The total approved budget for 2016 is $955,000 of which approximately $100,000 had been spent to the end of February, 2016. The budget is for exploration programs to be conducted during 2016 within portions of a large property holding along the south margin of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Ontario which is jointly held 50% by Tri Origin and 50% by Sumac. Sumac is fully funding the initial phases of work at these properties to a maximum total expenditure of C$4.5 million.
The work program for the remainder of 2016 is anticipated to consist of ground geological and geophysical surveys and diamond drilling to follow-up airborne electromagnetic anomalies detected during a “VTEM” airborne EM and magnetic survey recently completed by the Alliance. The airborne survey was flown by Geotech Ltd and covered a large survey grid. Examination of results from the airborne survey resulted in selection of an initial portion of the survey area “Target Area 1” to be the focus of the next phase of surface exploration.
Applications for an exploration plan and exploration permit covering Target Area 1 have been submitted to the Ontario government. Approval is expected during late May/early June. Ground geological and geophysical surveys are planned to commence immediately on permit approval. Interpretive work to identify drill targets based on the results of ground surveys will continue into the summer. Shareholders will be informed of the results of this work and of the plans for follow-up diamond drilling as they are formalized.
The South Abitibi project covers regional target areas identified by Tri Origin along the southern margin of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in the Cobalt-Temagami region where prospective Archean-age volcanic rocks are covered by younger, regionally extensive, Proterozoic-age sedimentary rocks. These cover rocks precluded historic prospecting and limited the effectiveness of earlier geophysical equipment which had minimal depth penetration capability. Furthermore, much of this terrain was excluded from exploration during the time period between 1970 and 2000 due to land cautions and exploration moratoriums. Tri Origin’s management believes that the prospective, covered Archean rocks can now be effectively explored using modern geophysical techniques and drilling.
Read the full press release here.