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The
following are selected excerpts from the February 12, 2001
Howe Chile Limitada report on the Alto de Lipangue Breccia
Property gold/copper/silver property. The complete
report is available for viewing at the corporate offices of
Medinah Minerals, Inc.
SUMMARY
GEOLOGICAL REPORT
ON THE
LIPANGUE BRECCIA PROPERTY
METROPOLITAN
REGION
CHILE
FOR
MEDINAH MINING INC.
Report
No. 0031
Howe Chile Limitada
(A.C.A Howe International Limited South American Office)
La Serena, Chile
Robert Cinits, P.Geo.
February
12, 2001
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY
1.0
INTRODUCTION
- General
- Terms
of Reference
- Scope,
Sources of Information, and Disclaimer
- Units
and Currency
2.0
LOCATION, ACCESS AND PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
2.1
Location and Access
2.2
Property Description and Current Status
3.0
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
4.0
HISTORY
4.1
Medinah Exploration Programs - Lipangue Property
4.1.1
Phase V Exploration Lipangue
5.0
PROPERTY GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION
5.1
Lipangue Property Geology
5.2
Lipangue Property Mineralization
5.3
Howe Verification Sampling
6.0
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1
Conclusions
6.2
Recommendations
7.0
PROPOSED BUDGET
SOURCES
OF INFORMATION
CERTIFICATE
LIST
OF FIGURES
1.1
Map of Chile
2.1 Property Location Map.
2.2 Land Tenure
4.1 Lipangue Property Geology
and Drill Holes
5.1 General Geology of the Santiago
Area
5.2 Geology of the Lipangue Property
5.3 Lipangue Property Section
Line E
5.4 Lipangue Property Section
Line E + 50
5.5 Lipangue Property Section
Line EF
6.1 Lipangue Breccia Level
Plans
6.2 Lipangue Proposed Drilling
LIST
OF TABLES
2.1
Lipangue Claims
4.1 Lipangue Diamond Drill Holes Third Drilling Program
(2000)
4.2 Lipangue Property General Range of Gold, Silver
and Copper Values
4.3 Lipangue Property Significant Diamond Drilling
Analytical Results
5.1 Lipangue Property Summary of Howe Assay Results
(2000 Site Visit)
SUMMARY
At
the request of Mr. Gregory Chapin, President of Medinah Mining
Inc. ("Medinah"), a public New York company (NASDAQ
OTC) with offices located at 148 South Main Street,
Lake Elsinore, CA, 92530, U.S.A, Howe Chile Limitada ("Howe"),
was retained to review the recent phase of drilling completed
between September 1st and November 30, 2000 over
the Lipangue Gold-Copper-Silver Breccia Property. The property
is located within the Metropolitan Region of Chile, approximately
30 kilometres northwest of Santiago.
Howe
was retained by Medinah on October 19, 2000 with the terms
of reference for this assignment consisting of a summary of
the results of the most recent phase of drilling over the
Lipangue Property. This report appends the previously completed
qualifying geological report ("Geological Report on the
Lipangue and Dos Marias Gold-Copper Properties", Robert
Cinits, Howe Chile Limitada Report #0029, June 19, 2000) which
complies with Canadian reporting guidelines as set out in
National Instrument 43-101, covering the mineral potential
of the Lipangue and Las Dos Marias Properties. Since no further
exploration has been completed over the Dos Marias Property,
this newest report only covers the most recent drilling phase
of exploration completed over the Lipangue Property and the
new land tenure status. It is Howes understanding that
this report is required by Medinah in support of a financing
with the NASDAQ-OTC Stock Exchange.
The
Lipangue Property consists of 12 individual mining claims
("mensuras") which together cover an area of approximately
2,163 hectares. All of the claims are currently held 100%
by Medinah, through their wholly owned Chilean subsidiary
Medinah Mining Chile ("Medinah Chile"). The
two original claims of the property have been bought outright
by Medinah through a purchase agreement which became effective
on April 23, 1999, and three additional claims were staked
by Juan Jose Quijano, on behalf of Medinah. The remaining
seven claims have recently been acquired by Medinah in an
option to purchase agreement.
The
project area is located in central Chile, approximately 30
kilometres northwest of Santiago in the coast range mountains
at an elevation of approximately 2,000 metres. The property
can be easily reached from Santiago along a paved highway
to the town of Lampa and then along approximately 13 kilometres
of 4 wheel drive roads which climb to an elevation of about
2,000 metres to the Altos de Lipangue plateau. The Lipangue
property covers the majority of the plateau. Dirt roads pass
through the middle of both property areas, and from here most
other parts of the property can be reached in a truck or by
foot along dirt roads and trails.
