Tarr Inlet, containsundifferentiated sand and gravel deposits. Theestimated minimum volume of deposits in theTarr Inlet area is almost 300,000 m3 (combinedsand and gravel). Preliminary results of the surveysuggest the Northwest Area is the best long-termoption for aggregate supply for Iqaluit.

CONTACTS

Dr. Donald James Chief Geologist [email protected] Utting Surficial Geology [email protected] Gilbert GIS Specialist [email protected] Taylor GIS Specialist [email protected] Brown RPM Specialist [email protected]. Alana Hinchey Regional Geology, Geochronology

(NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow) [email protected]

Canada – NunavutGeoscience Office

626 Tumiit Plaza Suite 202

PO Box 2319Iqaluit, Nunavut

X0A 0H0

Telephone: 867-979-3539

FAX: 867-979-0708

Web Page:www.nunanet.com/~cngo

12 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 13

The Kitikmeot region spans the westernand northern mainland of Nunavut, andparts of Victoria, Prince of Wales, KingWilliam, and Somerset islands. Kugluktukand Cambridge Bay are the largestcommunities in the region and provideservices to exploration projects in the area.Yellowknife, to the south in the NorthwestTerritories, is also an important logisticalcentre.

The Kitikmeot is geologically diverse.The westernmost portion is underlainby rocks of the Archean Bear Province.The Archean Slave Province occupiespart of the western mainland and isoverlain to the west and east by thePaleoproterozoic siliciclastic and carbonaterocks of the Wopmay Orogen; this Orogenseparates the rocks of the younger BearProvince from the Slave. Inliers of Paleo-proterozoic rocks are found on VictoriaIsland, overlain by the Paleozoic ArcticPlatform sedimentary rocks that covermost of the islands. In the east Kitikmeot,the Slave Province is separated from theWestern Churchill Province (Archean toPaleoproterozoic) by the Paleoprotero-zoic Thelon Orogen (ca. 1900 Ma). TheChurchill province underlies most of thenorthern and north-eastern mainland.

Past producers in the region havegenerally been small with mines at RobertsBay, Ida Bay, and Ida Point, south ofElu Inlet. The Lupin gold mine, havingproduced over 3.1 million ounces ofgold since 1982, is now shut down andfeasibility studies are underway forreclamation plans. Some cost-recoveryinitiatives, such as a bed and breakfastoperation and a mine training facility, arebeing considered.

Tahera Diamond Corporation’s JerichoDiamond Project is well on its way to

becoming Nunavut’s first diamond mine.Construction is proceeding on schedulewith 505 loads of mine site constructionmaterials trucked in on the winter roadand commercial production anticipatedto begin in 2006.

Development plans for production atthe Doris North gold deposit (ownerMiramar Mining Corporation), in theHope Bay belt, is continuing to progressthrough the regulatory processes. Thecompany submitted its Final Environ-mental Impact Statement (EIS) to theNunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB)in October 2005 and final technicalhearings are scheduled for early in 2006.

Diamonds and gold were the twoprimary commodities sought by companiesin the Kitikmeot. Recent diamondexploration covered virtually the entirewestern mainland and parts of Victoria andPrince of Wales islands. The CoronationGulf area of the Kitikmeot continued tosee strong exploration activity, and theBoothia Peninsula and areas south ofKugaarak in the eastern Kitikmeot werealso active with a new diamond district,the Franklin, being identified in 2005.

Gold continues to shine in Nunavut.Quartz vein-hosted gold, lode gold andiron formation gold are all being exploredin the Slave. In addition to Miramaradvancing their Doris North project

through the regulatory process, explorationwork and definition drilling continued ontheir Boston and Madrid gold deposits alsowithin the Hope Bay belt. Exploratory workand definition drilling continued on theirBoston and Madrid gold deposits alsowithin the Hope Bay belt. Other com-panies working in various locations withinthis same belt are also enjoying successfulprograms. The Ulu and Ulu South golddeposits being worked by WolfdenResources and Wolfden/StrongbowExploration, respectively, continue to returnimpressive precious and base metal results.

Traditional exploration targets in theregion have included massive sulphide-hosted base metals. Base metal explo-ration at Wolfden Resources High Lakeadvanced this VMS project and is seeingincreased exploration efforts and newmineralized zones. Sabina Silver Corp-oration, working east of Lupin at HackettRiver, is encouraged by good silver-zincnumbers from drilling results.

Uranium exploration is seeing aresurgence of interest in Nunavut andspecifically in the Hornby Bay Basin inthe Kitikmeot. Several companies wereactive this year in the basin, includingHornby Bay Exploration, Triex, Pitchstoneand Ur Energy with programs rangingfrom initial exploration efforts to well-developed drill programs.

Summary of Exploration Activities 2005Kitikmeot Region

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This property consists of approximately3.24 million hectares and includes theDeep, Dar and Hood claims. Approxi-mately $3 million was spent in 2005 withthe collection of till samples, soil samplesand approximately 12,000 line-km ofDighem Resolve airborne geophysics.Fifteen kimberlite occurrences have beenoutlined from prospecting and till samplingand one kimberlite, Umingmak, has beendefined in outcrop. Approximately 500 kgwas collected from Umingmak and submitted for microdiamond analysis.

Umingmak is the first confirmed insitu kimberlite in the region and is exposedin three outcrop showings. The rock isdescribed as an olivine rich macrocrystickimberlite with mantle derived mineralsand nodules. The size of the kimberlitehas not been determined.

Prospecting in 2005 was limited toonly a small portion of the entire Amarukproperty and produced encouragingresults. The multiple kimberlite floatoccurrences discovered on the propertyspan an area of 62 km and demonstratethat the Amaruk property potentiallycontains a sizable kimberlite field withnumerous kimberlite intrusions. Morethan 100 geophysical anomalies have

been interpreted from airborne geophysicscollected in 2004 (11,000 line-km; only3 per cent of the property). In 2005, anadditional 12,000 line-km was covered byairborne geophysics that is currently in thefinal stages of processing, interpretationand anomaly selection. A comprehensivetill sample database of approximately 5400samples taken across the property will alsobe used to determine drill targets.

Proximity and similar geological settingto Wolfden Resources’ High Lake, VMSdeposit encouraged Strongbow to exploreon the 62,519 hectares Anialik property.This property is located within the AnialikRiver volcanic belt (ARVB) in thenorthern Archean Slave Province, Thisvolcanic belt, like many in Nunavut, is anunder-explored greenstone belt in Canada.

Exploration in 2005 was completedover a nine week period and consistedof bedrock and soil geochemical surveys,mapping, prospecting and channel sam-pling. The main goal of the program wasto investigate the mineral potential ofthe belt with the particular focus on thegold potential of the associated volcanicrocks. A number of new gold discoverieswere found through detailed mapping

and approximately 3000 soil and 1000rock samples were collected. The newdiscoveries are the Locanna, Frank, Green-stone, and Felicia showings, with Locannadefined as a linear zone extending overa strike length of approximately three km.Many of the prospecting samples on thefour new discoveries returned values inexcess of 1 g/t Au, with high values fromLocanna being 44.2 g/t Au, 20.9 g/t Au,and 14.2 g/t Au. Channel samplingalso from Locanna returned the highestvalues of the Anialik property and inthree areas along a 7 metre strike lengthof one vein near the southern end of thecorridor returned 14.4 g/t Au over 1.6 m,51.2 g/t Au over 0.25 m, and 6.8 g/tAu over 1.18 metre.

The Arcadia Bay property is an Archeanlode-gold deposit located on the ArcticOcean west of Bathurst Inlet. The projectis approximately 140 km west of the HopeBay belt. More than 20 veins and structureswith over 5.0 g/t Au have been discoveredwith a historic resource reported from theNorth Vein as 640,650 tonnes averaging7.2 g/t Au (approximately 148,000 oz).However, this resource estimate wascompleted prior to 2001 and NI43-101and is therefore unreliable. Arcadia has

14 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

AMARUK

Operator, OwnersBHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., Diamonds North CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates92° 00’W, 68° 30’NNTS57A , 57BLocation45 km south of Kugaaruk ANIALIK

Operator, OwnersStrongbow ExplorationCommoditiesPolymetallic VMSCoordinates110° 02’W, 67° 21’NNTS76M/06LocationApproximately 7 km west of Wolfden’sHigh Lake; 150 km southeast ofKugluktuk

ARCADIA BAY

Operator, OwnersFull Metal Minerals, Garnet Point Resources CorpCommoditiesGoldCoordinates110° 30’W, 67° 30’NNTS76M11Location160 km east-southeast of Kugluktuk

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 15

been explored by several mining andexploration companies since the 1930’s,targeting multiple high-grade veins andshear zones located within greenstoneand tonalite.

A 1,500 m diamond drilling programwas scheduled for July, 2005 with theobjective being to upgrade near-surface,high-grade portions of the North Vein.Additional drilling planned was to step-outfrom previous intercepts at the GHXvein including: 29.0 g/t Au over 5.6 mand 12.0 g/t Au over 23.1 m. Resultsfrom the drill program are unavailable.

In 2004, Kennecott Canada ExplorationInc. acquired 249,295 hectares of permitsand funded the staking of 80,940 hectaresof claims immediately south of the

Diamonds North/BHP Billiton Amarukproject. Diamonds North staked 56,658hectares of claims north of Kennecott’spermits and approached the companyabout a 26:74 Diamonds North/Kennecott joint venture agreementwhich was formed on 380,418 hectaresof land. Under the terms of this agree-ment, Kennecott will fund the initial$5.5 million of exploration expenses.Kennecott completed 20,000 line-km ofmagnetic airborne surveying and collected223 samples from the property. Analysisof the airborne data identified 89anomalies of which ten are consideredhigh priority and 33 moderately highpriority. The 2005 exploration programincluded ground geophysical surveyingof more than 20 anomalies and drillingof definitive targets; results are pending.

The highlight of Indicator’s 2005exploration program was the discoveryof multiple kimberlite boulder trains onits two key properties, Barrow and Darby,located in the newly identified FranklinDiamond District. Both projects areIndicator’s most advanced and arescheduled for 2006 drilling.

Work on the Barrow project, approx-imately 44,517 hectares of mineral claimslocated 15 km south of Kugaaruk, includedthe collection of 233 heavy mineralsamples, prospecting and ground geo-physics. Indicator minerals with diamondinclusion chemistry have been recoveredin till samples and the interpretation ofairborne geophysical data has identifiedhigh priority targets up-ice from thesemineral anomalies. Kimberlite float witha macrodiamond was discovered whilefollowing up a geophysical target and a6.7 kg sample has been sent for mineralanalysis.

In 2005, work on the Darby project,located approximately 120 km southwestof Kugaaruk and consisting of 77 mineralclaims covering more than 79,726 hectares,identified several kimberlite float occur-rences that are concentrated in threedistinct trains. One of these occurrencesyielded a three kilogram peridotitic mantlenodule. 2,400 line-km of detailed airborneMag/EM geophysical surveys was flownover an area interpreted as the source ofkimberlite indicator minerals recoveredin 2004. Initial interpretation of thisairborne data has outlined more than15 high priority targets. The largest targetis interpreted as having a surface area>10 hectares, has coincident Mag/EMsignatures and is associated with one ofthe kimberlite float trains discoveredearlier this year.

ARNAQ

Operator, OwnersKennecott Exploration Canada Inc.,Diamonds North Resources Ltd. CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates92° 00’W, 67° 30’NNTS56N, 56OLocation80 km southwest of Kugaaruk

BARROW1 AND DARBY2

Operator, OwnersIndicator Minerals Inc., Hunter Exploration GroupCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates189°30’W, 68°20’N; 293°20’W, 67°20’NNTS157A7, 256N6Location115 km south of Kugaarak; 2120 km southwest of Kugaarak

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16

The Victoria Island projects representDiamonds North’s most advanced projects.The Blue Ice property covers over 80,940hectares and straddles the Nunavut/NTborder. The geology consists of Ordo-vician carbonate platform rocks overlyingthe Proterozoic Shaler Group shale andElice Formation sandstone; diabase dykescut only the Proterozoic rocks. TeckCominco Limited is the operator on theproperty and funded more than $4.5Mof exploration in 2005.

Kimberlites and trends that have beenidentified on Victoria Island are the Galaxy,Jaeger, King Eider, Pintail, Sanderling,Sand Piper, Snow Bunting and Turnstone.Exploration efforts since 2002 havefocussed on the 20 km-long Galaxy and25 km-long King Eider confirmed kim-berlite trends, two semi-parallel, north-west-southeast trending structures 30 kmapart. The majority of the work in 2005involved the King Eider kimberlite anddrilling indicates that the body is at least180 metres long, up to 50 metres inwidth and remains open to depth.

A mini-bulk sample of approximately2.8 tonnes of King Eider kimberlite

obtained from five drill holes (2.1 tonnesof split core) and an additional 1.3 tonnesof kimberlite collected from a trenchhave all been submitted for diamondanalysis via caustic fusion. The collectionof this sample followed encouraging resultsfrom the previously analyzed 680 kilogramcomposite sample taken in 2004 thatyielded a 0.74 carat stone in a parcel of434 diamonds, weighing a total of 1.32carats.

Three new kimberlite occurrenceswere discovered in 2005, increasing thenumber of known occurrences on VictoriaIsland from 36 to 39. One of these newoccurrences is centrally located alongthe Galaxy trend and intersected 2.1 and17.15 metres (true widths) of kimberliteand 5.3 metres (true width) of brecciatedkimberlite. The second discovery locatedon the south-eastern portion of the KingEider structure consists of multiplehypabyssal kimberlite dykes with truewidths of < 1 m each.

Seventy-five reverse circulation drill holestested 31 discrete geophysical targets,many of which were located “off-trend”of the Galaxy and King Eider structures.One additional kimberlite was intersected,located approximately 500 metres north-west of the King Eider body. Additional2005 work included 11,700 line-km ofnew airborne magnetic surveying andcollection of 200 till samples.

The Canoe Lake property comprisesapproximately 15,860 hectares of miningleases, mineral claims and Inuit OwnedLands within the High Lake greenstonebelt. The property is centred on twoCanada Mining Leases, currently underoption from Canadian Natural Resources,and is host to a number of known show-ings, including the Canoe Lake massivesulphide occurrence, and the Bamako andTuk Lake gold showings. Copper-zincmineralization occurs as massive tostringer sulphides within the volcanic-sedimentary pile at the same stratigraphicposition as Wolfden’s High Lake VMSdeposit located 25 km to the north.

Limited previous diamond drilling atCanoe Lake by Texasgulf and NorandaExploration returned values of 0.8%Cu, 4.8% Zn, 89 g/t Ag and 1.0 g/tAu over 1.8 m. On the Bamako goldshowing, limited drilling by BHP Mineralsintersected 15.3 g/t Au over 2.6 m.The Tuk Lake gold showing is representedby a grab sample that returned a valueof 96.4 g/t Au.

Detailed prospecting programs,bedrock mapping, rock sampling andground based magnetic and electro-

CANOE LAKE

Operator, OwnersAllyn Resources Inc., Strongbow Exploration Inc.CommoditiesCopper, Zinc, Lead, Gold, SilverCoordinates111° 08’W, 67° 08’NNTS76M/02, 03Location25 km south of Wolfden’s High Lake; 190 km southeast of Kugluktuk

BLUE ICE (including White Ice and Hadley Bay)

Operator, OwnersDiamonds North Resources Ltd.,Teck Cominco LimitedCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates110°00’W, 70°36’N to 108°30’W,71°00’NNTS77E, 77F, 77G, 77HLocation330 km northwest of Cambridge Bay

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magnetic surveys were completed overground geophysical grids established in2005. Reconnaissance prospecting wascompleted throughout the claim block toassess a number of airborne geophysicaltargets defined through a 2004 airbornemagnetic and EM survey. Allyn ispresently working to earn a 51 per centinterest in the property, by spending $3million over a five-year period. Oncevested at 51 per cent, Allyn can increaseits interest to 60 per cent by spending anadditional $2 million over the ensuingtwo-year period.

The Committee Bay Northeast project,the SR claim block, is located within theCommittee Bay greenstone belt withincentral Nunavut. Correlative rocks to thesouth contain the Meadowbank ironformation-hosted gold deposit.

