Cartier Iron (CSE:CNX) put out a press release on progress at its Big Easy Project in Newfoundland. Big Easy property expanded to 369 claims covering 92.3 km2, 2 hours from St. John’s. The property was the subject of a Controlled Source Audio Magneto-Telluric survey which revealed significant resistivity anomalies along a major north-northeast trending structural break in the Central Anomaly – Big Easy Showing Area. The company is undertaking a 10,000 meter drilling program to test those anomalies.
We had a number of questions about the Big Easy project and Cartier’s Chief Technical Adviser, Dr. William Pearson answered our email.
- Cartier has identified three anomalies at its Big Easy project in Newfoundland. Do you see these as part of a larger, deeper, structure? Definitely, the anomalies are on a major structure which the CSAMT indicates extends to a depth of at least 1km. Magnetic, IP and geological data indicate that this structure could be up to 20km along strike. It is likely that we will be able to find a series of low sulphidation epithermal centres along this structure.
- In your press release, you indicate that the original drilling on the property may have been “drilled too high in the epithermal system”. How is your current drilling program dealing with this? We are doing a deeper series of holes in this round guided by the resistivity anomalies outlined by the CSAMT survey.
- Right now, the grades are encouraging. Do you think if you drill deeper you’ll get better grades? Yes, the sweet spot in the system is likely deeper based on geological models of comparable systems in Japan, New Zealand and Russia.
- From a geologist’s perspective, does the Big Easy look like a “discovery”? Certainly has the potential to be but I need assays from our current drilling to confirm. The scale of the mineralized structure has the potential to be a significant discovery.
- What is the timeline to the completion of the 10,000 meter program and when do you expect to have the assays? We will get about one-half of the program done before Christmas shut down then complete the balance in winter 2022. Assay turnaround is very slow as you know. I hope to have some results before Christmas but most results and possibly all results from the current program will not be available until the New Year.
We’re looking forward to the assays on the holes already drilled and more drill results going into the New Year.