The
nearest city with any reasonable infrastructure is Santiago,
however the most basic exploration supplies can be purchased
in Lampa, approximately 1 hour driving time from the property.
Deep water ports exist in the cities of Valparaiso and San
Antonio on the Pacific coast, approximately 65 and 70 kilometres
direct distance northwest, and southwest of the property,
respectively. Electrical power, sufficient only for local
town use, and telephone services currently exist in the town
of Lampa, however a major power grid runs just west of Lampa.
Telephone service in Chile is excellent, most of it being
connected to a fibre optic network while the cellular network
covers most major cities and has reception from the Lipangue
Property.
The
Lipangue Property is located on the "Altos de Lipangue"
which is a relatively flat, northeast elongate plateau covering
an area approximately four kilometres long and one to two
kilometres wide. The plateau, and its eastern and western
flanks are underlain by a volcanic sequence, intercalated
with continental and marine sediments which are intruded by
Upper Cretaceous aged granitic rocks of the central batholith.
The area surrounding the properties is host to several diverse
types of metallic mineralization such as vein, stratiform,
stockwork/breccia, skarn, and shear zone hosted copper/gold/silver
mineralization which occur in a variety of geological environments.
The
Property area is underlain by a generally north striking,
east dipping volcano-sedimentary sequence of rocks which corresponds
with the Ocoa and Purehue Members of the Veta Negro Formation,
and which, to the east, is intruded by Cretaceous aged granodiorite
of the central batholith. The contact zone with the granodiorite
runs roughly north-south through the central portion of the
property and is host to the recently discovered Lipangue gold-copper-silver
breccia pipe.
The
Lipangue Property was first obtained by Medinah in 1998 and
since then has seen five phases of exploration, including
the most recent phase which occurred between August 16th
and November 30, 2000. The Phase V exploration program consisted
of: the rehabilitation of the access road; drill platform
construction; 6 diamond drill holes (L00-13 to L00-18) which
range in depth between approximately 325 and 427 metres and
together total approximately 2,304 metres; and a thin/polished
section study consisting of 25 samples from drill hole L00-13.
The
new drill holes intersected the breccia at its deepest levels
to date and helped to further outline its geometry and grades
and determine the alteration sequences. To date, all of the
drilling completed by Medinah (holes L99-01 to L00-18) has
been in a fairly restricted area, with all of the holes occurring
within a 360 metres radius of each other. Fourteen of the
18 holes have intersected the breccia, and these 14 holes
have been drilled on 5, north-south oriented, irregularly
spaced sections (separated by 25 to 50 metres) which cover
a 150 metre east-west distance. Below surface the breccia
has an ovoid pipe shape which is elongate to the northeast,
and which plunges to the south southeast at about -62º. Drilling
has so far traced it from surface, approximately 400 metres
down its plunge where it remains open at depth.
Surface
exposures of the breccia are heavily oxidized and consist
of rounded to subangular clasts of intensely altered granodiorite,
cemented by a matrix of crystalline quartz and limonite and
iron-oxides. Limited sampling of previously excavated trenches
indicates that the oxidized portions of the breccia are heavily
leached and are only weakly anomalous in gold, copper, and
silver.
The
oxidation level varies between 25 and 50 metres in depth,
below which the breccia consists of rounded and sub-angular
clast and matrix supported fragments of altered granodiorite
(varying amounts of fine disseminated and coarse "earthy"
chlorite, along with sericite, silica, clay +/-pyrophyllite
and alunite?). The fragments are set in a matrix of finer
grained fragments and flour, along with coarse crystalline
vuggy quartz, 1 to 15% coarse anhedral blebs of pyrite, chalcopyrite,
and in places chalcocite (replacing chalcopyrite), sphalerite,
and galena. Fine disseminated pyrite (trace to 5%), and lesser
amounts of chalcopyrite are common throughout the granodiorite
fragments. Late quartz veinlets, generally less than a centimetre
in width, cut the breccia in places, and are mineralized with
pyrite, chalcopyrite, and at times chalcocite, sphalerite
and galena. Although the breccia is almost continually mineralized
across its width, the intensity of both alteration and sulphide
mineralization is variable and the most intense sulphide mineralization
usually occurs near the hanging wall contact. In most holes
a 10 to 30 metre wide halo of pyritization and sericitization
occurs in the granodiorite in the immediate hanging and footwall
of the breccia.