In 2004, Goldak Airborne Surveyscompleted a 5731 line-km survey, flownat a flight line spacing of 200 metres, oftri-axial magnetic gradiometer work overportions of the Committee Bay NortheastProject area. In 2005, the remainder of theSR claim block was surveyed by Goldakand 3,946 line-km of tri-axial magneticgradiometer surveying was completed. Thisairborne survey covers an approximate

90 km long strike length of the CommitteeBay greenstone belt. Numerous positive,strong and linear to highly deformedmagnetic anomalies have been identified.

This property covers 214 claims (216,833hectares) with 90 claims on the Asiakblock and 124 claims on the Coppermineblock. The property lies in the easternsection of the Hornby Bay Basin withinthe Archean Bear province. Helikian andHadrynian rocks of the Coppermine Holo-cline nonconformably overlie Aphebianbasement rocks. The Helikian sandstonedefines a middle Proterozoic basinequivalent to the Athabasca basin in

northern Saskatchewan and the Thelonbasin in the eastern Arctic.

Uranium mineralization in the base-ment rocks is associated with graphitichorizons within the Epworth metargillites,shear zones in the hornblende/biotitegneiss and quartz/hematite veining in themetagranites. Several areas within theHornby Bay sandstone have been discov-ered to have low grade uranium miner-alization associated with clay/ hematitealteration zones. The unconformablecontact between the sandstone and thebasement rocks is the focus of explorationfor high grade uranium deposits. A rel-atively large area of silica-clay alterationhas been discovered in the southernsection of the Coppermine block.

Work in 2005 included the collectionof 227 grab samples, 187 float samples,766 till samples, 766 soil samples and6500 line-km of MEGATEM airbornegeophysical surveying and 240 line-kmof ground geophysical surveys wereconducted over 25 grids. Thirteen holeswere drilled, for a total of 5135 m, on uranium targets and intersectedfavourable geology.

COMMITTEE BAY NORTHEAST

Operator, OwnersAllyn Resources Inc., Strongbow Exploration Inc.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates92° 00’W, 66° 30’NNTS56J, 56KLocation300 km north of Baker Lake

COPPERMINE (Coppermine, Asiak)

Operator, OwnersHornby Bay Exploration Ltd. CommoditiesDiamonds, uraniumCoordinates114° 20’W, 67° 20’N to 116° 00’W, 66° 50’NNTS86J, K, O, NLocation80 km south of Kugluktuk

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 17

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The Asiak claim block lies within the north-western trending “diamondcorridor” and is prospective for kimberlitepipes. Airborne geophysics has been usedto target potential diamondiferous pipesand detailed till sampling has beenemployed to search for associated indicator minerals.

Coronation Minerals’ property covers30,655 hectares and is believed to be highlyprospective for world class copper-nickel-platinum group metal ore bodies. TheMuskox layered ultramafic intrusion hasrecently become the focus of considerableexploration activity for its platinum groupmetals (PGM) mining potential. Regionalgravity studies suggest that most of theintrusion lies under cover rocks (i.e. theCoppermine River Basalts) and is there-fore under-explored. The most prospectivetarget on the property is a gravity anomalytarget that is arcuate-shaped and measuresapproximately 2 km by 10 km. This gravityanomaly, coincident with an airbornemagnetic anomaly, may represent a largeintrusive body containing economicconcentrations of nickel, copper, andPGM’s. There are at least 12 documentedcopper-silver occurrences as well as encour-aging indications for gold and platinum.

The Back River Joint Venture quartz-veinhosted gold deposits are found withinArchean banded iron formation withingreywacke folded into an anticline, withthe apex of the fold forming a hingezone near surface. In February, 2005,Dundee Precious Metals bought an optionto earn a 60 per cent interest in the BackRiver project with a commitment tocomplete an exploration program on theproperties totalling $25 million beforeAugust 2006. To date, over $10 millionhas been spent. The project is comprisedof 45 mineral leases on subsurface IOL,subject to grandfathered mineral claimsand leases. The most important propertiesof the project comprise the George Lakeand Goose Lake deposits with an indi-cated mineral resource of approximately1.4 million ounces Au and an inferredresource of 600,000 ounces Au.Mineralization is found at George Lake,Goose Lake, Boulder Pond and BootLake and occurs in both the high-gradehinge fold zone and the greywacke zonewithin the core of the fold.

Gold exploration in the George Lakearea began in 1982 and drilling beganin 1985. Arauco Resources (later Kit

Resources) purchased the property in1996 and conducted a major drillingprogram in 1997. In 1999, Kinrossacquired the option from a merger groupincluding Kit Resources and WheatonRiver Minerals Ltd. Early 2004, Kinrossand Miramar Mining Corporation final-ized a joint venture agreement on thesetwo projects and Miramar designed an exploration program to add to theproduction capacity of Hope Bay.

However, in 2005, the ground wasoptioned to Dundee Precious Metals and2005 was a busy year for the company.Exploration activity consisted of both awinter and summer diamond drill pro-gram totalling approximately16,000 m,airborne mag-EM geophysical surveyson George, Goose and Boot lake depositstotalling 6500 line-km, reconnaissanceprospecting to explore property-wide fornew discoveries and mapping verificationof previous work.

18 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

COPPERMINE RIVER

Operator, OwnersCoronation Minerals CommoditiesCopper, Nickel, Platinum group elements Coordinates116° 30’W, 67° 30’NNTS86KLocation40 km southwest of Kugluktuk

GEORGE LAKE/GOOSE LAKE (Back River Joint Venture)

Operator, OwnersDundee Precious Metals, Kinross GoldCommoditiesGoldCoordinates107° 26’W, 63° 56’NNTS76G/10, 76G/13, 76G/14Location100 km south of Bathurst Inlet

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 19

The Hackett River silver-zinc propertyhosts three significant massive sulphidedeposits; East Cleaver, Boot Lake andMain Zone (also called “A” Zone).Significant mineralized showings, KnobHill Zone, Downie, Finger Lake and JoZone, are also found. Hackett River isone of the largest undeveloped massivesulphide deposits in Canada.

All deposits and showings are locatedat approximately the same stratigraphicinterval and occur over a 6 km longstrike length. The East Cleaver, Boot Lakeand Main Zone deposits are hosted withina Mineral Horizon Member characterizedby the presence of marble and/or calc-silicate, chert and variable quantities ofsulphides. The Boot Lake, Finger Lake,Main Zone and Jo Zone deposits andshowings are hosted within a southwarddipping stratigraphic sequence. The KnobHill Zone and East Cleaver deposit arefound within an overturned anticlinethat plunges steeply to the west.

Mineralization in each of the threemassive sulphide deposits consists primarilyof coarse grained pyrite, pyrrhotite,sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and raretetrahedrite and trace arsenopyrite.Locally, mineral zoning is well developed,

both laterally and vertically. Total drillingin six showings (Boot Lake, A ZoneWest, A Zone East, Finger Lake West,Cigar Lake and East Cleaver) totalledapproximately 9300 m in 2005.

An updated mineral resource estimateby Wardrop Engineering Inc. for Sabina,at a zinc-equivalent cutoff grade of 3%,demonstrates that the Boot Lake, EastCleaver and Main Zones contain a com-bined resource of 51.6 million tonnes.This includes an Indicated MineralResource of 37 million tonnes with anaverage grade of 4.66% zinc, 3.79 ouncesper ton silver, 0.63% lead, 0.34% copperand 0.011 ounces per ton gold. Theresource estimate, based on drilling donein 2004 and earlier, indicates an Indicatedmetal content of >150 million ounces ofsilver and 1.7 million tonnes of containedzinc.

Significant advancements were made atthe High Lake Cu-Zn-Ag-Au propertythrough both exploration and develop-ment. The property consists of 15 leases(1,710 hectares) located mainly withina land claim which reserves both surfaceand subsurface rights to NTI. The indi-cated resource, using a 2.5% CuEqvcutoff, averages 5.01% CuEqv and thesevalues place the High Lake deposit

amongst the highest grade undevelopedcopper deposits in the world. In 2005,a renewed focus on exploration resultedin three newly identified mineralized areas,Sand Lake, WW Zone and Cairo Zone,in addition to the known AB, D andWest Zones.

Significant mineralization continuedto be intersected at depth in the WestZone. Deep drilling in this area extendedthe deposit by approximately 150 metresat depth. Hole HLW-05-171 intersectedthree zones of high-grade mineralizationand assayed 4.72% Cu, 1.96 g/t Au and22.66 g/t Ag across 8.0 metres, 1.52%Cu across 10.45 metres and 4.40% Cu,2.18% Zn, 0.82 g/t Au and 66.72 g/tAg across 27.0 metres. A broad zone ofstringer and massive sulphides associatedwith an extensive zone of alteration (massiveanthophyllite-magnetite and dalmationite)was also intersected, suggesting that thishole intersected the “feeder” for the WestZone deposit and that there is potentialfor significant expansion at depth. Prior tothis drilling, the West Zone was calcu-lated to host a high-grade poly-metallicmineralization resource of >10 Milliontonnes.

The three new discoveries were iden-tified by follow-up on areas of mappedintense alteration and/or airborne con-ductors identified in the 2002 airbornegeophysical survey. The Cairo Zone,located along strike from the West Zone,hosts similar mineralization and alteration.Two holes drilled to test the CairoZone intersected up to 3.71% Cu across2.0 metres. The WW Zone is locatedapproximately one kilometre west of theWest Zone. The Sand Lake Area is hostto some of the largest and most extensiveairborne conductors on the entire High

HACKETT RIVER

Operator, OwnersSabina Silver CorporationCommoditiesGold, Silver, Zinc, Copper, LeadCoordinates108° 30’ W, 65° 55’ NNTS76F/16Location75 km south-southwest of Bathurst Inlet

HIGH LAKE

Operator, OwnersWolfden Resources Inc.CommoditiesCopper, Zinc, Gold, SilverCoordinates110° 51’W, 67° 23’NNTS76M/7Location175 km east-southeast of Kugluktuk

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Lake Property. All three new zones willbe drill tested in 2006.

In November 2003, Wolfden releasedits Strategic Plan for the High Lake MineProject. The (EIS) to satisfy requirementsof (NIRB) is expected at the beginningof the second quarter of 2006. The pre-liminary underground mine plan on theWest Zone is completed and open-pitmodels for the AB and D Zones arebeing refined prior to incorporation intothe pre-feasibility study which will becompleted in early 2006. The futuremine plans involve the infrastructure fromthe Nanisivik Mill Facility that will beshipped in 2006. The location of theproposed port site to service the HighLake Project is Grays Bay in theCoronation Gulf. A recent report on therange of expected ice conditions andlength of shipping season was completedfor Wolfden by D. F. Dickins AssociatesLtd.

The Hood River property consists of182,115 hectares in three claim blockswith Temex as the operator and earning a70 per cent interest. The property is under-lain by deeply eroded, amphibolite faces,Archean aged granite-greenstone rockswithin granitic gneiss complexes intrudedby later granitic and mafic/ultramaficcomplexes. The region is cross-cut bydiabase dykes of up to six ages. Severaldiffuse kimberlite indicator mineral

trains are present on the property.Exploration work in 2005 includedprospecting and till sampling magnetictargets chosen from 2004 high resolutionairborne geophysical survey, prospectingand till sampling.

Maximus Ventures Ltd. has an option toearn a 75 per cent interest in the EasternContact and Twin Peaks target areas inMiramar Mining Corporation’s Hope BayBelt. The Eastern Contact zone encom-passes several high-grade quartz veingold showings near the eastern granite-greenstone contact that defines the limitof the greenstone belt. In 2005, 11 holeswere drilled on this property. Three veinswere drilled and gold grade results inthe drill core were significantly less thanassays obtained from surface grab samplesand the veins were narrower than thoseseen in outcrop.

HOOD RIVER

Operator, OwnersTemex Resources Corporation, 4763 NWT Ltd. CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates112° 00’W, 66° 33’NNTS76L/5, 11, 12, 13, 86I/9Location120 km southeast of Kugluktuk

HOPE BAY PROJECT (Eastern Contact, Twin Peaks, North Lahti)

Operator, OwnersMaximus Ventures, Miramar Mining CorpCommoditiesGoldCoordinates106° 30’W, 68° 00’NNTS76O, 77ALocation160 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

20 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

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Further drilling was conducted onthe Twin Peaks at the north end of theHope Bay belt; results are pending. Thisshowing is hosted by argillaceous sedi-ments and conglomerates that overlievolcanics and syenitic intrusives adjacentto a major lineament. Twin Peaks has beeninterpreted as having the potential tohost similar large-scale gold deposits ator near the volcanic-sedimentary contact.

The Hope Bay project was again thelargest exploration project in Nunavutwith a $15.5 million 2005 explorationprogram. This project, 100 per centowned by Miramar Mining Corporation,is within the Hope Bay greenstone beltthat at 80 km long in a north-southdirection and 7-20 km wide is one ofthe most prospective undeveloped belts inCanada. Located in the northeast cornerof the Slave Province, the Hope Bay beltis a typical Archean greenstone belt,comparable to the Yellowknife, KirklandLake and other prolific gold belts.Significant gold deposits defined on theproject include Doris, Madrid (withNaartok and Suluk) and Boston. Currentresource estimates are 5.4 M oz of goldwith measured and indicated resourcesof 1.8 M oz at 9.9 g/t Au and an

inferred resource of 3.6 M oz of 6.9 g/t.Miramar Mining Corporation controls

most of the Hope Bay belt (approximately0101,175 hectares) and has been exploringthe belt since 1999. Large portions of theground are Inuit-owned and adminis-tered by NTI. In mid-November 2005,Newmont Mining Corporation of CanadaLtd. took a 9.9 per cent position inMiramar and the additional funds andinvolvement will enable Miramar toconsider larger production strategies forHope Bay belt.

Work in 2005 consisted of six differentinitiatives, including permitting of theDoris North Project, definition andexpansion drilling on the Naartok andDoris Central deposits, regional explorationincluding diamond drilling in the MadridCorridor, regional exploration and map-ping work to satisfy assessment require-ments, and ongoing resource modellingof the Boston deposit.

The Doris deposit is situated at aninferred inflexion in the Hope Baystructural break and consists of a steeplydipping, over 3 km long quartz veinsystem in folded and metamorphosedpillow basalts. At the north end, the veinsare folded to create a high-grade anticlinalhinge zone lying close to the surface (DorisNorth). Gold is found at quartz veinsand wall-rock contacts and is associatedwith dark-coloured tourmaline-pyrite septaor ribbons.

In May 2005, a Part 5 review of theDoris North Project under the NunavutLand Claims Agreement (NLCA) wasapproved by the Minister for INAC.The NIRB held technical meetingsmid-August to review the (EIS) andMiramar submitted their final EISOctober 31, 2005. NIRB has scheduledfinal public hearings late January toearly February 2006 in Cambridge Bayand with a positive review, Miramar

HOPE BAY PROJECT (Doris North, Madrid, Boston)

Operator, OwnersMiramar Hope Bay Ltd.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates106° 30’W, 68° 00’NNTS76O/9,10,15,16, 77A/2,3,6,7,10Location130 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 21

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would then enter the regulatory phaseof the permitting process and file appli-cations for various licences and permits.

Drilling at Doris Central encounteredsignificant mineralization including 54g/t Au over 4.4 metres. Most of theDoris Central deposit has now beendrilled off at 25 m centres and resourcelimits are reasonably well established.

At the Madrid deposit, 2003 resourceestimates define indicated resources of565,000 oz of gold grading 4.9 g/tand inferred resources of 1,886,000 ozof gold of similar grade. Most resources,including significant gold showingsNaartok (with two zones, the NaartokEast and Naartok West) and Suluk, liewithin the northern 2 km of the 11 kmDeformation Zone or Madrid Corridor.

Naartok area infill in 2005 consistedof approximately 6,020 metres ofdrilling in 17 holes and returned somespectacular results such as drill hole05PMD328 (11.5 g/t Au over 66.5 mat a depth of 275 m below surface). TheNaartok area is currently drilled off on25 m spacings to a depth of approxi-mately 200 m and at 50 m spacings to adepth of approximately 300 m belowsurface.

