The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
OCP: TSX-V
President and Chairman: Paul Matysek
Vice President of Exploration: Chris Taylor
Ocean Park Ventures Corp. emerged on the mineral exploration scene in 2010 with a US$6.2 million exploration program at the 900-square-kilometer (350-square-mile) Chisna gold-copper project in eastern Alaska about 105 kilometers (65 miles) south of the town of Tok.
While the junior returned to this property for a late-season drill campaign, the company's primary focus in 2011 was on Trapper, a northern British Columbia gold prospect it optioned from Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. in December, 2010.
Prior to Ocean Park's program, Trapper had never been drilled.
Ocean Park Vice President of Exploration Chris Taylor was drawn to the property from data generated during an early 1980s geochemical investigation of Trapper (known then as Inlaw) by Chevron Minerals of Canada, subsequently confirmed and expanded by Richfield Ventures Corp. and Constantine.
Visiting the project early in the 2011 season, Ocean Park realized that the gold-mineralized system could be significantly more extensive than the preliminary data indicated.
In July, Ocean Park set one drill in on Trapper's Main zone, a 2,000-meter-by-250-meter geochemical anomaly outlined by Chevron and expanded by Constantine.
Results from 21 grab samples taken in 2011 by Ocean Park geologists along the core of an iron-carbonate altered trend that includes the Main zone averaged 1.12 g/t gold, with one sample assaying 10.25 g/t gold.
These results increase the footprint of gold-rich mineralization by over 1,000 meters and encouraged the company to expand the focus of its exploration to include flying an induced polarization survey over the entire property and extending the scope of its geological coverage.
The company set two drill rigs on the property to test five mineralized areas over a trend that the company said has been extended to more than 8,000 meters.
Though core was still awaiting analysis at the backlogged assay labs, up to one millimeter flakes of visible gold observed in hole TG-11-011 is a good indicator of the tenor of mineralization being tapped during this inaugural drill program at the northern British Columbia property.
Ocean Park's C$4.95 million budget for 2011 exploration at Trapper is more than enough to satisfy the C$4.75 million of work needed to earn an initial 50 percent interest in Trapper.
The junior can up its stake in the property to 70 percent by spending an additional C$5 million in exploration.
In August Ocean Park optioned Metla, a gold property located five kilometers (3 miles) south of the Trapper gold project in northwest British Columbia.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Ocean Park paid C$25,000 upon signing and will issue 100,000 common shares to the vendors.
Work conducted at Metla by Cominco Ltd. in 1987 includes a grab sample returning 68 g/t gold.
The average grade of 339 float samples collected by the company was 4.47 g/t gold.
Ocean Park further solidified its land position by staking an additional 13,500 hectares of mining claims contiguous with the Metla property, and about 1,400 meters south of the Trapper claims.
Exploration at Chisna in 2011 focused on the Golden Range prospect.
The explorer said bedrock values of up to 50.4 grams per metric ton gold and soil values of up to 6.5 g/t gold have been found along a 9-kilometer-, or 5.6-mile-, long zone of extensive gossanous iron carbonate alteration at the Golden Range target.
More than 300 rock and grab samples collected from this prospect in 2010 average 0.6 g/t gold, with a high of 50.4 g/t gold.
Out of 176 soil samples taken across the same area, 71 samples returned greater than 0.10 g/t gold with an average of 0.23 g/t gold and a high of 6.53 g/t gold.
To further refine targets for a drill program that started in August, Ocean Park conducted a detailed geochemical survey over Golden Range.
By September the company had assay results from 897 grab and chip samples taken from an 8-square-kilometer (3-square-mile) area at Golden Range.
These assays have ranged from below detection limits to 79.8 g/t gold, with an average of 1.37 g/t gold.
With this initial work, Ocean Park has outlined seven target zones to be tested with the 17-hole program carried out this year.
Ocean Park can earn an initial 51 percent interest in Chisna from Corvus Gold Inc. by spending US$20 million on exploration by 2015. It can increase its stake in the expansive property to 70 percent by completing a positive feasibility study within 5 years of the initial earn-in. The company is also working to earn an interest in the Adelita porphyry copper-gold project in Mexico.
Cash and Short-term Deposits: C$12.6 million (at June 30, 2011)
Working capital: C$11.9 million (at June 30, 2011)
Market Capitalization: C$40.9 million (at Sept. 21, 2011)
Suite 302, 750 West Pender St.
Vancouver, B.C. V6C 2T7
Tel: 604-681-0084
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