Below
the 1800 metre level the alteration style changes and becomes
more phyllic (quartz-sericite) with much less of the chloritic
alteration which dominates in the upper levels. Potassium
feldspar and pyrophyllite also occur in varying amounts at
these lower levels. In addition, at this depth there appears
to be much less of the coarse crystalline quartz crystals
and open vuggs, instead the silicification consists of moderate-to-strong
pervasive silicification throughout the matrix and fragments
of the breccia and as cross-cutting smokey quartz veinlets.
In
many of the holes to date an intrusive breccia was intersected
either at the hanging or footwall contact of the hydrothermal
breccia and in contact with the locally sericitized and pyritized
granodiorite. The intrusive breccia has well defined heterolithic
fragments in a fine-grained felsic to porphyritic intrusive
matrix. Alteration is pervasive throughout both the matrix
and the fragments as K-feldspar, sericite, clay, carbonate
and minor pyrophyllite. Sulphide content is also much less
in the intrusive breccia and occurs as fine disseminated pyrite
cubes and irregular shaped specks along with minor traces
of chalcopyrite. A general decrease in sulphide content is
reflected by the lower assay results returned from several
of the intrusive breccia intervals.
Geochemical
analysis by Medinah on the drill hole samples indicates that
the breccia below the oxidation level, is anomalously mineralized
over most of its entire width, with significant weighted averages
of gold, silver, and copper as shown below:
|
Drill
Hole |
Analytical
Results |
Drilled
Width |
|
L99-03 |
1.72
g Au/t, 10.07 g Ag/t, and 0.40% Cu
|
84
metres |
|
and |
0.37
g Au/t, 2.88 g Ag/t, and 0.04% Cu
|
36
metres |
|
L99-05 |
0.23
g Au/t, 1.35 g Ag/t, and 0.07 % Cu
|
40
metres |
|
and |
0.47
g Au/t, 2.11 g Ag/t, and 0.10% Cu
|
24
metres |
|
L99-06 |
0.60
g Au/t, 13.7 g Ag/t, and 0.39% Cu
|
154
metres |
|
L99-07 |
0.49
g Au/t, 9.68 g Ag/t, and 0.31% Cu
|
124
metres |
|
L99-08 |
3.83
g Au/t, 27.2 g Ag/t, and 0.40 % Cu
|
56
metres |
|
including |
15.61
g Au/t, 99.56 g Ag/t, and 0.90 % Cu
|
3
metres |
|
and |
14.76
g Au/, 56.9 g Ag/t, and 1.01 % Cu
|
9
metres |
|
L00-09 |
5.93
g Au/t, 23.6 g Ag/t, and 0.81% Cu
|
6
metres |
|
L00-11 |
0.23
g Au/t, 3.47 g Ag/t, and 0.17 % Cu
|
12
metres |
|
and |
0.22
g Au/t, 0.66 g Ag/t, and 0.06 % Cu
|
9
metres |
|
L00-12 |
0.33
g Au/t, 3.06 g Ag/t, and 0.07 % Cu
|
11
metres |
|
and |
0.56
g Au/t, 2.33 g Ag/t, and 0.14 % Cu
|
28
metres |
|
L00-13 |
0.60
g Au/t, 2.03 g Ag/t, and 0.11 % Cu
|
105
metres |
|
Drill
Hole |
Analytical
Results |
Drilled
Width |
|
L00-14 |
0.62
g Au/t, 4.77 g Ag/t, and 0.36% Cu
|
39
metres |
|
including |
1.32
g Au/t, 12.64 g Ag/t, and 0.94 % Cu
|
7
metres |
|
and |
1.58
g Au/t, 12.28 g Ag/t, and 0.93% Cu
|
5
metres |
|
L00-15 |
0.25
g Au/t, 2.10 g Ag/t, and 0.10 % Cu
|
93
metres |
|
L00-16 |
1.19
g Au/t, 6.47 g Ag/t, and 0.36 % Cu
|
27
metres |
|
L00-18 |
0.67
g Au/t, 5.02 g Ag/t, and 0.32% Cu
|
38
metres |
|
including |
0.85
g Au/t, 22.62 g Ag/t, and 1.53% Cu
|
6
metres |
|
and |
1.67
g Au/t, 14.23 g Ag/t, and 0.71% Cu
|
3
metres |
An approximately 15 to 20 metre wide zone
of higher grade mineralization occurs in the breccia at, or
close to the hanging wall contact with the granodiorite on
this section starting at the base of the oxidation level and
continuing about 170 metres down the apparent dip of the breccia
to an elevation of about 1800 metres. This is best shown on
Section "E", but also appears on several of the
other drill sections. Below this depth the width and grade
of the high grade zone appear to decrease significantly. The
grade of the high grade zone averages roughly 2.5 to 3.0 grams
gold/tonne, 25 to 35 grams silver/tonne, and 0.7 to 0.8% copper
over a 170 metre "down-dip" distance. Significant
weighted averages across this high grade zone include:
|
Drill
Hole |
Analytical
Results |
Drilled
Width |
|
L99-03 |
2.59
g Au/t, 20.84 g Ag/t, and 0.85% Cu
|
29
metres |
|
L99-05 |
7.92
g Au/t, 23.42 g Ag/t, and 0.86 % Cu
|
10
metres |
|
L99-06
and |
1.60
g Au/t, 34.35 g Ag/t, and 0.66% Cu
1.39 g Au/t, 44.16 g Ag/t, and 1.25% Cu
|
8
metres
19 metres |
|
L99-07 |
1.26