The Boston deposit, located near thesouth end of the belt, is associated witha flexure in the Hope Bay structuralbreak. Gold and sulphides (mostlypyrite) are found in clots within quartzveins and within the wall-rock halo.Measured and indicated resources are687,000 oz at 15.4 g/t and inferredresources are 900,000 oz at 10.9 g/t.Field work at Boston in 2005 was limitedto re-logging drill holes and resourcemodelling using 2004 drilling results.

Ur-Energy’s Hornby Project of theMountain Lake and Dismal West prop-erties consist of 589 claims covering52,466 hectares that lie along thenorthern fringes of the Hornby BayBasin. Ur-Energy is conducting a two-phase exploration program on theHornby Project properties, with thesecond phase work being contingent uponobtaining encouraging results from theinitial work. Phase one work involvedsurveys combined with mapping andprospecting to detect conductors suchas graphitic horizons and conductivemineralized zones. 3250 line-km GEO-TEM EM/mag surveys were flown at300 m line spacings by Fugro AirborneSurveys over the entire project. Thecompletion of ground geophysics andassessments is ongoing, permitting andrelated processes have been initiatedand are anticipated to be prior to thestart of the spring 2006 drilling season.

Trigon Exploration and Contact Diamondshave joint ventures projects IC and LO.The IC property is centred 90 kmsoutheast of the hamlet of Kugaarukand staked in the winter of 2004. Thisproject covers approximately 357,000acres, 90 kilometres southeast of Kugaarukand adjoins the Amaruk Project ofDiamonds North and BHP Billiton aswell as Trigon's TIM Project. A recon-naissance till sampling program wasconducted on both the IC and LO claimblocks, approximately 175,235 hectares100 kilometres northwest of Repulse Bayand 80 kilometres south of the IC Project.

Pyrope garnets and chromites withupper mantle affinities were found inseveral locations, with a concentrationof grains observed within a discrete areaat the center of the IC block. In 2005,a summer program of 5,200 line-kmairborne geophysics, till sampling, fieldreconnaissance and prospecting wascompleted. Interpretation of the airbornemagnetic survey resulted in the selectionof 34 anomalies and 226 heavy mineral

22

HORNBY PROJECT

Operator, OwnersUr-Energy Inc.CommoditiesUranium, DiamondsCoordinates116° 45’W, 67° 20’NNTS86N/2, 3, 6, 7Location90 km southwest of Kugluktuk

IC1, LO2, TIM3

Operator, OwnersTrigon Exploration Canada Ltd.,Contact Diamonds1, 2;Trigon Exploration Canada Ltd.Committee Bay Resources, Indicator Minerals Inc.3

CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates89° 00’W, 67° 30’N1,3;88° 00’W, 67° 00’N2

NTS56P, 46M, 46CLocation90 km southeast of Kugaaruk

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till samples were collected in the area ofthe anomalies; results are pending.

A 10 m by 5 m elongated area of felsen-meer float was discovered, comprised ofrusty angular brecciated blocks of quart-zite containing abundant fracture-fillingand disseminated sulphide mineralization.A grab sample returned 1220 g/t Ag,1.5 g/t Au, 0.70% Cu, 2.51% Zn and0.69% Pb. The mineralization appears tobe associated with a major contact betweentwo magnetically distinct lithologies.Further prospecting and sampling workis being planned for the spring of 2006.

The TIM property comprises 32,171hectares and is contiguous with the ICproperty and close to the central indicatoranomaly. A total of 37 reconnaissancesamples were collected over this propertyand results are presently being concen-trated and picking results are expectedby the end of the year. This property isan agreement with Trigon and a jointventure comprising Committee BayResources and Indicator Minerals Inc.

The North James River property coverspart of the western limb and northernextension of the High Lake GreenstoneBelt. Wolfden Resources High Lake depositlies three kilometres east of the southernclaim of the North James River property,while the Arcadia gold deposit (Full MetalMinerals) is located approximately 20kilometres to the north. The originalNorth James River property consisted of

41 mineral claims but for assessment andclaim maintenance purposes, the propertyhas been reduced to nine claims in threeseparate blocks covering 8,031 hectares.

Six holes (570.7 m) were recentlydrilled along the Silver Bullet structureand one hole totalling 122 metres wasdrilled to test an additional nearby target.Gold-bearing quartz veins were inter-sected in three of the six holes with the bestresult being 23.2 g/t Au over a 0.7 metre(not true thickness) intersection. Anotherhole, oriented to intersect the vein approxi-mately 25 metres along strike, intersectedmultiple vein sets and returned 3.8 g/tAu over 1 metre and 0.7 g/t over 1 m.

These drill results confirm, and expandresults from the 2004 surface samplingprogram. A program of VLF/EM geo-physical surveys was planned for 2005;results are pending.

In 1992-93, Lytton Minerals and NewIndigo Resources staked the Jericho,Contwoyto, and Burnside claim group(176,854 hectares) around the northernend of Contwoyto Lake. Extensive air-borne geophysical surveys were flown andthousands of till samples were collected.Drilling in 1995 resulted in the discoveryof kimberlite and in 1996, the JD/OD-1,or Jericho pipe, was outlined. A decline

JAMES RIVER (North James River)

Operator, OwnersPure Gold Minerals Inc., Bard Ventures Ltd.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates110° 45’W, 67° 35’NNTS76M/10Location30 km northwest of Wolfden’s HighLake, 175 km east-southeast ofKugluktuk

JERICHO DIAMOND PROJECT

Operator, OwnersTahera Diamond CorporationCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates111° 29’W, 66° 00’NNTS76E/14Location350 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 23

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was driven into the Jericho pipe in 1997and 14,555 tonnes of kimberlite was minedfor bulk sampling. Of this bulk sample,9,435 tonnes were processed at the Lupinformer mine-site with 10,535 caratsrecovered.

Tahera entered the environmentalreview process in 2000 for the develop-ment and operation of the Jericho diamondmine. The company received federalapproval in 2004 for the project to proceed and signed a formal InuitImpact Benefit Agreement (IIBA) withthe Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA).Tahera also entered into an agreementwith Tiffany and Co. for the purchaseand marketing of the diamonds, withTiffany providing $35 M to assist withthe project’s financing.

Highlights of 2005 include that theJericho diamond mine constructionschedule is on track for substantial completion by year-end. Commercialproduction is planned for the end of thefirst quarter of 2006. The project isplanned to be approximately nine years(until 2014) and current proven reservesare defined as 2.6 million tonnes averaging1.2 carats. The mine will be an open pitmine for years one to four, processing330,000 tonnes per year on site, fol-lowed by underground mining.

Exploration efforts were concentratedon increasing reserves in the area withintrucking distance of the Jericho diamondplant. The neighbouring Polar project,a joint venture with De Beers CanadaInc., with the Muskox kimberlite is asignificant property. This kimberliterepresents the best potential to increasereserves in the Jericho area; Tahera hasthe option to earn a 50-75 per centinterest from De Beers. In addition tothe known kimberlites, the Polar propertyalso hosts a number of unresolved kim-berlite indicator mineral trains that indicatefurther discoveries are possible.

The Muskox kimberlite occupies asurface area of approximately fourhectares, which is 2.5 times larger thanthat of the Jericho kimberlite, and ismade up of at least two volumetricallysignificant units, both of which arehighly diamondiferous. A 3,692-kg samplederived from a combination of Tahera’sspring drilling program (four holes, 915 m)and a De Beers sample (two holes, 500 m)was processed by caustic dissolution atSRC.

A large-scale evaluation program,including drilling, is planned over the

next 24 months to develop a mineralresource estimate for the Muskox kim-berlite. Based on the encouraging results,the 2006 program budget is expectedto be approximately $12 million, and willinclude a significant drilling component,including a large diameter reverse circu-lation drilling project, and extensive coredelineation.

The construction of an all-weatheraccess road is being considered from theJericho kimberlite to the Muskox body.This road would pass by Tahera’s JD-3diamondiferous kimberlite which laysapproximately half way between theJericho and Muskox kimberlites; the eco-nomic potential of the JD-3 is unknown.

The Anuri kimberlite joint venture,located 90 kilometres northwest of theJericho mine-site on the Rockinghorseproperty, contains the highly diamon-diferous Anuri kimberlite, a 3.5-hectaremulti-phase body made up of two kim-berlite lobes that coalesce into a singlepipe near the surface. Tahera drilled fiveholes and collected 1,900 kg, of whichone half has been sent for caustic fusionprocessing. Initial results have beenencouraging.

JERICHO CLAIMS (Polar Project, Rockinghorse Property)

Operator, OwnersTahera Diamond Corporation, De Beers Canada Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates111° 29’W, 66° 00’NNTS76E/14Location350 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

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Kinross acquired the Lupin undergroundgold mine from Echo Bay Mines early2003 and operated it until the closurethis year. Gold in iron formation wasdiscovered in 1961 by the Canadian NickelCompany (Canico). The rocks wererepeatedly deformed and mine site strati-graphy consisted of two steeply-plunging,steeply-dipping anticlines separated by asyncline. Three primary ore zones were theWest (west limb of the western anticline),Central and East zones (west and eastlimbs of the syncline). Two other orebodies, McPherson 1 and 2, occurred indifferent iron formation lenses, severaldozen metres west of the West Zone.

In 1979, Canico optioned the propertyto Echo Bay Mines, who bought it thefollowing year. Underground explorationand mine construction commencedshortly afterward and the mill was com-missioned in April 1982. In 1998, themine was placed on care and maintenancedue to low gold prices. In this period,the mine milled 10.46 Mt with an averagegrade of 9.9 g/t, producing 2.84 millionounces. The mine re-opened in April2000 and at the end of the year, provenand probable reserves were estimated at1.652 Mt grading 8.9 g/t. The minereached a milestone in 2001 by pouring

its three millionth ounce in May of thatyear. In 2003, the mine was placed oncare and maintenance, followed by stopeand pillar removal in 2004, and mineclosure mid-2005.

Mine-site facilities and the airstrip arestill operational at the site, reclamationwork is being undertaken and feasibilitystudies are being considered with theKIA and other organizations for futureuses of the site.

Adriana Resources’ main property, knownas the MIE property, is approximately540 km2 in size and is centered over thenorthern half of the exposed portion ofthe Muskox Intrusion, which is part of the Mackenzie Igneous Event. The

Muskox Intrusion is a layered maficintrusion associated with the CoppermineVolcanics and the Mackenzie Dyke Swarm,which together comprise the MackenzieIgneous Event. Adriana owns theMcGregor Lake Property and M1-M11claims were staked on the MuskoxIntrusion on August 31, 2005. TheMcGregor Lake property is approximately9,470 hectares in size. The companyconsiders the base of the MuskoxIntrusion in the McGregor Lake area torepresent a corridor of opportunity foraccumulations of sulphides containingcopper, nickel, platinum and palladium.

Reconnaissance sampling in 2005was conducted to confirm anomalousvalues along the East and West walls ofthe Muskox Intrusion. Selected grabsamples ranged from (MIE-08) 82 ppmCu, 51 ppm Ni, 13 ppb Pt, and 10 ppbPd, to (MIE-05) 2.73% Cu, .036% Ni,2175 ppb Pt, and 14,828 ppb Pd onthe East Wall, and to (MIE-16) 1.41%Cu, 2.28% Ni, 790 ppb Pt and 938 ppbPd on the West Wall. The company iscurrently compiling historic informationon this property and preparing anexploration program that will includeboth geophysics and drilling.

LUPIN

Operator, OwnersKinross Gold CorporationCommoditiesGoldCoordinates111° 14’W, 65° 46’NNTS76E/11, 14Location300 km south of Kugluktuk

MIE

Operator, OwnersAdriana Resources CommoditiesNickel, Copper, Cobalt, Platinum, Palladium, GoldCoordinates115° 15’W, 67° 00’NNTS86J/11, 14, 86O/3Location90 km south of Kugluktuk

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 25

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The Mountain Lake project, approximately100 km southwest of Kugluktuk, andnearby Dismal Lake project, approximately150 km west-southwest of Kugluktuk,are located in the Hornby Bay Basin.Uranium mineralization is hosted withina unit of the mid-Proterozoic DismalLakes Group. The Mountain Lake projectcomprises eight mineral claims totalling6,647 hectares and the Dismal Lakeproject comprises seven permits and 14claims totalling 119,729 hectares. Claimsand permits on the properties straddlethe NT/NU border. The properties areheld in 50:50 joint ventures with Triex,the operator of both projects.

During the 1970s and 1980s, EssoResources Canada and Cominco Ltd.drilled 190 holes (approximately22,000 m) on the Mountain Lake project.An inferred resource of 8.2 millionpounds U3O8 with an average grade of0.23 % U3O8 has been estimated atdepths between 28 and 136 metres.Two types of mineralization have beenrecognized – stratabound sandstone-hosted and discordant fracture filling.

Work in 2005 over the MountainLake property included a 684 line-km

MEGATEM II survey and follow-upground geophysics (magnetic, resistivity,time and frequency domain EM). An 81line-km GEOTEM survey was completedover a test area of the Dismal Lake project.Other work on the projects included corerehabilitation, sampling, re-logging,ground and airborne radiometric survey-ing, geological mapping and prospecting.Results from the 2005 exploration pro-gram are being compiled and integratedwith historic geological and drill data.

Strongbow’s Regan Lake gold propertyconsists of 9,860 hectares on IOL in theBack River area of the Slave Province.Past exploration in the area has focussedon two occurrences of folded sulphidiciron formation in the south-eastern partof the property. The property hosts over19 km of oxide and silicate iron formationwithin the same sedimentary rocks asthe gold-bearing iron formations of theGeorge and Goose lakes gold depositsapproximately 70 km to the northeast.

In 2005, 14 days were spent con-ducting bedrock mapping and rock andsoil geochemical surveys. Mapping hasproduced a revised structural interpre-tation for the area. The geochemicalsurveys confirm gold in iron formation

horizons within the property with 48 of205 rock grab samples returning greaterthat 1 g/t Au with three highest values of25.8 g/t Au, 29.5 g/t Au, and 26.2 g/tAu. Further compilation and interpretationof exploration results will be used to definepriority drill target areas for 2006.

The Sanagak Project, operated byIndicator Minerals Inc. (IME), consistsof approximately 450,000 hectares ofprospecting permits located on theBoothia Peninsula, northwest of thecommunity of Taloyoak.

Kimberlite indicator minerals, somewith diamond indicator chemistry, wererecovered in five spatially separate areason the property from heavy mineralsamples collected in 2004. During the2005 summer program, 99 heavy mineralsamples were collected to follow up the anomalous samples. One of theseanomalies is located along the eastern

MOUNTAIN LAKE, DISMAL LAKE

Operator, OwnersTriex Minerals Corporation, Pitchstone Exploration Ltd.CommoditiesUraniumCoordinates116° 51’W, 67° 18’NNTS86N/7Location100 km southwest and 150 km west-southwest of Kugluktuk

REGAN LAKE PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersStrongbow Exploration Inc.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates107° 45’W, 65° 10’NNTS76G4LocationApproximately 70 km southwest ofGoose Lake

SANAGAK

Operator, OwnersIndicator Minerals Inc., Hunter Exploration GroupCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates94° W, 74° 45’NNTS57F, GLocationBoothia Peninsula, northwest ofTaloyoak

26 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

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boundary of the project area (“theBoundary Anomaly”).

During the 2005 field program,IME collected heavy mineral samplesimmediately east of the BoundaryAnomaly to determine if kimberliteindicator minerals are present outsidethe project area. These samples were flownto the SRC laboratory for expeditedprocessing and analysis. Results confirmedthe presence of indicator minerals eastof the property and a staking campaignto capture the areas of interest wascompleted in late 2005. The companystaked 42 mineral claims covering morethan 43,700 hectares.

Plans for 2006 include additionalheavy mineral sample collection to furtherdelineate the extent of the indicatormineral anomalies and the acquisitionof airborne geophysical data to identifykimberlite targets.

