Long Pond - NFLD
The Long Pond Property is located in the northeast corner of the Baie Verte Peninsula in north-central Newfoundland. Situated within the district of Green Bay, the property is centered approximately 15 kilometers southwest of La Scie and 3 kilometers north of the village of Snooks Arm.
The southwest portion of the property is accessed by a 5 KM gravel road to the Nugget Pond Mine, which extends northwest from the southern section of Highway 416 (Snooks Arm Road), and accesses the southeast corner of East Pond. From this point, the north shore of East Pond and surrounding areas can be reached by boat. Long Pond, in the eastern portion, is reachable by 4-wheel drive vehicle along an old road extending west off the main, unnumbered Tilt Cove road. In the winter months, after freeze-up, much of the property area can be reached by crossing ponds and bogs on snowmobile.
The Long Pond area and Betts Cove Complex have been the target of exploration and mining activities dating back to the mid-1800’s that include mining at the historic Tilt Cove and Betts Cove Copper Mines and mining in the late 1990’s at the Nugget Pond Mine.
Gold and VMS style mineralization is hosted within the Betts Cove Complex, a composite Late Cambrian Ophiolite (Betts Cove Ophiolite) to early Ordovician (Snooks Arm Group) sedimentary and metavolcanic sequence that is in thrust contact with Silurian felsic volcanic rocks of the Cape St. John Group to the north. The Betts Cove Complex lies on the east side of the Baie Verte Peninsula and is exposed along a 30 kilometer strike length. Six main gold occurrences have been located on the property, all of which were discovered by previous workers that include the Long Pond, Long Pond West, Tom, George, Boneyard and Low Water prospects. In addition the property includes the Nudulama Cu-Au occurrence, a Cyprus-type VMS prospect. Many other gold occurrences occur throughout the property.
Long Pond Showing
The host rock is a strongly silicified, hematized, carbonatized, brecciated ultramafic rock, in fault contact with rocks of the Cape St. John Group, which lie immediately to the north. Quartz stringers and veinlets form stockworks within the altered ultramafics. Fuchsite is observed locally. The zone is exposed over a width of 35 m and can be traced over a strike length of 125 m. Grab samples from the prospect have returned assays up to 75.9 g/t gold. Abundant visible gold was noted by Rubicon during 2005 at the prospect. Drilling in a single drill hole (77502) by Inco Gold in 1988 returned assays of 21.5 g/t gold over 1.19 meters (Beischer, 1989b).
Long Pond West Showing
The host for the mineralization at this showing is a quartz vein 15 cm wide containing shoots of massive specularite. The vein crosscuts a conglomerate of the Cape St. John Group, perpendicular to foliation. Jasper clasts are set in a quartz- sericite, strongly hematitic matrix. Grab samples of the quartz¬-specularite vein returned assays as high as 5.81 g/t gold. A corresponding channel sample returned an assay of 1.52 g/t gold over 15 cm. Inco Gold drilled a single drillhole (77503) at the occurrence in 1988 that intersected a 2 cm wide vein assaying 2.69 g/t gold over 1.12 meters (Beischer, 1989b). Sampling by Rubicon Minerals Corporation in 2005 returned assays as high 17.65 g/t gold from a quartz vein containing 2% Pyrite and chalcopyrite hosted within altered ultramafic rocks. The showing was discovered via follow-up of a till sample that assayed 83,90 g/t gold.
Tom Showing
This showing occurs in a shear zone which marks the contact between conglomerate and felsic pyroclastic rocks, both of the Cape St. John Group. A shallow southerly dipping quartz vein up to 30 cm wide is exposed at two locations and crosscuts foliation. Specularite lenses within the quartz returned assays up to 3.70 g/t gold. A channel sample across the vein returned 3.70 g/t gold over 30 cm. Fuchsitic zones and quartz veining in schistose rocks of the shear zone also returned anomalous values up to 2.93 g/t gold. Grab sampling by Rubicon in 2005 returned assays of 1.80 g/t gold from the showing.
Boneyard Showing
This showing also occurs in a shear zone which passes through steeply dipping felsic pyroclastic rocks of the Cape St. John Group. Several narrow, shallow south dipping quartz veins, with a maximum width of 5 cm, are mineralized with pyrite. One of these veins returned an assay of 3.01 g/t gold. The host rock is also mineralized with pyrite and anomalous gold values up to 0.31 g/t gold are common. Inco drilled three holes on the prospect. One drillhole (77505) intersected several quartz-carbonate veins at a depth of 36.7 meters. The veins, hosted within basalt, returned an assay of 6.87 g/t gold over 2.01 metres. This width is not considered to be true width as it interpreted that the hole was drilled down dip on the veins. Grab sampling by Rubicon in 2005 returned assays of 3.55 g/t gold from the showing.
George Showing
Gold at this showing is hosted by a quartz vein which occurs just north of the contact between the ultramafic rocks of the ophiolite and felsic pyroclastic rocks of the Cape St. John Group. The vein parallels the strike of foliation, but dips shallow to the south. Coarse platy specularite lenses within the vein contain visible gold. Chip samples across the vein returned assays up to 1.27 g/t gold. A channel sample from the narrow, most easterly exposure of the vein returned an assay of 12.43 g/t gold over 7 cm. The showing can be observed only when water levels are at their lowest. Grab sampling by Rubicon in 2005 returned 12.62 g/t gold from the showing. The occurrence has not been drilled.
Newmont Showing
Kusmirski and Norman (1981) report three gold occurrences on the shores of Red Cliff Pond. One of these occurrences was a one metre wide iron formation that assayed 0.43 g/t gold. The second occurrence is on the southeast shore of Red Cliff Pond. Green, finely bedded pyritic argillite returned an assay of 8.49 g/t gold. Rocks resembling those described by Newmont as hosts to the third occurrence were located, but no anomalous gold assays were recorded. Inco drilled three Winky holes into the prospect with one hole returning and assay of 2.13 g/t gold over 0.64 metres (Beischer, 1989b).