g Au/t, 8.11 g Ag/t, and 0.49% Cu
|
28
metres |
|
L99-08 |
6.49
g Au/t, 10.07 g Ag/t, and 0.63 % Cu
|
32
metres |
|
L00-12 |
2.23
g Au/t, 16.16 g Ag/t, and 0.55 % Cu
|
25
metres |
The
breccia remains completely open to the east, and to the west
below the 1700 metre level, and down plunge. Even though to
date 14 holes have intersected the breccia, its geometry and
structural control(s) are still poorly understood. Typical
of hydrothermal breccias, the down plunge extent could be
very deep and possibly overlie, or occur adjacent to, a larger
porphyry style mineralized system at depth.
During
Howes recent visit to the core storage facility near
Lampa, representative sections through the breccia and granodiorite
were reviewed. A total of 10 quarter core samples were collected
by Howe which repeat intervals that were recently split and
analysed by Medinah. The gold analytical results obtained
from the Howe repeat sampling are in the same general range
of values of those reported by Medinah, but often upwards
of several grams higher or lower. Similarly, silver and copper
values at Lipangue were generally in the same range, but at
times several grams, or tenths of a percent, higher or lower,
respectively. Although this difference can be attributed to
a nuggety effect for the gold, the blebby and inconsistent
nature of the breccia style mineralization could in effect
give quite variable assay results for all of the elements,
even from two halves of a split core. During future drill
programs, Medinah should consider using a larger diameter
core to get a more representative sample.
Howe
feels confident that the analytical values reported by Medinah
from their recent drilling campaign over the Lipangue Property
gives a general representation of the values that can be expected
from this prospect. Future drill programs should be preceded
by early stage mineralogical testing to determine the general
characteristics of the gold grains in the mineralized domains
which will assist in determining the optimum sampling scheme
for future exploration programs. In addition, a full quality
assurance program should be adapted by Medinah for all future
exploration programs to minimize unavoidable sample assay
errors which are introduced by the acts of sample collection,
sample preparation and assaying.
Medinahs
Lipangue property contains the Lipangue polymetallic breccia
pipe which represents a good target to host underground, bulk
mineable, gold-copper-silver mineralization. This target remains
open to the east, and at deeper levels to the west, and down
plunge, and could become much larger in extent as Medinah
traces it in these directions. The breccia is still in the
early stages of drill definition and Medinah believes that
with a minimal exploration program the potential size of this
target can be substantially increased. Other parts of the
Lipangue Property have only been reviewed on a preliminary
basis, or not at all, and these should be further explored,
since the potential exists for additional breccia style or
copper porphyry mineralization.
Medinahs
increased land position is secure, in that it covers the strike
and down dip extent of all of the defined mineralized zone
and leaves sufficient ground to define new targets along strike
or on other parts of the property.
Howe
recommends that a two phase, results driven program be conducted
in order to further assess the large tonnage, bulk mineable,
breccia hosted gold-copper-silver potential and to explore
for copper porphyry style mineralization over the Lipangue
Property. The total approximate cost for Phases I (US$415,000)
and II (US$605,000) is US$1,020,000.
1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1
GENERAL
At the request of Mr. Gregory Chapin, President
of Medinah Mining Inc. ("Medinah"), a public New
York company (NASDAQ OTC) with offices located at 148
South Main Street, Lake Elsinore, CA, 92530, U.S.A, Howe Chile
Limitada ("Howe"), was retained to review the recent
phase of drilling completed between September 1st
and November 30, 2000 over the Lipangue Gold-Copper-Silver
Property. The property is located within the Metropolitan
Region of Chile, approximately 30 kilometres northwest of
Santiago (see Figure 1.1).