The Turner Lake Property covers 1012.5hectares located near Bathurst Inlet in theKitikmeot District of Western Nunavut,Canada. The mineral assemblage of theTurner Lake Property is virtually identicalto that of the former Lupin gold minelocated 200 km to the southeast.Previous work includes extensive mapping,airborne and ground geophysics, trenchingand drilling, exposing at least three high-grade shoots of gold mineralization. In1989 detailed channel sampling returnedan average grade of 4.5 g/t over a true

width of 3.2 metres. Additional historicnumbers are 28 g/t Au over 4.75 metres,12.86 g/t Au over 8.87 metres, 4.08 g/tAu over 15.27 metres, 15 g/t Au over 4metres and 10 g/t Au over 5 metres. For2005, Tradewinds had a 4,000 m drillprogram planned with an expense ofapproximately $800,000.

Wolfden is the current owner and operatorof the Ulu gold deposit hosted in amphi-bolite facies mafic metavolcanic rocks ofthe High Lake volcanic belt. Gold wasfirst discovered at Ulu in the late 1980sby BHP-Utah Mines Ltd (now BHPBilliton). The deposit, which remains openfor expansion, has a geological resourceof 565,000 ounces of gold contained in1.34 Mt grading 12.91 g/t Au betweensurface and the 360 meter level using a5 g/t cut-off grade and a 1.5 meterminimum mining width, indicating3,650 tonnes per vertical meter. A ramphas been completed to the 155 m level onthe Flood Zone, including developmentand the driving of an escapeway/freshair raise. The mine site contains a runway,camp, power generation, fuel farm, andmachinery and equipment for the miningand transportation of ore.

The property has excellent explorationpotential as demonstrated by the untested

Ravine showing where prospecting hasreturned assays of 36.2 and 26.0 g/t Au.Rubbly gossanous quartz veins to thenorth and south yielded Au values between22.8 and 89.1 g/t (2.6 oz/ton).

The Ulu South property consists ofapproximately 32,000 hectares of InuitOwned Lands subject to the NTI Agree-ment covering the southern part of theHigh Lake volcanic belt in the northernSlave Structural Province. The propertyties immediately onto Wolfden Resources’Ulu gold project and the Ulu Southproperty is considered prospective forgold and base metals as well as diamonds.In September 2004, Strongbow andWolfden entered into an agreement underwhich Wolfden may earn up to a 60 percent interest in the property by spending$5.0 million over five years. Wolfdenundertook a compilation of availableexploration data to identify priorityareas for exploration work in 2005.

TURNER LAKE

Operator, OwnersTradewinds VenturesCommoditiesGold LocationBathurst Inlet

ULU

Operator, OwnersWolfden Resources Inc.CommoditiesGold Coordinates110° 59’W, 66° 54’NNTS76L/15,14Location300 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

ULU SOUTH

Operator, OwnersStrongbow Exploration, Wolfden ResourcesCommoditiesGold Coordinates110° 55’W, 66° 45’NNTS76L/10Location300 km southwest of Cambridge Bay

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ArviatArviat

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GISSpecialistCanada−NunavutGeoscienceOffice

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CONTACTSCONTACTS

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Coronation Gulf DiamondsThe Coronation Gulf Diamond District,southeast of Kugluktuk, covers thenorthern portion of the Archean SlaveProvince and 21 kimberlites, includingeleven that contain diamonds, have beendiscovered in the area. The first kimber-lite, the Potentilla, was discovered in 2001and started a 1.6 million hectare stakingrush which encompassed the majorityof this diamond district. Numerouscompanies are working in this area eitheron wholly owned properties or as jointventure projects.

Ashton Mining of Canada holds a 100per cent interest in five properties andthese are the Vic, Kim, Ric, Eokuk andJames River properties. Ashton also has a52.5 per cent interest and a right to earnan additional 7.0 per cent interest in the15 mineral claims, representing 15,400hectares of the Kikerk Lake project withCaledonia Mining Corporation andStornoway Diamond Corporation.Kimberlites that Ashton has discoveredinclude the diamondiferous Artemisia andThrift kimberlites on the Kim property,the Potentilla and Stellaria kimberliteson the Kikerk property and the Hydra,Perseus, Caltha, Ric-97 and Ric-26 onthe Ric property.

Ashton approved a total budget of$1.4 million for exploration in the regionin 2005, including its contribution to thesummer program for the Kikerk Lakeproperty. The exploration programfocussed primarily on this property.Ground geophysical surveying, indicatormineral sampling, and further drilling wasplanned to investigate the nature of theStellaria diamondiferous kimberlite pipe.

Stornoway holds varying interests(between 30 and 100 per cent) in nine

different properties covering over200,000 hectares in the north Slavearea of western Nunavut. Stornoway isthe operator on all but two of them. Thenine properties are the Jubilee, Jewel,Peregrine, Sceptre and Tiara projects,Aqua and Diva projects, Bear and Kikerkproperties.

The Jubilee property is a joint venturebetween Stornoway, Earth Star Diamondsand International Samuel ExplorationCorporation and covers 16,705 hectares.The Jewel property covers 3,103 hectaresand is wholly owned by Stornoway,although Strongbow could earn a 35 percent interest by spending $25 million.

The Peregrine property is a jointventure between Stornoway (30 per cent)and Diamondex Resources Ltd (70 percent) and covers 62,496 hectares with atotal of $1 million being spent. In 2005,Diamondex negotiated financing whichresulted in Barrick Gold Corporation nowholding 10.95 per cent of Diamondex,who received $11.52 million. This dealmakes Barrick a major shareholder andwill significantly increase the potentialof Diamondex’s exploration properties.

The Sceptre and Tiara properties cover39,541 hectares and are a joint venturebetween Stornoway Diamond Corporation(40 per cent), International SamuelExploration (36 per cent), New CantechVentures Ltd. (24 per cent) and DasherEnergy (eight per cent). Stornoway hasthe option of earning up to 60 per centby funding $7 million in expenses andissuing shares by the end of 2006.

Strongbow’s 100 per cent ownedBlue Lake diamond property is locatedapproximately 180 km southwest ofKugluktuk. The property comprises3,595 hectares of IOL subject to the NTI

Agreement. A prominent kimberliteindicator mineral train is on the propertyand till samples collected by Strongbow in2003 and 2004 have returned hundredsof indicator minerals. The mineral trainis well cut off, indicating that a bedrocksource for these minerals is likely locatedwithin the property. The 2005 programwas planned to ground truth several geo-physical targets and boulder prospect forkimberlite float within the mineral train.

Strongbow Exploration Inc. andTahera Diamond Corporation planneddrilling of at least one priority potentialkimberlite target on the Tenacity Southdiamond project. This property comprisesapproximately 5,500 hectares and islocated adjacent to Tahera’s Hood Riverproperty that hosts the diamondiferousTenacity kimberlite. The Tenacity Southproperty is located on IOL in whichStrongbow controls 100 per cent of themineral rights, subject to an agreementwith NTI.

Shear Minerals operates one projectin the region with their CoronationDiamond Project property consisting of58 claims in three non-contiguous claimgroups, totalling 32,174 hectares. Shearadvanced the project to the drill-readystage in 2002 and determined fourmedium-priority targets following groundgeophysical data and supporting kim-berlite indicator mineral anomalies fromtill samples. The core claims in theproperty are in good standing for 10 years.Shear is evaluating possible options forthe drill testing of these targets.

Nordic Diamonds Ltd. and Interna-tional Samuel Exploration Corporationhave a joint venture agreement on theBRSC project located immediately to thenorth of Contwoyto Lake. The property

30 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 31

lays approximately half-way between theLac de Gras region in the NT and theCoronation Gulf diamond region. Thereare 11 diamond bearing kimberlite pipeslocated within 10 km of the BRSCproperty boundary, the most significantbeing the Jericho kimberlite about 7 kmto the south. Three high priority drilltargets were selected from 2004 withthe expectation of a spring 2005 start. Aregional sampling program was conductedin 2005 on the BRSC project and NordicDiamonds’ 100 per cent owned WMclaims, a project that lies immediatelynorth of the Jericho project. Kimberlitefloat was discovered on the WM claims.Also active in the Kitikmeot region isKaminak Gold Corporation, a new mineralexploration company that formed throughthe combination of the non-diamondassets of privately held Hunter Explo-ration Group together with the non-diamond assets of Shear Minerals Ltd.Kaminak now holds one of the largest landpositions in Canada devoted to metallicmineral exploration and commoditiessought include gold uranium and nickel.With this agreement with the othercompanies, Kaminak is able to use thetechnical databases of both Shear MineralsLtd. and Indicator Minerals for non-diamond exploration. Projects activeinclude the Lach, Bathurst, Needle Lakeand BR properties.

Inactive projectsSeveral projects in the Kitikmeot wereinactive in 2005. The Inulik propertyowned by Allyn Resources is a gold, basemetal and diamond project 120 kmsoutheast of Kugluktuk. Three separateclaim blocks (ALS/AT, ALN/MARS andTE) cover over 196,279 hectares. Results

announced early in 2004 identifiedanomalies suggestive of kimberlites. How-ever, Allyn Resources concentrated theirefforts on their other Nunavut projectsin 2005.

The Musk gold-silver-copper-zinc-leadproject in the Back River area of theCoronation Gulf was optioned toStrongbow Exploration from NorandaInc. The Musk Project comprises a singlemining lease as well as 21,000 hectaresof mineral claims and 8,558 hectares ofIOL. Drilling and detailed evaluation inthe 1980’s outlined a VMS deposit of415,000 t grading 1.4 g/t Au, 324 g/tAg, 1.1% Cu, 1.4% Pb, and 9.8% Zn.Strongbow Exploration notified Norandaearly in 2005 that it would not pursueits option to earn a 100 per cent interestin the Musk mining lease. The existingMusk camp was used in 2005 as a base tosupport continued exploration of otherprojects.

The Muskox Ni-Cu-Co-Pt-Pd-Auproject owned and operated by PrizeMining Corporation, formerly MuskoxMinerals Corporation, hosted by the1.27 Ga Muskox Intrusion, a layeredmafic/ultramafic complex. The MuskoxIntrusion was first discovered in 1956by INCO, and was examined between1969 and1988 by various companies.

The Yava Zn-Cu-Ag-Au deposit,located between the Hackett and BackRivers on map sheet 76G/12, has notseen active exploration since 1976.However, it is one of the major massivesulphide deposits in the Slave Province.The deposit contains two zones, a massivezone and a zone of stringer sulphides.In 2004, exploration was re-activatedby Expatriate Resources Ltd., who laterreorganized and created a new company,

Pacifica Resources Ltd, to control theYava base-precious metal property. In 2005,Pacifica Resources’ main exploration focuswas the base precious-metal Selwyn Projectin Yukon. Pacifica expected that theirexploration focus would shift off theSelwyn property to the Yava Project but encouraging results in the Yukonre-focussed the company’s efforts tocontinue with that project.

Rhonda Corporation and De BeersCanada Inc. have a joint venture agree-ment for the Tree 1 claim over the Knifekimberlite pipe; this claim covers 2530hectares. De Beers budgeted $1.32 millionfor the 2004 program and drilling that yearprovided more information on the internalgeology and suggested the presence ofan additional volcaniclastic unit.

Strongbow’s 100 per cent owned HopeBay project is comprised of five mineralclaims (4,121 hectares) located at thenortheast end of the Hope Bay volcanicbelt, approximately 125 km southwest ofCambridge Bay, NU. The property laysthree km north and along strike ofMiramar’s Doris gold deposit. Pastexploration of Strongbow’s ORO claimshas included detailed bedrock mapping,airborne and ground geophysical surveys,prospecting and drilling although drillintercepts have returned uneconomic goldvalues. A work program was not under-taken in 2005 but Strongbow considersthe ORO claims to be of strategic valuedue to their proximity to the Dorisdeposit. The property contains severaluntested areas of interest that warrantfurther investigation, particularly oncethe Doris deposit is in production.

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The Kivalliq District includes the easternmainland, Southampton Island and severalsmaller islands. The communities of RankinInlet, Baker Lake, and Arviat are oftenused as staging points for explorationprojects. Scheduled and charter air services,expediting services, and other supportingbusinesses are available in these centres.

Rocks of the Archean - ProterozoicWestern Churchill geological provinceunderlay much of the Kivalliq. Sedi-mentary rocks of the Hudson Platformare found on islands within Hudson Bay.Past producing mines in the District arethe North Rankin Nickel Mine at RankinInlet and the Cullaton/Shear Lake goldmine north of Nueltin Lake.

More than 35 exploration projectswere active in 2005, targeting a widerange of commodities: gold, diamonds,Ni-Cu-PGE’s, base metals, and uranium.Current exploration targets include lodeand iron formation hosted gold, epi-thermal gold, quartz pebble conglomeratehosted gold, mafic – ultramafic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits, diamondiferous kimber-lites, unconformity associated uranium,iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG), andvolcanogenic massive sulphide mineral-ization.

Exploration for uranium was onceagain occurring in the Kivalliq. Work in2005 was limited to airborne geophysics,mapping, prospecting, and communityconsultations.

The Thelon Basin is relatively under-explored and it has not yet been pro-spected using modern technologies.Historic uranium exploration work wasmostly reconnaissance work done in theboom years of the 1970s and 1980s.

Gold and diamonds were the leadingcommodities sought. CumberlandResources continued to advance itsMeadowbank Project through the reg-ulatory process toward construction.The most active diamond project was theChurchill Project, operated by ShearMinerals. Comaplex, De Beers, DiamondsNorth, Dunsmuir, Peregrine, IndicatorMinerals, BHP and Kennecott had indi-vidual diamond exploration programsin 2005.

Emerging Projects in the KivalliqThe diverse mineral potential throughoutthe Kivalliq has led to industry partner-ships. Some partnerships are based onthe parties having mutual interest in thetarget commodity. Others are based on thepartners having different explorationinterests.

Shear Minerals, Stornoway Diamondsand BHP Billiton have a partnership on theChurchill and Churchill West properties.In 2005, international gold companyGold Fields Limited concluded purchasesto secure 19.8 per cent of ComaplexMinerals through a series of open markettransactions and private placements. Thecompanies also entered into a technicalassistance agreement on the Meliadine

West gold property which Comaplexoperates.

Large land positions in the westernKivalliq acquired in the diamond rush arenow being considered for their uraniumpotential. Recognizing the multi-commodity value of their permits in andabout the Thelon Basin, De Beers enteredinto agreements with two companies in2005. Cameco optioned 14 permitssouth of Aberdeen Lake - 2,300 squarekilometres termed the AberdeenProperty, located 150 km west of BakerLake. In consideration for $1.8 millionin uranium exploration expenditures overfour years, Cameco can earn a 60 percent interest in the property.

Majescor announced an agreementwith De Beers on permits covering 9,000square kilometres, 50 km west of BakerLake in October. The permit area, calledthe Baker Lake property, has both diamondand uranium potential and the agreementprovides for separate options for the twocommodities. The land package underoption to Majescor consists of 51 mineralpermits in the Archean Rae Craton.Thirteen of the permits have been setaside for uranium exploration while therest have been retained for diamondexploration. Six target areas weredefined by De Beers’ 2004 regional effortwhich generated more than 350 samples.Five of the targets were followed up inthe fall of 2005 by detailed till samplingand airborne geophysics. The program for2006 will be established by the partnersupon receipt of the 2005 till samplingresults. The 13 permits retained for uranium are located on the projectedsouthwest-trending extension of theKiggavik trend. They contain knownuranium showings which appear to be

32 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

Kivalliq District

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 33

closely associated with the SnowbirdTectonic Zone. Seven occurrences andsmall deposits of uranium, known fromthe 1970s, form a north-easterly trendin the south-eastern corner of the BakerLake permit area. This trend correlateswith the Snowbird Tectonic Zone andthe showings are hosted by rocks of theBaker Lake Group. Uranium mineraliza-tion is epigenetic and hosted mainly bysedimentary units. The common metallicassociation is U+Cu+Pb+Ag. COGEMAResources Inc.’s Kiggavik uraniumdeposit, first discovered in 1977, containssome131 million lbs of uranium. Thesedeposits are located less than 20 kilo-metres north of Majescor’s Baker Lakeproperty.

