Millrock Resources forms joint venture at Estelle, to begin 1,500 metre drill program

Millrock Resources (CVE:MRO) said Monday that Teck American, a subsidiary of Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B), has met the requirements to earn a 55 percent interest in the Estelle gold project located northwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
The joint venture partners have planned a drill program that is slated to begin in July at the Estelle gold project, of seven holes for a total of up to 1,500 metres.
Millrock said the target it is seeking at the Estelle project is a gold deposit of the intrusion-related type. Estelle is located in the Kahiltna Terrane, an assemblage of rocks that hosts Northern Dynasty/Anglo American's giant Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum-silver deposit.
Four main zones of large-scale anomalous gold and pathfinder element geochemistry were identified over the past three years: Shoeshine, Oxide Ridge, RPM and Stoney.
Five of the planned holes this year will be drilled at the Oxide Ridge occurrence where Millrock found a thick, low grade gold intersection during last year’s drill program.
At this location, Millrock previously discovered a multi-element soil geochemical anomaly in a roughly circular area measuring two kilometres in diameter.
Millrock said mineralization was found from depths of 31.79 metres to 397.06 metres and returned an average of 0.43 grams per tonne gold over 365.27 metres.
Two more holes will be used to test geochemical anomalies in pyritic rocks on the margin of an intrusion at the RPM zone, located at the south end of the claim block, the company said.
A number of the claims that make up the property have a three percent royalty payable to third parties, the company said.
Millrock’s share of the 2012 exploration program is estimated to cost US$800,000. The company said it will borrow the entire amount from Teck to cover the costs.
The loan, which has a six percent interest rate, must be repaid by December 31. If the junior miner does not repay the loan, its 45 percent stake will be reduced to about 35 percent.
Last Friday, Millrock Resources said a hole being drilled on the Galiuro property in Arizona was abandoned prior to reaching targeted depth, after Vale Exploration kyboshed an option agreement.
Vale Exploration, which was funding the work, decided to terminate its option agreement it signed on March 2, 2009.
The Galiuro project is made up of 366 federal mining claims and 18 Arizona State prospective permits covering about 6,800-hectares, and is located near the San Manuel and copper district in southeastern Arizona.
Millrock currently has 12 active exploration projects, eight gold-copper properties in Alaska, and four porphyry copper prospects in Arizona.