1.1 Map of Chile
compressed
1.1 Map of Chile full size
The Lipangue Property consists of 12 individual
mining claims ("mensuras") which together cover
an area of approximately 2,163 hectares. All of the claims
are currently held 100% by Medinah, through their wholly owned
Chilean subsidiary Medinah Mining Chile ("Medinah
Chile"). Five of the claims having been bought outright
or staked directly by Medinah , and the remaining seven claims
have recently been acquired by Medinah as part of an option
agreement.
1.2 TERMS
OF REFERENCE
Howe was retained by Medinah on October 19,
2000 with the terms of reference for this assignment consisting
of a summary of the results of the most recent phase of drilling
over the Lipangue Property. This report will append the previously
completed qualifying geological report ("Geological Report
on the Lipangue and Dos Marias Gold-Copper Properties",
Robert Cinits, Howe Chile Limitada Report #0029, June 19,
2000) which complies with Canadian reporting guidelines as
set out in National Instrument 43-101, covering the mineral
potential of the Lipangue and Las Dos Marias Properties. Since
no further exploration has been completed over the Dos Marias
Property, this newest report only covers the most recent drilling
phase of exploration completed over the Lipangue Property
and the updated land tenure status. It is Howes understanding
that this report is required by Medinah in support of a financing
with the NASDAQ-OTC Stock Exchange.
Howe Chile is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Howe International Consulting Limited and part of the A.C.A
Howe International Limited group of companies which offer
geological, geophysical, and mining consulting services to
the international mining industry, including geological, evaluation
and valuation reports on mineral properties. The firm was
incorporated in the Province of Ontario, Canada in 1966 and
has continuously operated under a "Certificate of Authorization"
to practice as Professional Engineers (Ontario) since 1970.
The firms services are provided through offices in Toronto,
Canada, Denver, USA, London, England, and La Serena, Chile.
Howes La Serena office was opened in 1996. Howe is not
an insider, associate or affiliate of Medinah.
The summary geological report on the Lipangue
Property was prepared by Robert Cinits, P.Geo. currently acting
as the General Manager of Howe Chile Limitada. Mr. Cinits
has more than 15 years experience in the mining industry,
and has most recently worked on projects in Chile, Peru, Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Mr. Cinits
has prepared numerous qualifying reports and valuations for
various Canadian, American, and British stock exchanges.
1.3
SCOPE, SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND DISCLAIMER
In preparing this report, Howe relied on
geological reports and maps, miscellaneous technical papers,
published government reports and historical documents listed
in the "Selected References" section at the conclusion
of this report, public information and Howes previous
experience on the property. In addition, on December 7th
and 8th, 2000 Mr. Cinits visited Medinahs core storage
facility near Santiago. During this period representative
sections of several of the most recent drill holes from the
Lipangue Property were reviewed and independent confirmation
samples taken. This visit was complimented by background knowledge
gained during earlier trips to the property and to Medinahs
core storage facility in Santiago by Mr. Cinits between June
16 and 17, 1999, on July 14, 1999, and on April 7th
and 8th, 2000 (see Cinits, 2000).
Howe has only reviewed the land tenure in
a preliminary fashion and has not independently verified the
legal status or ownership of the properties or underlying
option agreements.
The results and opinions expressed in this
report are based on Howes field observations and the
geotechnical data listed in the "Sources of Information".
While Howe has carefully reviewed all of the information provided
by Medinah as listed in the sources of information, and believe
they are reliable, Howe has not conducted an in-depth independent
investigation to verify its accuracy and completeness.
The results and opinions expressed in this
report are conditional upon the aforementioned geological
and legal information being current, accurate, and complete
as of the date of this report, and that no information has
been withheld which would affect the conclusions made herein.
Howe reserves the right, but will not be obliged to revise
our report and conclusions if additional information becomes
known to us subsequent to the date of this report. Howe does
not assume responsibility for Medinahs actions in distributing
this report.
During the most recent examination of the
Lipangue diamond drill core a number of samples were independently
collected by the author and submitted to ITS (Bondar-Clegg)
Laboratories in La Serena, Chile. The results of these samples
are included in this report.
1.4 UNITS
AND CURRENCY
All measurement units used in this report
are metric and currency in US dollars unless stated otherwise.
The currency used in Chile is the Peso. The exchange rate
as of February 12, 2001 is $US 1.00 is equal to approximately
550 Pesos.
2.0
LOCATION, ACCESS AND PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
2.1
LOCATION AND ACCESS
The
Lipangue Property is located approximately 30 kilometres northwest
of Santiago in the coastal range mountains (see Figures 1.1
and 2.1). The approximate UTM coordinates of the center of
the Lipangue Property is 315500 E, 6314000N.
