JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A month after concluding its winter drilling programme, TSX-V-listed Foran Mining Corporation has started its summer exploration programme at its McIlvenna Bay, Balsam and Hanson properties.

The diversified exploration and development company last month completed its winter exploration, which included initial diamond drilling on Target A, as well as geophysical surveys on both the McIlvenna Bay and Bigstone properties in east-central Saskatchewan, in Canada, which boasted large zinc/copper/gold/silver deposits.

“The results of surface and borehole geophysics continue to point to a strong conductor in this area of similar character and size to that associated with our large McIlvenna Bay deposit,” said Foran CEO and president Patrick Soares.

The McIlvenna Bay deposit hosted indicated resources of 13.9-million tonnes of copper equivalent and inferred resources of 11.3-million tonnes of copper equivalent.

The newly launched summer programme, which would include geological mapping and sampling of outcrop and drill core for lithogeochemical analysis and interpretation, aimed to better define the stratigraphy most prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralisation north and south of the deposit and to identify local hydrothermal alteration zones associated with VMS mineralisation.

Soares said ongoing exploration on the properties was focused on the discovery and delineation of satellite VMS deposits around McIlvenna Bay, similar to the VMS camps in nearby Flin Flon and Snow Lake.

Key targets in the programme included the Thunder Zone, Target A and the Hanson Lake area.

Foran aimed to follow up on lithogeochemical studies undertaken in 2013, at the Thunder Zone, while work at the Hanson Lake area would narrow to historic lithogeochemical exploration aimed at the identification of prospective geological belts in the Hanson Lake area.

At Target A, which was 2 km south-east of McIlvenna Bay, borehole electromagnetic surveys conducted in early 2014 confirmed the presence of a strong conductor at depth, the company explained.

Detailed sampling of 2014 drill core from this area was aimed at better defining the lithogeochemistry, chemostratigraphy and alteration character of Target A.