Regional Exploration
Regional Exploration – Unlocking District Scale Potential
Regional exploration aims to combine local deposit knowledge with a robust understanding of the greater, district-scale geology and metallogeny in order to enhance and inform decision-making for targeting to drive the next potential discovery.
Regional programs include boots-on-the-ground activities such as targeted bedrock mapping, sampling for whole rock geochemistry and geochronology, biogeochemistry, and re-logging and sampling of historic core.
Geophysics
Fit-for-purpose geophysical surveying techniques and its products are used to interpret subsurface geology in regions beneath Phanerozoic cover. Data from these field programs are integrated to aid in target generation and project evaluation. Outputs from recent geophysical surveys over Foran’s Saskatchewan properties are included below.
On-Ground Exploration
Bedrock mapping plays an important role in the regional exploration pipeline. Targeted mapping of exposed outcrops focuses on field relationships to enhance our understanding of rocks that have undergone a complex deformation and fluid history.
Targeted bedrock mapping programs are part of an iterative exploration process that incorporates ideas from the deposit-scale to the regional-scale that can be observed during detailed outcrop mapping. Systematic mapping is paired with geochemical and geochronology sampling programs to provide a fulsome picture of the geology of prospective target areas
Bedrock mapping is a cost-effective yet highly informational technique that provides a framework for constraining geological models and contributes to informing exploration decisions.
Foran is using cost-effective empirical exploration methods to compliment geophysical surveys.
Foran has completed a soil and biogeochemistry orientation study over McIlvenna Bay to assess the deposit’s footprint in soil and bark samples.
Historic soil surveys over the Bigstone Deposit have demonstrated visibility of the deposit’s geochemical footprint through dolomitic cover rocks.
Leveraging new insights from recent work at Tesla and McIlvenna Bay, Foran is re-logging and sampling drill core from historic prospects where alteration vectors and near-miss indicators may have previously been overlooked.
Advanced Prospects
Expansion of exploration activities into the rest of Foran’s extensive land holdings is expected to continue during development of the flagship McIlvenna Bay Project.
Several highly prospective targets have been identified throughout Foran’s land holdings.
Discovered in 1984, located 7km southeast along trend from McIlvenna Bay, the Balsam Zone is comprised of four sub-parallel, massive to semi-massive sulphide horizons and associated stringer zones and has an historical non-43-101 compliant resource.
The Thunder Zone, located directly northeast of Balsam, was discovered in 2013 during an initial drill test of an EM conductor modelled from the results of a ground EM survey completed that year. BA-13-77 intersected massive sulphide mineralization at a downhole depth of 357m, grading 4.08% Cu over 3.66m (Foran Mining April 2013 news release).
Follow up drilling indicates that the Thunder Zone mineralization remains open down plunge and along strike to the north. The last drill hole completed at the north end of the zone in 2015 (BA-15-83) intersected 15m of sulphide mineralization (the thickest mineralized interval from the zone) which contained two higher grade massive sulphide zones: 3.46m grading 2.04% Cu and 3.47% Zn and 8.39m grading 0.62% Cu and 3.41% Zn (incl. 3.70m @ 7.16% Zn).
The South Bay showing consists of copper and zinc mineralization located 1 km northwest of the Hanson Lake Mine on the south end of Bertram Bay on Hanson Lake. The showing has been interpreted as a series of small lenses hosted in mainly sheared felsic volcanic rock and is defined by over 20 drill holes.
Drill hole HCR-10-12 intersected 0.50% Cu, 1.09% Zn and 8.3 g/t Ag over 10.6m, including 1.5m grading 0.94% Cu, 0.97% Zn and 13.8 g/t Ag*.
*The results presented here for the South Bay Zone are historical in nature. They were produced by previous operators and are not being treated as current. A Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 has not completed sufficient work to classify these historic results as current; additional work, including re-surveying of drill holes, re-logging and drill core QA/QC would be required to verify these results.
The Zinc Zone was first discovered in 1984. It is characterized geophysically by a historic strong DEEPEM conductor and coincident magnetic high as well as a modern VTEM conductor.
Historic drilling has intersected impressive grades of zinc and silver with drillhole HA4-1-2 intersecting 1.5 metres of 30.7% zinc and 180 g/t silver at 146.4-147.9m as well as 1.5m of 7.6% zinc and 160 g/t silver at 132.3 to 133.8m.
*The results presented here for the Zinc Zone are historical in nature. They were produced by previous operators and are not being treated as current. A Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 has not completed sufficient work to classify these historic results as current; additional work, including re-surveying of drill holes, re-logging and drill core QA/QC would be required to verify these results.
Marconi, historically known as the East Zone, is similar in character to the copper-rich portion of the Bigstone deposit however it is hosted in both a magnetic granodiorite to quartz porphyry/tonalite body that can be traced approximately 4km south with airborne magnetic data and coincident AEM highs.
Mineralization has been traced for 700m along strike and to 750m down dip. Mineralized sections vary from 2 to 30m wide (true width).
Three historic drill holes completed by a previous operator in 2002 intersected stockwork sulphides in 2 of 3 holes drilled (4.6m grading 0.62% Cu and 0.55% Zn and 3.0m grading 2.52% Zn*) with a subsequent borehole EM survey identifying a coincident off-hole EM conductor in all three holes that was never followed up. During the winter of 2021-22 Foran completed ground EM survey and drilled 3 holes with encouraging results. FL-22-01 intersected 6.9m grading 0.49% Cu, 2.85% Zn and 1.0m grading 0.81% Cu and 2.43% Zn; while FL-22-03 returned 5.3m grading 0.64% Cu, including 0.3m grading 5.07% Cu. The Flinty Prospect mineralization remains open for follow up.
*The results presented here for the Flinty are historical in nature. They were produced by previous operators and are not being treated as current. A Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 has not completed sufficient work to classify these historic results as current; additional work, including re-surveying of drill holes, re-logging and drill core QA/QC would be required to verify these results.