The
project area is best accessed from Santiago, the capital city
of Chile. From here one drives northwest about 25 kilometres
to the town of Lampa. One must then travel north approximately
6 kilometres along a well maintained gravel road (route G-16)
which parallels the base of the coast mountains until the
Hacienda Mercedes at Chicauma. After entering through a steel
gate, with a guard house, on the west side of the road, one
drives an additional 6 kilometres along a 4 wheel drive road
which rapidly gains elevation up a bumpy gravel and boulder
filled open valley to an elevation of approximately 550 metres.
At this point the valley abruptly ends and the road continues
up a "cuesta" (a series of about 19 switch backs)
which climb up a steep slope for approximately 7 kilometres.
At the top of the cuesta, the northeast corner of the rolling
Alto de Lipangue plateau is reached at an elevation of about
1,950 metres. The eastern edge of the Lipangue property is
crossed just a few hundred metres west of the crest of the
mountain and the La Fortuna de Lampa Mine (see Figure 2.2).
A
second, more southerly access road leaves the "Hacienda
Lipangue" south of Lampa on route G-16 and reaches the
plateau near the south and western boundary of the Lipangue
Property however this road needs upgrading and for the moment
all travel must be done along the more northerly route.
A
400 metre long, E-W oriented dirt air strip straddles the
eastern boundary of the Lo Amarillo claim of the Lipangue
Property (see Figure 2.2). Although it is not maintained,
it appears to be in relatively good shape and with minimal
care small planes could easily land there now.
The
small town of Lampa is able to supply only the most basic
needs (food, fuel, hardware, etc.) for very early stages of
exploration, and more advanced projects must be serviced from
Santiago. Electrical power, sufficient only for local town
use currently exists in the village of Lampa, however a major
power grid runs just west of the town. Telephone service in
Chile is excellent, most of it being connected to a fibre
optic network while the cellular network covers most major
cities and has reception from most parts of the Lipangue Property.
Deep
water ports exists at Valparaiso and San Antonio on the Pacific
coast, approximately 65 kilometres northwest and 70 kilometres
southeast of the property, respectively (see Figure 2.1).
figure
2.1 compressed
figure 2.1 full size
figure
2.2 compressed
figure 2.2 full size
2.2
PROPERTY DESCRIPTIONS AND CURRENT STATUS
The Lipangue Property consists of a total
of 12 contiguous mining claims ("mensuras") covering
approximately 2,163 hectares (Note: this total area takes
into account the percentage of the Caren 1-80 claim which
overlaps with several of the other claims held by Medinah).
(see Table 2.1 and Figure 2.2). The property extends roughly
6,000 metres in a north-south direction and 7,000 metres east-west.
Table 2.1: Lipangue Claims
|
Claim
Type |
Claim
Name |
Area
(hectares) |
|
Mensura |
Lo Amarillo 1-72 |
288 |
|
Mensura |
Millalelfun 1-55 |
275 |
|
Mensura |
Amparo 1-40 |
200 |
|
Mensura |
Gordon 1-60 |
300 |
|
Mensura |
Gordon 61-120 |
300 |
|
Mensura |
Antonio 1-20 |
100 |
|
Mensura |
Antonio 21-40 |
100 |
|
Mensura |
Antonio 41-60 |
100 |
|
Mensura |
Colihues 1-40 |
200 |
|
Mensura |
Consuelo 1-20 |
100 |
|
Mensura |
Consuelo 21-40 |
100 |
|
Mensura |
Caren 1-80 |
400 |
| |
SUBTOTAL |
2,463 |
| |
less
overlapping area |
300 |
| |
TOTAL |
2,163 |
The
Lipangue Property is currently held 100% by Medinah, through
their wholly owned Chilean subsidiary, Sociedad Contractual
Minera Medinah Mining, Chile ("Medinah Mining, Chile").
The initial three claims ("mensuras") of the property
(Lo Amarillo 1-72, Millalelfun 1-55, Amparo 1-40) were acquired
by Medinah through a purchase agreement with the previous
owner, Juan Jose Quijano ("Quijano"), which became
effective on April 23, 1999. Medinah has purchased a pre-existing
royalty commitment from Quijano for preferred shares of Medinah
and retains the right to re-purchase 50% of these shares for
future financings. Since the date of that agreement Medinah
has also staked two additional claims Gordon 1-60 and Gordon
61-120 which are now in the mensura stage and are held 100%
by Medinah.