Kaminak Gold Corporation has 100per cent of the non-diamond rights to3.44 million hectares of the ChurchillDiamond Project, plus an additional 2.06million hectares in the Kivalliq and easternKitikmeot. Taking advantage of strategicagreements with diamond explorers, theyhave gained access to a database ofarchived till samples. Two properties withintheir portfolio are the Sy Property inthe Archean Yathkyed Greenstone Beltand Baker Lake IOGC Project.

The 101,200 hectare Sy Property isprospective for gold mineralizationanalogous to that documented on theMeliadine properties. Gold mineraliza-tion is related to a regionally extensivenortheast-southwest trending shear zone,occurring in quartz veins cross cuttinggreenschist facies iron formation. Broadareas of carbonate altered mafic volcanicsare also host to several gold-bearingzones. Past workers collected 155 surfacesamples along an 11 km iron formationtrend, with nine per cent containing

over 10 g/t Au and 27 per cent inexcess of 3 g/t Au.

The geological setting southeast ofBaker Lake suggests a favourable environ-ment for the discovery of iron-oxide-copper gold deposits (IOGC). Docu-mented mineralization includes fracturecontrolled U-Cu-Ag-Au-Se and U-Cu-Mo-Pb-Zn hosted in the Baker Lakesediments and underlying basementrocks, diatreme breccia U-Cu-Zn- Aumineralization in basement gneisses, andmicro-fracture U-Cu-Ag mineralizationhosted in arkose peripheral to alkalinedykes.

Early in 2005 Brilliant MiningCorporation entered into an agreementwith Falconbridge to acquire 100 per centinterest in 15 prospecting permits formingthe Chesterfield Property east of BakerLake. The area is considered prospectivefor the discovery of Ni-Cu-PGE depositsas it covers the Chesterfield segment ofthe craton-scale Snowbird Tectonic Zone.Rift related ultramafic and mafic differ-entiated intrusive complexes, ca 1900-1800 Ma aged, are co-incident with aregional scale gravity anomaly. This setting is similar to that associated withthe Raglan, Quebec and Thompson,Manitoba nickel districts.

A 333 line-km helicopter borne electro-magnetic and magnetic survey was flownover the Bowell Island Ni-Cu-Pd-Auoccurrences in 2005. Following a summerfield program, 12 claims covering 11,497hectares were staked to cover anomalousmineral occurrences, including the BowellIsland occurrence. These claims fall intothe Falconbridge agreement. Brilliant’s2005 sampling returned high assays of1.83 % Ni, 0.99% Cu, 0.14 g/t Pt, and0.29 g/t Pt associated with disseminated

to semi-massive pyrrhotite, pentlandite,and chalcopyite mineralization in anequigranular gabbro dyke. Previoussampling by Falconbridge yielded a bestassay of the 6.84% Ni, 0.22% Cu, 0.02g/t Pt, 1.20 g/t Pd, and 0.16 g/t Au.

Historic sampling at the Cone Hill goldoccurrence returned a high value of 15.9g/t Au. Site visits confirmed the presenceof highly altered and sulphidized ironformation horizons for over 7 km alongstrike. Sampling this year returned a highvalue of 131.2 g/t Au. The ChesterfieldProperty also contains several uraniumshowings along the unconformity betweenthe Baker Lake Group and underlyingArchean rocks.

Developing diamond explorationprojects are Stornoway’s Hyde andAumaluuktuuk properties. Ground targetscontinue to be developed through gen-erative grassroots exploration by thestrategic partnership of Indicator Minerals,Hunter Group, Committee Bay Resources,Stornoway, and Trigon Exploration onclaims and permits in the Kivalliq.

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34 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

The project areas are situated along theeastern margin of the PaleoproterozoicThelon sandstone Basin near the Kiggavikuranium deposit. The area is underlainby older Paleoproterozoic metasediments,metavolcanics and granitoid rocks and theyounger cloastic sediments of the ThelonGroup. A thick regolith of several 10sof meters has been mapped by previousworkers along the unconformity contactbetween the Thelon sediments andunderlying basement rocks. Uraniummineralization has been identified inthe Andrews Lake and Kiggavik areas.Mineralization and associated alterationin the immediate project area is largelyunknown.

The Aberdeen Project consists of 14permits optioned from De Beers in August2005 while the Turgavik Project consistsof 131 claims east and north of AberdeenLake, staked in late 2004. Total acreagefor these two active projects is in excess of323,760 hectares. The Deep Rose Projecthas been dormant since 1998. Past explor-ation work had identified uranium min-eralization coincident with some graphitichorizons within rocks of the Amer Group,mineralized boulders.

Cameco’s 2005 field program con-sisted of airborne geophysics (MEGATEM,radiometrics, magnetics, and hyper-spectral), prospecting and sampling onthe Aberdeen and Turgavik projects.Processing and interpretation of the airborne survey data is underway.

The properties are situated on the eastside of the Paleoproterozoic Thelon Basin,less than two kilometres from the presentday limits of the Thelon sandstone out-crops. Regional exploration on this sideof the Thelon basin began in 1974, withthe Kiggavik zones discovered in 1977.Uranium mineralization occurs as coffinite

and pitchblende in metasediment-dom-inated assemblages of possible Archeanage. The graphite-lacking basementlithologies have a well developed andregionally extensive regolith. Illite, chloriteand hematite-dominant alteration isprevalent in the host rocks. Currentresources identified are: Kiggavik zones14,872 tonnes uranium at a grade of0.38%, representing 39 million lbs U3O8.

The Sissons Project is located about20 km southwest of Kiggavik. It includesthree areas of uranium mineralization:Andrew Lake, End, and Jane with depositsidentified in the former two. Geophysically,the two deposits are characterized bygravity and resistivity lows, centred alongfaults. Negative gravity anomalies reflectthe alteration associated with mineral-ization. Sudoite, a Mg-rich chlorite,coincides with mineralized areas.

Uranium mineralization occurs ascoffinite and pitchblende within the AndrewLake and End deposits. The End depositwas discovered in 1987, Andrew Lake in1988. Resources of 13,598 tonnes uranium at 0.28% for 35 million lbs U3O8

with 1 tonne gold and 0.7 tonnes plat-inum are identified in the End deposit.

At the Andrew Lake deposit, the nearvertical Andrew Lake Fault strongly con-trols the mineralization. Current resourcesidentified are 22,160 tonnes uranium at0.44%, for 57 million lbs U3O8 with 3.1 tgold and 2.6 t platinum.

In 2005 COGEMA continued itscare and maintenance program on theKiggavik camp and core storage areas.The program included community consultations and bringing a smallgroup of Baker Lake residents to thesite in August 2005.

ABERDEEN1, TURGAVIK2

Operator, OwnersCameco1, 2

De Beers Canada Inc.1

CommoditiesUraniumCoordinates98° 30’W, 64° 20’NNTS66B - Aberdeen66A/5, 2, 66B/8, 9, 15, 16 - TurgavikLocation125km west of Baker Lake

KIGGAVIK1 AND SISSONS2 PROPERTIES

Operator, OwnersCogema Resources Inc1,2

Daewoo1,2

JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Ltd.2

CommoditiesUraniumCoordinates97° 50’W, 64° 20’NNTS66A/5Location75km west of Baker Lake

DEEP ROSE

Operator, OwnersCamecoCommoditiesUraniumCoordinates99° 40’W, 64° 52’NNTS66B/13Location180km west of Baker Lake

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Tanqueray’s project area covers 106,000hectares in an area 10 km wide by 70 kmlong over the southern Archean Wood-burn Group. The exploration target isArchean lode gold in iron formation.

The 2005 exploration programincluded 400 line-km of ground mag-netics and 100 line-km of ground EM,geological mapping, prospecting, and1200 m of drilling. Five gold occurrenceshave been identified: Ayak Gossan,Jaegar Main and Extension, Ayak Mouth,and Ayak West.

Seven of 11 holes intersected goldmineralization. The most significantdiscovery occurred in the drill testing ofthe Ayak Gossan zone – identified throughground HLEM surveying over a largemagnetic anomaly. Drill intersections of10.53 g/t Au over 1.14 m core lengthand 15.06 g/t Au over 1.0 m corelength were reported.

To date only a small portion of theproject area has been explored. Plans for2006 include EM and magnetic airbornesurveys, with further ground surveysand diamond drilling.

The Committee Bay greenstone belt is oneof the largest unexplored greenstonebelts in North America. The 300 kmlong, northeast-trending belt comprisesArchean supracrustal rocks of the Raedomain of the Western Churchill Province.Rock types include komatiitic to basalticvolcanic rocks, intermediate to felsic rocks,and banded iron formation.

Committee Bay Resources currentlyholds 0.65 million hectares along thegreenstone belt. The company’s $8 million2005 exploration program had springand summer components. The spring

program included 5,000 line-km of air-borne geophysical (EM and Magnetic)surveys to cover significant project areas.Detailed griding and ground magneticsurveying occurred over high prioritytargets, and drill testing of the Ravenand Three Bluffs zones.

The summer program included drillingat Three Bluffs to test shallow targetsalong strike, as well as deeper targetsbeneath the reported inferred resourcedelineated in 2004. Initial drill testingof several other prospects including Raven,West Plains, and Betwixt were also com-pleted. Drill testing of the Anuri targetwas attempted late in the summer butencountered difficulties.

Prior to the 2005 drill program, anear-surface high grade inferred mineralresource of 1.9 million tonnes grading8.0 g/t Au for 487,000 ounces has beendefined by 49 drill holes at Three Bluffs.Using a lower cut-off grade this inferredmineral resource is expanded to 5.1million tonnes grading 4.0 g/t Au for657,000 ounces. About 85 per cent ofthese resources are within 120 m of

BAKER LAKE GOLD PROJECT

Operator, OwnersTanqueray ResourcesCommoditiesGoldCoordinates96° 40’W, 64° 20’NNTS66A/4, 7, 10Location35 km west of Baker Lake

COMMITTEE BAY PROJECT

Operator, OwnersCommittee Bay Resources andGold Fields Exploration Ltd.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates90° W, 67° NNTS56K, 56O, 56J and 56PLocationNortheast of Baker Lake

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 35

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surface and the bulk of the high gradegold mineralization is along a shallowplunging structure.

The company’s 2005 drill programat Three Bluffs was successful in tracingthe high grade gold mineralization todepths in excess of 320 m over a strikelength of 600 m. Drill intersections areinterpreted to correspond to the northand south limbs of a folded, mineralizediron formation that contains an inferredresource of 8 g/t Au for 487,000ounces. Gold also occurs along the limbsof the fold where iron formation is incontact with dacite and metasedimentaryrocks.

A number of intersections with visiblegold did not return high assay values. Thecompany states this reflects the nuggetyeffects of the gold distribution at ThreeBluffs. Spring drilling at the Raven occur-rence (20 km west of Three Bluffs)encountered two mineralized zones. Thesezones are characterized by multiple quartzveins with abundant visible gold, euhedralarsenopyrite and minor pyrrhotite overwidths of two to 10 m, concentratedalong the sheared contact of a gabbro withintermediate volcanics. Assays reportedfrom the South zone are 12.6 g/t Au

over 5.46 m core length, 36.22 over2.43 m core length. Some mineralizedintercepts from the North zone are3.57 g/t Au over 1.45 m and 11.63g/t Au over 0.48 m.

The West Plains gold showing is inthe southwest corner of the CommitteeBay Greenstone belt approximately 65km southwest of the Raven occurrence.Two drill holes in the West Plains areatested the northeast extent of a 3 kmlong EM geophysical anomaly. Bothholes intersected a thick silicate ironformation with patches of pyrrhotite thatcorresponds to low grade gold values.The Lowlands showing is located 1.2 kmsouthwest of those holes and intersecteda 45 m wide zone of silicate iron formationcontaining broad bands of semi-massivepyrrhotite cut by centimetre to meterscale quartz veins. These veins are locallybanded and contain up to 15 per centpyrrhotite. The best reported assays are14.76 g/t Au over 8.73 m core lengthand 25.33 g/t Au over 3.07 m. The highgrade zones are silica flooded with finegrain pyrrhotite disseminated throughout.

Regional mapping and prospectingalong the entire belt with detailed map-ping along the Raven-Anuri trend wascompleted over the summer. The Raven- Anuri trend is believed to be a highlyprospective metamorphic “pressure-shadow” located northeast of a largetonalitic intrusion.

For 2006, the company is planningmore work at Three Bluffs and furtherevaluation of targets defined throughsurface sampling. Three Bluffs work willinclude infill and deeper drilling alongthe high grade trend designed to expandthe gold resource and a ground geophysicalprogram along strike of the resource area.

The Churchill Diamond Project is com-prised of mineral rights to more than3.64 million hectares located near thecommunities of Rankin Inlet and Chester-field Inlet. It is situated within theWestern Churchill Province and is under-lain by rocks of the metamorphosedArchean Rankin Inlet Group and sur-rounding Archean gneisses. The Archeanbedrock is intruded by Proterozoic diabaseand biotite-lamprophyre dykes and over-lain by the Paleoproterozic HurwitzGroup. The Proterozoic Pyke Fault maybe an important structure controllinggold mineralization at Meliadine andcould also be a favourable structure forkimberlite emplacement. Meliadine’sAya dyke is a ca. 1792 Ma ultramaficlamprophyre. The Parker Lake UML (orAkluilak) dyke, located approximately120 km northwest of Rankin Inlet, yieldedan age of ca. 1832 Ma and may representa feeder dyke to the Proterozoic (ca.1850 Ma) CIF volcanic rocks. Narrowkimberlite dykes (Peter and K-L) inter-sected during drilling of the Meliadinegold deposit yielded ages of ca. 192 Ma(U-Pb on perovskite) and ca. 214 Ma(Rb-Sr on phlogopite).

36 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

CHURCHILL DIAMOND PROJECT

Operator, OwnersShear Minerals (51%); Stornoway Diamond Corp. (35%);BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (14%) CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates91° 30’W, 63° 30’NNTS55N, O, JLocation70 km north of Rankin Inlet

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Shear discovered 17 kimberlites in2005 before completing its 52-hole 2005drill program. This brings the total numberof kimberlites drilled on the property to39. In addition, two kimberlite outcropswere located in 2005 through groundwork and prospecting. The 2005 drillprogram commenced in April and con-tinued through to the end of Septemberwith 4,631 m of drill testing 44 spatiallyseparate geophysical targets. Final pro-cessing of the 2004 till samples wascompleted in mid-2005. Indicator mineralcounts from detailed till sampling con-tinued to refine areas of interest withinthe larger mineral corridors: Josephine,Sedna and North. Ground prospectingwas conducted within the Josephine Riverand Sedna kimberlite indicator mineralcorridors covering an area in excess of75 sq km. A total of 30 kimberlite boulderswere recovered. These include twooccurrences of kimberlite float with visiblepyropes and coarse grained macrocrysticolivine textures. Macro and micro dia-monds were reported from analysis ofdrill core and surface samples.

Drill tested kimberlites 05KD900-01and 05KD209-01 have yielded macrodiamonds from initial caustic fusionanalysis. The first diamond at surface, aclear, octahedron measuring 0.44 x 0.40x 0.36 mm was recovered in a 69.8 kgsample of pyrope garnet bearing beachsands at the Churchill Diamond Project.The pyrope bearing beach sands werediscovered by detailed prospecting, andoccur in a narrow higher interest areawithin the larger Josephine River kim-berlite indicator mineral corridor.

In 2005, a total of 1,877 till sampleswere collected on the Churchill Propertyin order to infill the sampling density in

the core areas of the property and tobetter define the indicator mineral trainsand the up ice cut off. Since 2000, morethan 7,100 surface samples have beencollected from the property and all havebeen processed with more than 55,000microprobe analysis. This samplingcontinues to refine the source areas ofinterest for future drilling.

A recent report for the company byMineral Services Canada Inc. (MineralServices) used advanced indicator mineralcomposition techniques to filter theChurchill Diamond Project database. Theresults were incorporated in the selectionof 2005 drill targets, and detailed sam-pling plans. Mineral Services reports theknown kimberlites discovered in the lasttwo years did not explain the pyropes intill samples. Based on their findings, theunexplained till garnets, which includemost G10’s recovered to date, are verylikely derived from a colder, high interestgeotherm (37mW/m2) than garnets in

the kimberlites identified on the propertyto-date. Mineral Services identified 16targeted areas that host high interestgarnet populations with above averagecounts indicating the source is likelynearby. The area in which KD900 islocated lies immediately up ice of twosuch areas identified by Mineral Services.The study also concluded certain indi-cator mineral dispersions at Churchill arenarrow and also of limited length (lessthan 3 km).

