'Everyone is excited' about new discovery: metalCORP is exploring 25 kilometres from Fort Frances.

Fort Frances is revealing copper-platinum-palladium treasures to metalCORP Ltd. as prospectors continue tracing an ore deposit located 25 kilometres east of the community.

"Everyone is excited about the discovery ... it's a great looking project," Aubrey Eveleigh, P. Geo and vice-president of exploration, says.

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The Beaver Pond Zone is part of six claims covering 1,680-acre area, better known as the North Rock Copper-Nickel Platinum Group property.

MetalCORP has also found some high value precious group elements (PGEs).

The copper grades are roughly at one- to two-percent showing. Platinum and palladium are looking strong with values as high as 10 grams per tonne, Eveleigh says.

"It is unusual in Northern Ontario in that most projects do not see those high platinum values."

However, the nickel is 0.02 to 0.04 percent, which is relatively low-grade.

One major copper-nickel company has already visited the site and three others have expressed interest.

A completion of the first phase drill program tested the 200-metre depth extension of the known copper mineralization and have determined the deposit is open which leaves more room for exploration.

A small, but significant, copper body was discovered by Noranda Inc. in 1958 from a 90-metre deep shaft and one drift on the 70-metre level. Very little information exists on the distribution of quality and quantity precious group elements (PGEs), nickel, gold or cobalt. But recent grab samples taken recovered from underground material have yielded assays up to 8.9 percent copper, 0.8 percent nickel and 0.05 percent cobalt with 1.6 grams per tonne of platinum, 0.7 g/t of palladium and 0.7 g/t of gold.

Airborne surveys recently identified several strong conductors on the property.

"We will be drilling those in our second phase of the program this fall."

The company has spent $1 million on the project and has budgeted another $1 million for the next 12 months. A Fort Frances warehouse has already been rented for equipment.

"We plan to be there for a while."

All the samples are being prepped in Thunder Bay then sent to Vancouver to ALS Chemex.

Infrastructure is important when a company is attempting to put a deposit into production. Although metalCORP is a fair ways off from determining if production is probable, the infrastructure makes it a more attractive proposition. The Trans-Canada Highway, a railway and a power line go through the property.

"If we do find something that needs to be mined here, it is going to be low-cost capital to put it into production."

Smeltering may have been done in Sudbury, but with the rail lines passing through allows for easy shipment.

"The location is right and we have good mineralization."

MetalCORP is the only company that has claims in the vicinity and has since acquired an extra 4,000 acres adjacent to the Beaver Pond's 6,000 acres.

The second drilling phase will include both properties.

Right now prospectors are on the ground and geological mapping is taking place.

"What we are trying to do is trace it (the deposit). We are trying to find out how this unit strikes."

They are finding more copper mineralization on surface that is being traced out for some distance.

Fall program will focus predominantly on the electromagnetic conductors. This will determine their strategy for the spring and summer exploration programs.

www.metalcorp.ca

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business