The
seven newly added claims include: Colihues 1-40, Antonio 1-20,
Antonio 21-40, Antonio 41-60, Consuelo 1-20 Consuelo 21-40,
and Caren 1-80. All were acquired from two separate private
Chilean groups under a 2-year option agreement signed in November
2000. Under the terms of the agreement Medinah has the option
to earn 100% undivided interest in the 7 claims by issuing
US$1 million in Medinah shares to the vendor upon signing
and an additional US $1.5 million in Medinah shares at the
completion of the 2 year option period (based on Medinah share
price at the time the Option is exercised).
3.0
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
The
regional geological setting has been previously documented
in Cinits, 2000
4.0
HISTORY AND PREVIOUS EXPLORATION WORK
The
history and previous work on the Lipangue Property has been
previously documented in Cinits, 2000
4.1
MEDINAH EXPLORATION PROGRAMS - LIPANGUE
A
detailed description of the first four phases of exploration
at Lipangue by Medinah can be found in Cinits, 2000
4.1.1
PHASE V EXPLORATION- LIPANGUE
The fifth and most recent phase of exploration
at Lipangue was completed by Medinah between August 16th
and November 30, 2000 and consisted of: the rehabilitation
of the access road, drill platform construction, 6 diamond
drill holes, and a thin section study. Similar to the earlier
programs, the program was coordinated by, and all work was
completed by House. The details of the exploration program
are summarized below.
 |
A
total of approximately 2,304 metres of diamond drilling
was completed in 6 drill holes which ranged in depth
between approximately 325 and 427 metres (see figure
4.1 and Table 4.1). All drilling was completed by PerfoAndes
S.A. from Chile using a Boyles 56 drill rig and holes
were collared at 70º, oriented north (Note: five
of the six holes were pre-collared by a percussion drill
rig which triconed down to depths ranging between 68
and 100 metres through the relatively barren granodiorite
host rock at which point the drilling method was switched
to NQ diameter diamond drilling for the remainder of
the hole. None of the final collar coordinates were
surveyed and down hole deviation tests (acid dip tests)
were only completed at the end of holes L00-16 and 18
which showed "corrected" dip angles of 67.5º
and -76º, respectively. At the end of each hole, PVC
tubing was left in the collar and a cement block placed
around it as a permanent marker. Based on the core recovery
logs and the portions of the holes reviewed by Howe,
the core recovery generally appeared very good. All
diamond drill logs prepared by Medinah are included
in House 2001 in Appendix I. |
 |
A
total of 528 half core samples, each 1 metre in length
were taken from mineralized sections of the core using
a "hammer and wheel" style core splitter;
samples were collected by a trained assistant, but under
the supervision of House; once labeled and bagged the
samples were under the control of House at all times,
until a shipment was ready (50 to 100 samples) and then
these were taken directly by House to the laboratory
for analysis. The remaining unsplit and halved core
is currently stored in a secure locked storage facility
near Lampa. All samples were analysed at ACME Analytical
Laboratories S.A. ("ACME") in Santiago for
gold by 30 gram fire assay
|
figure
4.1 Geology and Drill Holes compressed
figure 4.1 - Geology and
Drill Holes full size
 |
and
copper by AAS. The pulps were then shipped directly
by ACME to their associated laboratory in Vancouver,
Canada where they were further analysed for 30 elements
by ICP method. As part of their in-house quality assurance
program, ACME reported the results of their own blank,
standard, and duplicate samples on the assay certificates
(a full list of the ACME assay certificates were included
as Appendix III in House 2001, and therefore have not
been reproduced by Howe. Approximate general ranges
of the gold, silver, and copper values returned from
the recent drilling program is shown on Table 4.2 and
the significant drilling weighted averages are shown
on Table 4.3. |
Note:
According to new guidelines set out by the TSE Mining
Standards Task Force Final Report, January 1999, and
similar "international guidelines" put out
by various regulatory bodies worldwide, a stringent
quality control program is essential for compiling reliable
exploration data, especially during drilling programs.
For all future work, Medinah should ensure that sample
preparation and quality control procedures are
well organized to monitor the accuracy and precision
of analytical results, to detect possible sample contamination,
and to add confidence to future resource estimates.