In 2005, a dense sampling grid wascompleted within the Sedna Corridor.Preliminary results have shown increasedtotal counts of pyropes indicating closerproximity to source. For example, onesample (05RMT252) had anomalouspyrope counts (> 60) and is located up-iceof two 2004 anomalous samples con-taining 19 and 24 pyropes respectively.Increasing detail will enable the targetingof subtle geophysical targets within theseareas for the 2006 drill program.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 37

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This 208,016 hectare land package issituated immediately west of the ChurchillProperty. Two kimberlites were discoveredin 2003 from drilling, one of which wasdiamondiferous.

In 2005, a 3,658 line-km high reso-lution airborne magnetic-electromagneticsurvey was flown. The south-easternportion of the property is an area ofhigh interest as 98 isolated magnetictargets were identified in earlier surveys.Processing of the data is underway, and itwill be used to guide 2006 explorationefforts.

Starfield acquired this property in 1999,conducted geophysical surveys, andcompleted 84,000 m in drill holesbetween 1999 and 2004. The 2005 drillprogram will bring the total to approx-imately 108,000 m. During 2005 Starfieldincreased the size of its Ferguson Lakemineral claim holdings by 200 per centto 521,400 hectares. The property nowextends approximately 125 km east-westand 71 km north-south at its widestsection.

The Ferguson Lake deposit is a Ni-Cu-PGE deposit hosted by moderate toweakly foliated tholeiitic gabbro-horn-blendite layered intrusions. The depositsare considered to be of magmatic origin,having formed as immiscible sulphidesegregations during emplacement. Thesills were emplaced along an east-westtrending structure interpreted by Starfieldpersonnel as a regional suture based on3D magnetic inversion. Gabbro hostingthe Cu-Ni-PGE mineralization is exposed1.8 km along strike on the West Zoneand may extend another 16.6 km west.

Starfield followed up its 2004 airbornegeophysical survey with a regional 9624line-km helicopter VTEM and high

resolution magnetic survey, flown over60 per cent of the newly staked claims.The survey identified numerous conductiveanomalies within 450 m of the surface.Ground crews prospected and sampledoutcrops along nine conductive VTEMtrends having strike lengths of two toeight km. Analysis of rock samples alongthese trends show that they are geo-chemically anomalous in Cu+Ag, Cu+Ni+Co, Cu+Zn+Pb+Ag, and Au+Ag.Starfield’s geophysical consultant iden-tified 250 anomalies for follow-up aspotential kimberlite targets. Regional tillssamples were collected on 2x2 km and4x4 km grids across the entire property.

Delineation drilling of the West Zoneand 119 Zone continued to intersectCu-Ni-PGE mineralization and low sulphide PGE mineralization. So far, astrike length of 4.2 km (from the WestSide of Ferguson Lake to the 119 Zone)along a ground geophysical conductorcoincident with the mineralization hasbeen tested. An additional 3.8 km remainsuntested. Drilling continued to encounterthe low-sulphide PGE enriched horizonsand a lower PGE-enriched sulphide lens.To date in the pit area of the West Zone,drilling along a 1 km strike length, hastraced the footwall PGE mineralization,with intermittent low-sulphide bonanzagrades of two PGE’s and/or lower foot-wall sulphide lens mineralization.

Starfield uses both borehole and groundSQUID geophysics to guide its drillingin the West Zone and Pit Area. For 2006Starfield plans to continue its explorationand development plan, including continuing environmental and sitedevelopment studies, metallurgical testing and resource evaluation.

CHURCHILL WEST DIAMOND PROJECT

Operator, OwnersShear Minerals (51%), Stornoway Diamond Corp. (35%) and BHP Billiton (14%)

CommoditiesDiamonds

Coordinates94° 30’W, 63° 15’N

NTS55M, N

Location75 km northwest of Rankin Inlet

FERGUSON LAKE PROJECT

Operator, OwnersStarfield Resources Inc.CommoditiesNickel, Copper, Cobalt, Platinum, PalladiumCoordinates96° 51’W, 62° 52’NNTS65I/9-15, 65J/14 and 16, 65O/1, 65P/3 and 4Location160 km south of Baker Lake

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Tri-Origin formed an option agreementwith BHP Billiton in September 2004to explore the latter’s properties in theKivalliq region for gold and Sedex-typebase metal deposits. The Keewatin Projectlies in a sedimentary basin of Protero-zoic age, surrounded by Archean rocks.The basin consists of siliciclastic rocks ofthe Upper and Lower Hurwitz Group,with iron formation rimming much ofthe basin. Reconnaissance field work byTri-Origin in 2003 yielded severalanomalous Au values (up to 18.7 g/t Au).In 2005 the Company conducted a 138line-km AeroTEM survey at 200 m linespacing. EM conductors were delineated,coincident with magnetic responses.Drilling is planned for 2006.

The Property is located within thenorthern Hearne domain of the WesternChurchill Province. It consists of Archeanrocks of the Hearne Craton and overlyingsupracrustal rocks are intensely reworkedduring the 1.8 - 1.9 Ga Trans HudsonOrogen. The Thirst Lake minette dykeoccurs near the southeast portion of theproperty. It was discovered in 1994, andsampling showed it to be diamondiferous,although few macrodiamonds have beenreported.

In 2004, the company collected 344sediment sample concentrates. A pyropeaureole was identified, with two elongatedtrends and one discontinuous trend. Threesets of G9 pyropes were analysed fortrace elements. Based on nickel in garnetthermometry, a small portion of thegarnets fall in the diamonds stability field.Additional ground was acquired basedon the 2004 findings.

A 3,166 line-km airborne EM/Magand resistivity survey was flown in 2005.Numerous airborne anomalies weredetected and detailed analysis and inter-pretation is underway.

The company collected a variety ofsediment sample types in 2005: 714 tills,21 lake sediments, and 15 glaciofluvial.The samples are being processed andindicator mineral results are pending.

In May 2004, Pacific Ridge and Hunterentered into an option agreement withNewmont whereby Newmont can earna 60 per cent interest in the MatrixProperty, located west of South HenikLake in southern Nunavut. Gold mineralization is hosted by basal quartzpyrite pebble conglomerate of the Paleo-proterozoic Hurwitz Group. Initial workby Hunter identified three gold-bearingpyritic conglomerate zones with grabsamples assaying up to 16 g/t Au. Strati-form horizons with up to 20 per centpyritic pebbles have been identified alonga 3 km trend of Hurwitz Group quartzpebble conglomerates. The HurwitzGroup may be analogous to the AfricanWitwatersrand Group sedimentary rocks,known to host approximately 1 billionounces of gold.

Exploration activities conducted on theMatrix Property in 2005 include airbornegeophysical programs of magnetics,radiometrics, and NewTEM, followedby mapping, prospecting and drilling.Drill results are pending. Newmont staked38 mineral claims in late 2005, adding46,288 hectares to the project.

KEEWATIN PROJECT

Operator, OwnersBHP Billiton; Tri-Origin ExplorationCommoditiesCopper, Gold, Silver, Lead, ZincCoordinates97° 15’W, 60° 20’N NTS65A/5, A/6, A/11, A/12LocationApproximately 150 km Southwest of Arviat

MATRIX PROJECT

Operator, OwnersPacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.,Hunter Exploration Group and Newmont Canada Ltd.CommoditiesGoldCoordinates98° 00’W, 61° 37’NNTS65H/12 and 65G/09Location175 km west of Arviat

KMD PROJECTOperator, OwnersRipple Lake Diamonds Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates99° 45’W, 65°NNTS55M/9, M/16, 55N/12, N/13Location130km northwest of Rankin Inlet

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 39

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The Meadowbank gold deposits occurwithin the Archean Woodburn Lake green-stone belt, approximately 75 km north ofBaker Lake, and represent the third largestundeveloped gold resource in Canada.The stratigraphy consists of quartziteoverlying komatiite, which in turn over-lies intercalated felsic to intermediatevolcanic rocks and iron formation.Regionally, four phases of deformationare recognized. The stratigraphy is foldedinto a northwest-trending, isoclinal,recumbent anticline sandwiched betweentwo large granitoid intrusions.

Mineralization is hosted by interbeddediron formation and felsic to intermediate

tuff, with subordinate orthoquartzite andultramafic schist. Sulphides (pyrrhotite andpyrite) and gold occur within a structuralfabric associated with early progressiveisoclinal folding. Alteration includessericitization, sulphidation, silicificationand carbonatization.

Cumberland Resources continues toadvance its Meadowbank projects towardsopen pit production. Six near-surfacegold deposits have been identified in theproject area: Goose Island, Third Portageand North Portage, Vault, Bay Zone, andPDF. The Connector Zone links theThird and North Portage deposits (threezones collectively termed “PortageZone”). In early 2005 updated resourcefigures were released as part of a feasi-bility study. Based on open-pit miningmethods, measured and indicated goldresources stood at 23.3 million tonnesat 4.4 g/t Au, for 3.3 million containedounces from the Portage, Goose Islandand Vault zones.

The 2005 exploration program consistsof a two-phased program, including aplanned 9,000 metre diamond drillingprogram, and grassroots exploration alongthe 25 kilometre Meadowbank gold trend.

The company completed geotechnicalstudies, infill drilling to increase gold

reserves and resources about the GooseIsland and Portage proposed pit areas,some grassroots exploration, and con-tinued its environmental baseline studiesand impact assessments.

Drilling on the northern and southernflanks of the Goose Island depositreturned mineralized intersections whichare expected to increase the quality and sizeof the Goose Island reserves and resources.Mineralized intercepts on the southernflank occur over better than expectedwidths (3.2 g/t Au up to 10.97 g/t Auover 2.48 to 9.13 m). Six of 11 holesdrilled on the northern flank are expectedto extend the deposit 50 m to the north.Two other holes returned grades of 10.09g/t Au and 14.90 g/t Au at depths of22 m and 19 m below the surface.

Summer drilling discovered a newnear-surface zone - Cannu Gold Zone,350 m north of the company’s plannedPortage Pit. Assay highlights include:21.36 g/t Au over 1.75 m at 72 mbelow surface; 9.49 g/t Au over 3.12 mat 100 m below surface; and 7.06 g/tAu over 7.44 m at 28 m below surface.The new zone is along trend of thePortage and Goose Island reserves. It maycontribute to increasing the resourceand reserves of the project.

MEADOWBANK PROJECT

Operator, OwnersCumberland ResourcesCommoditiesGoldCoordinates96° 00’W, 65° 04’NNTS66H/1, 56E/4Location75 km north of Baker Lake

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Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 41

The Meliadine West deposits are hostedwithin the Archean Rankin Inlet Group,in the hanging wall of the Pyke BreakDeformation Zone. Stratigraphy in thearea strikes east-southeast and is overturnedwith south-facing tops. From north tosouth (oldest to youngest), the stratigraphyincludes the Sam Formation (metatur-bidites), Upper Oxide Formation, andTiriganiaq Formation wackes and silt-stones. These structurally overlie, butstratigraphically underlie, Wolf-WesmegFormation mafic and ultramafic rockswith the inter-layered Lean and LowerLean Iron Formations, and the FalconFormation variolitic flows. South of thePyke Break, Sandhill Formation siltstonesand wackes, and Sic Sic Formation poly-mictic conglomerate are the dominantrock types.

The largest mineral resource on theMeliadine West property is the Tiriga-niaq Zone. Gold mineralization in thezone is found in quartz-vein stock works,laminated veins and sulphidized ironformation in complexly folded andsheared iron formation, sedimentary andvolcanic rocks. Gold is associated withquartz-ankerite veins, variable pyrrhotite,coarse-grained, euhedral arsenopyrite,

and sericite alteration. Early in 2005, Comaplex released a

new resource figure based on an under-ground, narrow, high grade mining scenario for the Tiriganiaq Zone, cappedhigh gold assays at 60 g/t, and increasedthe cut-off grades for load definition.Tiriganiaq Main contains an indicatedresource of 2,467,000 tonnes at 10.8 g/tAu (contained ounces 853,000) andinferred resource of 417,000 tonnes at12.7g/t Au. The West zone contains aninferred resource of 725,000 tonnes at13.43 g/t Au. Total contained gold inall categories is 1,335,000 ounces.

In December 2004, Gold Fields Ltd.announced the purchase of 11.4 per centinterest in Comaplex in an open markettransaction. The companies entered intoa further private placement agreement inMarch 2005, whereby Orogen HoldingsLimited, an indirect wholly owned sub-sidiary of Gold Fields Limited, purchased2,428,571 shares at a price of $3.50 foraggregate gross proceeds to Comaplexof $8.5 million. On closing of thistransaction, Orogen (Gold Fields Ltd.)increased its ownership to 7,628,571shares of Comaplex, representing 19.8per cent of issued and outstandingshares in the company. The companiesalso entered into a technical assistanceprogramme whereby Gold Fields willsecond geological staff and provideengineering consultation on the MeliadineWest Project.

The 2005 drill program finished inSeptember. A total of 15,851 m in 48drill holes was completed. Of that, 18holes totalling 11,333 m (72 per cent)were completed on Western Deeps portionof Tiriganiaq deposit, three holes totalling1122 m (7 per cent) on the main

deposit and the remaining 20 per cent onreconnaissance regional targets: 2083 m(13 per cent) on shallow targets within3 km of the deposit, and 946 m (6 percent) on two widely spaced assessmenttargets.

Drill testing of mineralization in theWestern Deeps intersected the goldbearing structure at 575 m verticallybelow surface, assaying 13.4 g/t Auover 3.3 m. The tenure of gold valuesfrom intersections in the 1000 zone ofWestern Deeps is greater than previouslyreported drill holes. The best valuereported to date is 16.0 g/t Au over6.2 m (11.7 g/t over 6.2 m if cut to 60gmt Au).

Ten geotechnical holes were completedto the north of the Tiriganiaq deposit.These holes are designed to test theoverburden characteristics at threepotential portal locations, one of whichwill provide future underground rampor shaft access. Condemnation drillingwas also completed in areas of possibleinfrastructure placement.

Surface sampling and prospectingcontinued along the 70 km MeliadineWest property. Approximately 155 line-km of magnetics have been completedon two zones of the far eastern portion ofthe property (CWM claims). A surfacegold occurrence was discovered - theAkpik (Cloudberry) Zone. It has beencovered by 39 line-km of magnetics on12.5 and 25 m line spacings. The AklakTargets, 5 km southeast of the AkpikZone, was also covered by ground mag-netic surveys (116 line-km) and detailedsurface sampling. Plans are to mobilize adrill to this area for spring 2006 drilling.

MELIADINE WEST PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersComaplex Minerals (78%), Cumberland Resources (22%)CommoditiesGoldCoordinates92° 11’W, 63° 01’NNTS55J/13, 55K/16, 55N/1Location30 km north of Rankin Inlet

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The Meliadine East property is the easternextension of the Meliadine West property.The target of exploration is an economicmesothermal lode gold deposit. H. A.Simons Ltd. completed an independentpreliminary engineering study of theDiscovery prospect on the MeliadineEast property in 1996 and estimated aninferred resource of 1,386,300 tonnesat 6.8 g/t Au (approximately 300,000ounces) for the deposit. The Discoverygold mineralization is hosted by oxideiron formation and is associated withabundant quartz-carbonate veining andelevated sulphide contents (arsenopyrite,pyrite and pyrrhotite). Cumberlandcompleted a mapping and prospectingprogram on the property in 2005.

The property is underlain predominantlyby undifferentiated granitic and gneissicrocks of Archean age and minor granulite-facies likely of Paleoproterozoic age. Agreenstone belt, possibly correlative withArchean Prince Albert and WoodburnLake groups, occurs in the central partof the property and can be traced onaeromagnetic maps over 70 km.

