Boreal Minerals has commenced a 1,000 metre exploratory diamond drill program at its Burfjord copper-gold project in Norway. The Burfjord Copper-Gold Project is host to numerous high-grade veins with associated copper-rich envelopes developed across a large, 4 by 6 kilometre area and represents an attractive exploration drilling target with bulk tonnage mining potential.
“We are highly optimistic that the current drill program will deliver widespread copper mineralization as observed on surface by our geological team. With some luck, the Burfjord project will bear economic zones that can excite our shareholders,” says Karl Antonius, President and CEO i pressemeldingen. “Discovering significant mineralization in the subsurface at Burfjord represents an exciting near-term growth opportunity for the Company.”
Only limited exploration has taken place in the modern era and only one prospect area has been drill tested to date. The best historical drill intercept consists of 7 metres @ 3.6% copper, and was obtained from the Cedarsgruve (mine) area in the northern portion of the claim block.
Overview of the Burfjord Project
The Burfjord Copper-Gold Project, located in the Kåfjord Copper Belt near Alta, Norway is highly prospective for Iron Oxide Copper Gold (IOCG) and Sediment Hosted Copper mineral deposits which contribute significantly to copper production globally.
High-grade copper-gold veins at Burfjord (Figure 1) are surrounded by envelopes or disseminations of copper mineralization extending tens to hundreds of metres laterally into the host rocks. Boreal believes this mineralization represents an attractive bulk tonnage exploration drilling target. Copper bearing veins in the area are dominated by ferroan carbonate and ironoxide minerals (magnetite and hematite), but also contain the economically important minerals chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite in addition to cobalt-rich pyrite as generally coarse-grained (often 0.5 centimetre to multi-centimetre scale) disseminations in the veins. Discreet zones of cobalt and nickel mineralization are also present on the property.
The Burfjord project is comprised of six exploration licenses totaling 5,500 hectares in the Kåfjord Copper Belt. Copper mineralization was mined in the Burfjord area during the nineteenth century, with over 30 historic mines and prospects developed along the flanks of a prominent 4 x 6 kilometre fold (anticline) consisting of interbedded sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Many of the rocks in the anticline are intensely hydrothermally altered and contain sulphide mineralization.