In addition to the laboratories in-house quality
assurance program, each sample batch sent to a laboratory
should include: sample duplicates (1 in 20 samples),
assay duplicates (at least 1 per batch), multi-element
standards (at least 1 per batch), and blank standards
(at least 1 per batch). In addition inter-laboratory
preparation and analytical checks should be completed
through the sampling phase of the drill program. Also,
during the core logging process all core should be photographed
prior to cutting and the geological logging should be
preceded by geotechnical logging (percent recovery,
RQD, fractures, etc.). In addition, to assist in future
resource estimates, specific gravity measurements should
be taken at representative intervals along the length
of the hole and all drill hole collar locations should
be surveyed at the completion of the drill program and
down-hole strike and dip deviation tests should be taken
at reasonable intervals down each hole during the drilling
program.
 |
A
petrographic report consisting of 25 polished thin sections
from hole L00-13 was completed by Vancouver Petrographics
Ltd. The samples were taken from representative locations
between drilled depths of 113.7 and 325.6 metres in
both the hanging and footwall granitic rocks, and the
breccia body. The results of the study indicate that
most of the rocks submitted are strongly altered and
many of those taken from the breccia zone showed an
early potassic (K-feldspar) and quartz alteration overprinted
by an episode of phyllic (clay-sericite-chlorite- rutile,
+/-quartz, calcite-to-ankerite, sulphides) or locally
advanced argillic alteration (pyrophyllite in addition
to the phyllic assemblage). The surrounding granitic
rocks have been described as diorite to monzodiorite
and quartz monzonite with pervasive propylitic (chlorite-epidote-calcite)
alteration to transitional "mafic-potassic"-propylitic
alteration (amphibole, alkali feldspar, including K-feldspar,
quartz, magnetite, sphene, and apatite). The study also
looked at the sulphide assemblages and determined that
the majority occurs as pyrite with minor amounts of
chalcopyrite and rare bornite along with traces of sphalerite
and galena. |
The
most recent drill program was successful in that five of
the six drill holes intersected the breccia pipe, tracing
further down its plunge to the south southeast and along
strike, mainly to the east. The breccia can now be traced
approximately 400 metres from surface down its 62º south
southeast trending plunge. Hole L00-17 was planned to be
the deepest intercept on section "EF", but was
terminated early due to drilling difficulties and never
reached the target depth. The breccia still remains open
down its plunge and to the east, and at deeper levels (below
the 1800 metre level), to the west. More drilling will be
required to more accurately define the eastern and western
boundaries. At the end of his report House recommended that
another program of diamond drilling be initiated, further
testing the eastern, western and depth extent of the breccia.
The program would include six diamond drill holes (each
pre-collared by reverse circulation drilling down to depths
of about 300 metres), totaling approximately 3,500 metres.
The approximate cost for this program was estimated to be
US$320,000.
Table
4.1: Lipangue Diamond Drill Holes (Third Drilling Program)
|
Drill
Hole |
Approx.
Elevation (m) |
Approximate
UTM Location of Collars |
Azimuth |
Dip |
Depth
(m) |
Samples
Numbers (total #) |
| |
|
Easting |
Northing |
|
|
|
|
|
L00-13 |
1975 |
315125 |
6313823.5 |
360º |
-70º |
339.20 |
407001-407120 (120) |
|
L00-14 |
1970 |
315175 |
6313770 |
360º |
-70º |
419.15 |
407121-407254 (134) |
|
L00-15 |
1975 |
315125 |
6313770 |
360º |
-70º |
401.65 |
407255-407368
(114) |
|
L00-16 |
1978 |
315075 |
6313770 |
360º |
-70º |
426.60 |
407369-407461 (93) |
|
L00-17 |
1970 |
315175 |
6313720 |
360º |
-70º |
324.50 |
None |
|
L00-18 |
1980 |
315175 |
6313820 |
360º |
-70º |
393.00 |
407462-407500,
and
349500-349527
(67) |
|
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
|
2,304.1
m |
528
samples |
Table
4.2: Lipangue Property General Range of Gold, Silver,
and Copper Values Returned from the Recent Diamond Drilling
Program:
|
Sample
Location in Drill Hole |
Gold
(g/t) |
Silver
(g/t) |
Copper
(%) |
|
Total Range of Values |
0.01-26.24 |
0.10-58.8 |
0.001-4.28 |
|
Approximate Average Range of Values
in "Low Grade Breccia" |
0.10-0.50 |
1.00-5.00 |
0.05-0.25 |
|
Approximate Average Range of Values
in "High Grade Breccia" |
0.50-1.50 |
5.00-15.00 |
0.30-0.80 |
|
Approximate Average Range of Values
in Granodiorite |
0.01-0.10 |
0.30-1.0 |
0.001-0.06 |
Table
4.3: Lipangue Property - Significant Diamond Drilling
Analytical Results (Third Drilling Program)
|
DDH |
Depth
(m) |
Weighted
Averages |
| |
From |
To |
Interval |
Au
(g/t) |
Ag
(g/t) |
Cu
(%) |
|
L00-13 |
220 |
325 |
105 |
| |