Paleoproterozoic (ca. 1.8 Ga) calc-alkaline plutonic rocks of the Ford Lakebatholith occur in the northernmostpart of the property. The near-verticalWager Bay shear zone cuts the northernpart of the property in an east-westdirection and displays dextral shear senseindicators.

In 2003, Dunsmuir flew a 12,000line-km high resolution airborne magnetometer survey at 150 m line-spacing and collected 472 till samplesto compliment previously acquired tillsample results. KIM’s recovered fromthe property include G9 and G10pyrope garnets, diamond inclusion fieldeclogitic garnets, diamond inclusionfield and kimberlitic chromites, chromediopside and olivine. Following up onits 2004 FALCON TM airborne gravitygradiometer and magnetic survey andtill sampling, the company collected an

additional 199 till samples and carriedout prospecting and staking of select areaswithin the original permit grouping in2005. As of January 2006 the projectarea covers about 146,600 hectares. BHPBilliton maintains a back-in option onthe property.

The Nanuq North Property is comprisedof more than 32,780 hectares of mineralclaims located adjacent to the northernboundary of the Nanuq Project. Theclaims were staked to capture thepotential source(s) of one of two kimber-lite indicator mineral trains with diamondinclusion chemistry identified by Dunsmuirbetween 2001 and 2004. Several samplesyielded pyrope garnets with kelyphite rimsand one sample yielded a pyrope garnetwith a kimberlite mantle, indicating aclose proximity to source. The project wasnot active in 2005 pending resolutionon land tenure issues.

MELIADINE EAST PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersCumberland Resources and Comaplex MineralsCommoditiesGoldCoordinates91° 00’ W, 65° 30’ NNTS56 GLocation30km northeast of Rankin Inlet

NANUQ PROJECT

Operator, OwnersPeregrine Diamonds Ltd.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates91° 00’ W, 65° 30’ NNTS56 GLocation250 km northeast of Baker Lake

NANUQ NORTH PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersPeregrine Diamonds Ltd, and Indicator MineralsCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates91° 00’ W, 65° 30’ NNTS56 H/2, 3, 6, 7Location300 km northeast of Baker Lake

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After the assignment of permits in February2004, Diamonds North recognized theopen ground was a function of permitregulations. Till sampling conducted in2004 yielded kimberlite indicator minerals,including pyrope garnet, chrome diopsideand an ilmentite with possible kimberliteattached. Diamonds North then stakedthe 181,710 hectare block in 2004.Follow-up work in 2005 included 95till samples. Processing of these samplesis underway.

The project area covers seven uraniumprospects north of Aberdeen Laketotalling about 68,800 hectares. Thepotential exists for high grade uraniummineralization similar to the “uncon-formity type” deposits being mined inthe Athabasca area of Saskatchewan andthe Kombolgiie area of Australia. Titan’s2005 field program had three objectives.The first was to establish the level ofcommunity support for uranium explo-ration and developments in Baker Lake.

The second was to ground truth theproject’s historic database by examiningknown showings and boulder trains.And third, locate historic rock cairnsidentifying proposed drill hole locationsand re-establish using GPS.

Prospecting and sampling on theCompany’s Wolverine Permit in 2005resulted in the locating of additionalmineralized boulders which refined thelimits of two near-source boulder trains.Drill targets are located at the head ofuraniferous boulder trains defined bynumerous mineralized boulders rangingup to several per cent uranium. Previouswork has identified uranium mineralizationin boulders of glacial till with gradesranging from .05% to 2.7% (U3O8).Unconformity vein-type mineralizationhas been located in pebbles and boulders.Analysis of samples from two target areasreturned uranium concentrations greaterthan 30%. Pebbles of unconformity-veintype mineralization at SN-176 assayed380,000 ppm uranium. Prospectingaround Area 4 identified more than2800 mineralized phosphatic sandstoneand breccia boulders.

Past work includes regional geologicalmapping, prospecting, 13,612 line-kmof airborne radiometric, magnetic andelectromagnetic surveying, and detailedlake-bottom geochemical sampling.Detailed surveys undertaken to dateinclude ground geophysical, geochemicaland scintillometer prospecting. Pendingregulatory approval, the company hasplans for a drilling program on its seventarget areas in 2006.

TASIQ PROJECT

Operator, OwnersDiamonds North Resources Ltd.CommoditiesUraniumCoordinates99° 45’W, 65°NNTS66B, 66G, and 66HLocation150km northwest of Baker Lake

THELON PROJECT

Operator, OwnersTitan Uranium Exploration Inc.CommoditiesUraniumCoordinates99° 45’W, 65°NNTS66B, 66G, and 66HLocation150km northwest of Baker Lake

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 43

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In the Qikiqtani/Baffin Region, explo-ration has being increasing significantlyeach year since 2001. The main focus ofexploration in this region is diamonds.The north-western half of Baffin Islandand the Melville Peninsula have been themain focus of diamond exploration inthe Qikiqtani Region, although De BeersCanada Inc. and Stornoway DiamondCorporation are pursuing diamondexploration in the High Arctic.

Having optioned the OZ property onthe Brodeur Peninsula from KennecottCanada Exploration Inc., DiamondexResources Ltd. is proceeding ahead withexploration on the property. De Beers

Canada Inc. has by far the largest landposition on Baffin Island for diamondexploration and has discovered a seriesof sheet-like kimberlite bodies on theBaffin property. De Beers also hasprospecting permits covering most ofDevon Island and is planning an explo-ration program for 2006. In 2004,Patrician Diamond Corp. discovereddiamond-bearing kimberlite bodies onthe Borden Peninsula south of Arctic Bay.On the Melville Peninsula, StornowayDiamond Corporation has discovered atotal of nine diamondiferous kimberlitebodies within the Tremblay Corridorand has the largest land holdings on the

Melville Peninsula. By 2004 BHPBilliton had discovered nine kimberliteson the Qilalugaq property near RepulseBay. BHP Billiton has picked upprospecting permits covering the islandsjust south of central Baffin Island in theFoxe Basin. Strongbow Exploration hasfound a total of 10 kimberlite bodies onWales Island in Committee Bay.

There is a diversity of commodities,other than diamonds, being sought inthe Qikiqtani region. True North Gemshas optioned the only known sapphireoccurrence in Nunavut and is testingthe economic viability with a mini bulksample. The company is also looking formore occurrences of sapphire and otherprecious gemstones in the Lake HarbourGroup of sediments. CommanderResources has had encouraging resultsin its quest for gold on the southernmargin of the Piling Group of sedimentson central Baffin Island and IntrepidMinerals will be searching for “BrokenHill” type silver deposits on southernBaffin Island. The increased value of ironore has enticed Baffinland Iron MinesCorporation to revive their Mary RiverIron project. The company hopes to beable to double the tonnage of thedeposit through diamond drilling and tobring the deposit to the feasibility stage inthree years. In the High Arctic, on AxelHeiberg Island, James Bay Energy Corp.has coal licences and did preliminarysurface sampling last year. SouthernBaffin Island near Kimmirut and CapeDorset has also seen some preliminaryprospecting and sampling for buildingstone by the Torngait UjaganniavingitCorporation of Labrador. The companyis examining the marbles of the LakeHarbour Group.

44 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

Qikiqtani/Baffin Region

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The Alexis property consists of 1.25million hectares of mineral claims. Theseclaims where staked in the fall of 2004surrounding and adjacent to BHP Billiton’sQilalugaq property. BHP Billiton andStornoway Diamond Corp. hold a 50:50interest in the property. Approximately600 till samples were collected duringthe 2004 field season. BHP Billitoncompleted field work in 2005. Nodetails are available at this time.

The Aviat Project, located on the MelvillePeninsula, consists of 1.82 million hectaresof prospecting permits and mineralclaims. Stornoway Diamond Corporationis the operator and carries a 70 per centinterest in the project. The first kimberlite,Aviat 1 (AV1), was discovered by HunterExploration Group in 2001 and optionedto Northern Empire Minerals andStornoway Ventures Ltd. The latter twocompanies combined in July 2003 toform Stornoway Diamond Corporation.In the same month, BHP Billiton boughta 20 interest share in the Aviat Project

from the Hunter Group. The HunterGroup carries a 10 per cent interest inthe property.

The Aviat 2 (AV2) kimberlite wasdiscovered in the summer of 2003,followed by the discover of Aviat 3, 4, and5 (AV3, 4 and 5) in 2004. The companydiscovered three new kimberlite outcrops(AV6, AV7 and AV8) from prospecting.The occurrences are all hypabyssal kimber-lite visually similar to kimberlites AV1to AV5, inclusive, all of which provedsignificantly diamondiferous from initialtest work. The three new discoveries arelocated in close proximity to the otherknown kimberlites, within approximately6 km of AV1. AV1 has undergone themost advanced assessment from drillingto date and has returned a sample grade of0.83 carats per tonne from the processingof approximately 10.4 tonnes of kimber-lite (all sieved stones >0.85 mm).

Approximately two tonnes of surfacematerial was collected from AV6, 7 and8 for diamond analysis, with final resultsexpected by year-end. Similar sized (severaltonnes) samples of kimberlite collectedat surface from each of AV2, AV3, AV4

AVIAT PROJECT

Operator, OwnersStornoway Diamond Corp, BHP Billiton, Hunter Exploration GroupCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates69° 30’N 83° 20’WNTS47D/04, 05, 06 and 47C/08, 01LocationMelville PeninsulaAviat North 30 km west of Igloolik

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 45

ALEXIS PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersBHP Billiton;Stornoway Diamond CorpCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates86° W 67° NNTS46K, 46L, 46M and 46NLocationBetween Repulse Bay and Committee Bay at the base of the Melville Peninsula

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and AV5 will also be processed by densemedia separation in 2006.

A total of 29 drill holes (approximately2880 m) were completed during thesummer program. Three geophysicaltargets were drill tested without inter-secting kimberlite. One hole was drilled atAV1 and extended the known kimberlitebody 170 m to the west of previouslyreported intersections. The remainingholes focused in the vicinity of the AV2through AV6 and AV8 occurrences.Multiple kimberlite intersections rangingfrom 0.1 m to 23.6 m were encounteredat those occurrences. Drilling suggests thebodies are sheet-like in nature, althoughactual dimensions and orientations havenot yet been determined. Kimberlite AV7could not be drilled during the summerdrill program due to its proximity to a lake.Results from caustic analysis of drill coresamples collected from the Aviat Projectin 2005 are anticipated in early 2006.

Prospecting to follow-up anomalousindicator mineral results derived from the2004 till sampling program has discoveredalmost 350 locations with kimberliteboulders, not counting the new kimber-lite outcrops mentioned above. Althoughno mineralogical or geochemical studieshave been made of these new bouldershowings, based on the distribution andfield descriptions, spatially related bouldersare thought to represent a minimum of fivetrains coming from discrete source bodiesthat have not yet been identified. Thesignificance of numerous, more isolated,boulder occurrences is not known at thistime. Detailed till sampling was completedin 19 priority areas outside of the knownboulder trains, where anomalous tillsamples with high diamond potentialpyrope garnets were recovered in 2004.

In June 2004, Intrepid Minerals and BHPBilliton signed a joint venture agreementto explore BHP Billiton’s property onSouthern Baffin Island for “Broken Hill”type Ag-Pb-Zn deposits. Intrepid Mineralswill earn a 30 per cent interest in theproperty after spending $500,000 and,

if successful, the company can spendanother $500,000 to increase its sharein the property to 50 per cent. Duringthe 2004 field season Intrepid Mineralsconducted a reconnaissance programthat included prospecting and samplingand collected 15 samples.

In 2005, the company continued its reconnaissance exploration and theprogram took place east of the areaexplored in 2004. The field programtook place over a two week period inAugust and the exploration team workedout of the Commander Resources campat Dewars Lake. Thirty rock samplesand 12 heavy mineral concentrates werecollected and reconnaissance mappingof the area was performed.

46

BAFFIN ISLAND PROJECT

Operator, OwnersIntrepid Minerals Corp./BHP BillitonCommoditiesSilver, Lead, ZincCoordinates70°W 67°30’NNTS26M and 26NLocation340 km northwest of Iqaluit

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De Beers Canada Inc. has been exploringfor diamonds on Baffin Island since 2001and has performed extensive till and streamsampling, ground and airborne geo-physics, reverse circulation drilling anddiamond drilling. In 2004 De Beers followed a kimberlite indicator mineraltrain and found a kimberlite float train.De Beers has significantly increased itsland holding on Baffin Island and DevonIsland and exploration on Devon Islandwill begin in 2006.

Work on Baffin Island during the 2005field season included: glacial striationmapping and kimberlite float prospecting;1454 m of drilling; 6547 line km ofAeroTEM survey and 23 line-km ofground gravity surveys over two grids.The kimberlite float prospecting produced604 individual pieces of float whichsuggest multiple high interest kimberlitesources may be present on the property.The drilling intersected several sheet-like kimberlite bodies at the head of thekimberlite float train. No results on thediamond content of the kimberliteswere available at the time of writing.

The Baumann Project is composed of 87prospecting permits on Ellesmere Island.The property was optioned to StornowayDiamond Corp. in March of 2005.Stornoway can earn a 41 per cent interestin the property by spending $1 millionbefore 2009 and incurring 100 per centof the cost of staking mineral claims. Inthe 2005 field season 123 heavy mineralsamples were collected on the property.No results were available at the time ofwriting.

The sapphires discovered near the Hamletof Kimmirut on Southern Baffin Islandare hosted in a desilicified syenitic peg-matite lens in the marbles of the LakeHarbour Group of sediments. The sap-phires were discovered by NowdlukAkpiq in 2001 while out hunting. Theclaims were staked in 2002/2003 byNowdluk and his brother Seemeega. InNovember 2003, True North Gemsoptioned the Beluga Sapphire occurrencefrom the brothers. At that time there weretwo known occurrences of sapphires, withthe Beluga occurrence being the mainshowing and the Narwhal being the secondoccurrence.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 47

BAFFIN ISLAND PROPERTY

Operator, OwnersDe Beers Canada Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates80°W 70°30’NNTS47E, 47/H, 37C, 37H, 37F, 37GLocation150 km north of Igloolik

BAUMANN PROJECT

Operator, OwnersStornoway Diamond Corp.Indicator Minerals Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates85°00’ W 78°00’ NNTS49C, D, E, FLocation200 km north of Grise Fiord

BELUGA SAPPHIRE PROJECT

Operator, OwnersTrue North Gems Inc.Seemeega AqpikNowdluk AqpikChris LloydCommoditiesSapphires/Fancy SapphiresCoordinates69°53’ W 62°49’ NNTS25k/13Location3.5 km southwest of Kimmirut

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In 2004, True North Gems recovereda 4.29 t bulk sample from the Belugadeposit. Regional till sampling andprospecting programs were also con-ducted and the company discovered 4additional sapphire occurrences. The resultsof the bulk sample were very encouragingwith the recovery of rough sapphirefrom the 2004 bulk sample being 790.7grams/t. The grade of gem quality andnear-gem quality sapphires was 33.1grams/t and 115.0 grams/t respectively.An independent evaluation of a portion ofthe sapphires that were processed showedan average price of US$570.85/t. Thedeposit has produced natural blue, yellowand colourless sapphires to date.

In 2005, True North continued withexploration on the Beluga sapphireoccurrence. Work included extraction ofapproximately 110 t of sapphire bearingmaterial from the Beluga occurrence,detailed mapping and prospecting ofthe claims. No results from the bulksample were available at the time ofwriting. In November True North Gemsannounced the discovery of a new sapphireoccurrence, the Aqpik Occurrence. Thesapphire is colourless, with the largestpiece recovered being 49 carats. TrueNorth Gems believes the Aqpik Occur-rence is a new style of sapphire mineral-ization within the same unit that hoststhe other sapphire occurrences.

The Borden Project is located on theBorden Peninsula and is comprised of12 prospecting permits. This project ispart of an option agreement betweenCommittee Bay Resources and IndicatorMinerals Inc.

In 2004, heavy mineral samplesyielded kimberlite indicator minerals inone area of the property. In 2005, 30heavy mineral specimens were collectedto identify the source of the indicatorminerals. No results were available atthe time of writing.

In 2003, Patrician Diamonds Inc.staked a package of claims (35,416hectares) 90 km south of Arctic Bay onthe Borden Peninsula. Kimberlite bodieswere discovered on the property duringstaking in the spring of 2003. Duringpreliminary field work in the summer of2004 angular kimberlite float wasfound in three separate locations andcaustic fusion recovered five diamondsfrom 162 kg of kimberlitic material, thelargest diamond being 0.31 carats.

48 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

BORDEN PROJECT

Operator, OwnersIndicator Minerals Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates83°W 72°30’NNTS47H, 48ALocation110 km south east of Arctic Bay

BORDEN PROJECT, BORDENPENINSULA BAFFIN ISLAND

Operator, OwnersPatrician Diamonds Inc.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates80° W 70°30’ NNTS48B/8Location90 km south east of Arctic Bay

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During June of 2005, PatricianDiamonds Inc. contracted McPharGeosurveys Ltd. to carry out a high resolution airborne magnetic surveyover its Borden Peninsula property.Approximately 3,700 line km wereflown in August 2005. Preliminary resultswere received in September. The datashowed a number of magnetic featuresof high priority interest that occur inproximity to strongly anomalous kimber-lite indicator mineral concentrations instream sediments. Because of the latenessof the season, no follow up of the airborneresults was done. These targets will be apriority for evaluation during the 2006field season.

In 2005, Patrician Diamonds wasgranted 12 prospecting permits on CapeDorset and plans to collect till samples to“follow up reports of high concentrationsof indicator garnets.”

In May 2004, Navigator ExplorationCorp. and Strongbow Resources Inc.combined to form Strongbow Explor-ation Inc. Strongbow Exploration alongwith NDT Ventures Ltd can each earn a 30per cent interest in these four propertiesfrom Stornoway Diamond Corp. andBHP Billiton.

Strongbow Resources and NDTVentures hold the four properties onthe Melville Peninsula and just north ofthe Melville Peninsula on the coast ofBaffin Island. The company collected

140 heavy mineral samples in 2004 tofollow up anomalous sample results onthe Gem and Fury properties andground prospecting to examine highpriority ground geophysical anomaliesdefined during 2003 field work.However, no further work is currentlyplanned for the Fury, Gem and Sarcpaproperties, although the Sarcpa propertywill be retained due to its strategic positionon the Melville Peninsula. The companyplanned to follow up several till geo-chemical samples which returnedanomalous nickel and copper values inthe Kingora property in 2005.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 49

FURY, SARCPA, GEM ANDKINGORA PROPERTIES

Operator, OwnersStrongbow Exploration Ltd.NDT Ventures Ltd.Stornoway Diamond Corp.BHP BillitonCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates69°30’ W 66°30’ NNTS47/A, 47B, 47D, 47E, and 47OLocationMelville Peninsula and Baffin Island

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Diamond exploration on northern BaffinIsland dates back to the early seventies,when Diapros and Cominco uncoveredkimberlites on both the BrodeurPeninsula and to the west on SomersetIsland. A second phase of explorationbegan shortly after the diamond rusharose in the NT, with Lumina Invest-ment and Cyclone Capital conductingwork in the region. Twin MiningCorporation acquired the propertyfrom privately-held Helix Resources inJune 2000.

Since acquiring the property in 2000,Twin Mining has added substantially toits land holdings on the Brodeur Penin-sula and has at least four kimberlite bodies,including the Freightrain and Cargo 1.

In February 2004, Twin Miningannounced that they had discovered 12new clusters of kimberlite indicatorminerals (KIM) from their work in 2003.Seven of the 12 clusters of KIMs arelocated on the eastern half of TwinMining’s new claim block and several ofthe clusters correspond with airbornemagnetic anomalies and intersectingstructures. The remaining five KIMclusters are within three to six kilometresof the Freightrain and Cargo 1 pipes.

However, the company surmises becauseof the high number of KIM within thefive clusters that there may be otherkimberlite bodies hidden under shallowoverburden.

During the summer of 2004, TwinMining outlined 42 anomalies throughairborne geophysical surveys on theJackson Inlet East property. Eighteen ofthe anomalies were considered signifi-cant and crossed up to five flight lines(250 m). On the Jackson Inlet Westproperty, seven anomalies crossing fiveflight lines were outlined in the samesurvey.

The exploration program in 2005consisted of 14,754 line-km of airbornegradiometer survey, minor till samplingand reverse circulation drilling. The drillingprogram was designed to investigatethe presence and quality of kimberliteson the Jackson Inlet property. Drillingtested the Freightrain kimberlite withthree holes, the Cargo 1 kimberlite withseven holes and 14 aeromagneticanomalies with 20 holes. At the time ofwriting no results were available.

The iron deposits at Mary River on northcentral Baffin Island were first discoveredby Murry Watts and Ron Sheardown in1962. Between 1963 and 1965 explorationwork took place on the claims and fivehigh-grade iron deposits were identified.Most of the exploration work was per-formed on the No.1 Deposit. This workincluded 3,319 m of core drilling, tracingof the iron formations through airborneand ground geophysics, geologicalmapping and trench sampling of each ofthe identified deposits. A bulk samplewas also taken for metallurgical testing.

Three gravel airstrips were also con-structed and a haul road was establishedbetween Mary River and Milne Inlet, aswell as topographic and hydrographicsurveys conducted by the Government ofCanada of Milne Inlet. A full feasibilitystudy was performed to access the viabilityof the deposit and the deposit was deter-mined at that time to be uneconomic.The property remained dormant until2004 when Glimmer Resources and Baffin-land Iron Mines Ltd combined to formBaffinland Iron Mines Corporation.

The drilling of Deposit No. 1 in 2005was designed to in-fill drilling conductedin 2004 within approximately one km

MARY RIVER IRON ORE DEPOSITS

Operator, OwnersBaffinland Iron Mines Corp.CommoditiesIronCoordinates79° W 71°18’ NNTS37G/05Location160 km south of Pond Inlet

50 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

JACKSON INLET EAST AND WEST

Operator, OwnersTwin Mining Corporation andStornoway Diamond Corp.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates88° 16’W 73° 15’NNTS58D/1,8Location120 km west of Nanisivik

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of the axis of the fold between the southand north limbs of the deposit, as wellas to step out at depth in certain areas.The widely spaced 2004 program hadbeen successful in more than doublingthe drill-indicated strike length delineatedin the 1960s to about 2.5 km, more thandoubling the depth of Deposit No. 1and adding substantially to the thicknessof the deposit with the discovery of an Upper Zone. The 2005 programextended the depth of Deposit No. 1 tomore than 450 m measured from thetop of the ridge line on the north limb.The objective of the 2005 program wasto build on the success of the 2004 program and develop a new resourcecalculation that would incorporate all ofthe drilling information. The ultimate goalof the program is to test the feasibilityof a 10 million tonne per year operationat Mary River for at least 25 years.

The Nanisivik Mine went into productionin 1977. In the last year of production(2002) the Nanisivik Mine produced516,544 tonnes of ore at a grade of10.0% Zn and 42 g/t Ag. Productioncame to a halt due to low metal pricesat the end of September. In June 2004the Nunavut Water Board (NWB) gaveits approval to proceed with a closureand reclamation plan. The closure andreclamation activities at Nanisivik wereinitially anticipated to be finished in

2005 however, due to delays the workwill now be completed in 2006. Workincludes removal of the remaining infra-structure, limited maintenance of covermaterial, finalization of the placement ofsome cover material, removal of contami-nated soils from certain targeted areasand the commencement of post closuremonitoring. Beginning in 2007 and fora minimum of five years, geotechnicaland environmental monitoring of the sitewill be conducted to ensure the integrityof the reclamation work.

In June 2003, Canzinco entered intoan agreement with Wolfden Resources forthe purchase of the Nanisivik industrialcomplex, including milling equipmentand related infrastructure, four dieselelectric generators, the ship loading facilityand the concentrate storage building.In return, Wolfden agreed to reclaim theindustrial complex site to the regulators’satisfaction.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 51

NANISIVIK MINE

Operator, OwnersCanzinco LtdCommoditiesZinc, silverCoordinates84° 25’W, 73° 03’NNTS48C/01LocationBorden Peninsula, Baffin Island

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In May 2005, Diamondex announced ithad signed a letter of intent to acquire a100 per cent interest in Kennecott’s Ozclaims and prospecting permits on theBrodeur Peninsula of Baffin Island.Kennecott discovered three diamon-diferous kimberlite bodies on the property:the Tuwawi, Nanuk, and Kuuraq.

The Tuwawi kimberlite is the largestof the three (250 m x 150 m). It wasdrilled and produced 1520 kg of drillcore as a mini bulk sample. Three hundredand nineteen diamonds were recoveredfrom this sample and showed a coarsediamond distribution similar to TwinMining’s Freightrain kimberlite. Littleinformation has been released about thetwo other kimberlites.

This season Diamondex flew 21,225line-km of fixed wing magnetic surveysand 2,800 line-km of Fugro Resolve air-borne surveys over previously identifiedairborne magnetic targets. Diamondexalso collected 661 till and stream samplesand recovered several kimberlite floatboulders up to 30 cm in diameter. Theboulders were found down-ice from severalairborne geophysical targets. Diamondex

has allocated $800,000 to drill thesenewly defined geophysical targets. To dateKennecott and Diamondex have spent$9.5 million on the Brodeur project area.

BHP Billiton’s Qilalugaq project consistsof 405 mineral claims on the southwestend of the Melville Peninsula. The propertylies between Repulse Bay in the southand Committee Bay to the northwest.Work on the property started in thearea in 2000. In 2004 a 45 person campwas established approximately eight km

from the Hamlet of Repulse Bay.To date, a cluster of nine kimberlite

bodies have been reported on theQilalugaq property. One of the kimber-lite bodies (Qilalugaq) warranted a minibulk sample. 9.37 tonnes of material wassampled and produced a grade of 0.25carats/t. This grade was sufficient towarrant a larger bulk sample. The next bulksample was extracted using a helicopterportable reverse circulation drill. This drillmakes a hole 8.5 inches in diameter andcan extract approximately 10 tonnes ofmaterial with a drillhole 100 m long. A237 tonne bulk sample was collected.At the time of writing results were stillpending. The Qilalugaq kimberlite maybe a composite body composed of up tofour separate intrusions.

In May 2005, BHP Billiton completeda 10 hole drill program. No results wereavailable at the time of writing.

52 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

OZ SERIES CLAIMS ANDPROSPECTING PERMITS

Operator, OwnersDiamondex Resources Ltd.Kennecott Canada Exploration Ltd.CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates87° 00’W 73° 08’NNTS48C/4,5,6,11, 58D/8,48G/11,12,13,14, 48H/8,9 48 B/2,3,4Location110 km west of Nanisivik

QILALUGAQ PROJECT

Operator, OwnersBHP Billiton CommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates87° W 67° NNTS46K, L, M, NLocation10 km from Repulse Bay

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The Piling Group is a lower Proterozoicsupracrustal assemblage that is part ofthe Foxe Fold Belt; the northern extentof the Trans-Hudson Orogen thatstretches from Melville Peninsula to thewest coast of Greenland. The southernmargin of the Piling Group comprises adiverse lower package of siliciclastics,volcanic flows and volcaniclastics and an upper succession of greywacke-

turbidites. The area is consideredprospective for Broken Hill-type, VMSand mesothermal gold deposits.

Previously reported exploration inthe south Piling Group is limited. In1985 Petro-Canada conducted a lakesediment survey covering NTS sheets27B, 37A and D. Comaplex MineralsCorporation carried out geological andgeochemical surveys in those areas in1991. Exploration in the north PilingGroup previously attracted Cominco in1976, 1991 and 2001 and Noranda in1993. BHP Billiton and Falconbridgereceived prospecting permits coveringthe south margin of the Piling Group in2000. BHP Billiton also obtained tenNTI leases covering the Inuit OwnedLands (IOL) in the area. Under an agree-ment signed in 2003, CommanderResources can earn a 100 per cent interestin the gold rights to the property byspending $10.2 million on BHP Billiton’spermits by the end of 2012 and by

spending $8.0 million on the Falcon-bridge permits by the end of 2011.

Exploration in 2004 was concentratedon the Malrock Lake (local name) areawhere drilling and surface samplingrecovered significant, although disconti-nuous, gold values in the iron formations.The silicate iron formation is very similarin the style of mineralogy and mineral-ization to the Musselwhite Mine in north-western Ontario and the Homestake Minein South Dakota.

In the spring of 2005, the camp wasmoved westward to Dewars Lake area.Exploration was concentrated in the RidgeLake area and the Durette Prospect.

At the Durette Prospect chip andchannel sampling during the 2005 fieldseason has outlined a zone 500 m instrike length and open in all directions.The best samples collected and assayed atthe Durette Prospect are 28.9 g/t over2.0 m and 18.0 g/t over 2.0 m. Themineralization, a quartz stockwork with

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 53

QIMIQ PROJECT

Operator, OwnersCommander Resources Inc.BHP BillitonFalconbridge Ltd.Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. CommoditiesGoldCoordinates73° 00’W 87° NNTS37A/9,10, 27BLocation270 km northwest of Iqaluit

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arsenopyrite-pyrrhotite, is above theiron formations and seems to be hostedin a strong east-west structure that iscoincident with a strong EM conductor.Commander Resources indicates thatdrilling will take place on the DuretteProspect next season.

The Ridge Lake Prospect is a struc-turally thickened sheared and mineralizediron formation and may be part of thesame structure hosting the DuretteProspect. This season, diamond drillingat the Ridges Lake Prospect has revealeda zone 600 m long in the Lower (sulphidefacies) Iron Formation. The best inter-section was 21.3 g/t over 4.24 m. Themineralization intersected with drillingthe Lower Iron Formation seems tocorrelate with surface showings. Theshowing is open in all directions.

James Bay Energy Corp. has held thecoal licences that cover the Kangut Penin-sula of Strand Fiord on Axel HeibergIsland in Canada’s High Arctic for severalyears. Axel Heiberg Island lays immediatelywest of Ellesmere Island within theSverdrup Basin. In 2004, a team wentto Axel Heiberg Island in order to

perform surface sampling of the coalseams on the island. No work was under-taken on the coal licences in 2005, butthe company has plans to examine thecoal seams in 2006.

Coal occurrences are not uncommonin Canada’s High Arctic islands. Coal isfound in four formations within theSverdrup Basin: the Upper Devonian OkseBay Formation, the Upper Triassic orLower Jurassic part of the HeibergFormation, Lower Cretaceous Isachsenformation and the Upper Cretaceous andthe Tertiary Eureka Sound Formation.These coal and hydrocarbon resourceswere examined in the late 1970s andearly 1980s by several of the largerpetroleum companies. Assessment reportsdescribing this work can be obtainedthrough the Mineral Archives in Iqaluit.

54 Mining and Exploration Overview 2005

THE STRAND FIORD COAL PROJECTOperator, OwnersJames Bay Energy Inc.CommoditiesCoalCoordinates87° W 67° NNTS46K, L, M, NLocation515 km north of Resolute Bay onAxel Heiberg Island

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Exploration permits granted in February2003, on Wales Island, located inCommittee Bay, are held jointly byStornoway Diamonds Corp. (operator),Strongbow Exploration and BHPBilliton. An airborne geophysical surveywas flown during the 2003 field seasonand identified a series of targets. Two of these targets were drilled in 2004resulting in the discovery of twokimberlite bodies. The 2005 programon Wales Island started in August andincluded drilling, ground geophysicsand till sampling. Eight new kimberlitebodies were discovered, five throughdiamond drilling and three withprospecting, bringing the total to 10kimberlite bodies discovered on WalesIsland. Work performed this seasonincluded 19 drill holes (1366 m),ground geophysics over 20 targets and61 till samples. Seven hundred andeight kilograms of drill core and 70 kgof outcrop material will be tested fordiamonds by caustic fusion.

Mining and Exploration Overview 2005 55

WALES ISLAND PROJECT

Operator, OwnersStornoway Diamond Corp.Strongbow Exploration Inc.BHP BillitonCommoditiesDiamondsCoordinates80° W 70°30’NNTS47B/3, 46M/15,16Location225 km north of Repulse Bay

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Mining Mineral Exploration and Geoscience 2005

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