To date, NGE has completed the following exploration stages at Fletcher Junction (images are from Fletcher Junction):
 |
Hydrogeochemistry
NGE has collected 57 groundwater chemistry samples and analyzed each for gold and 80 other trace elements using ultra low level mass spectrometry. NGE has modeled the groundwater chemistry at Fletcher Junction and has defined a large target area exhibiting highly anomalous concentrations of gold and other trace elements beneath the Aurora Crater. The data show a rapid decay of gold values away from the crater, which supports the exploration concept that the potential upstream bedrock source of gold mineralization lies only a short distance up gradient, beneath the basalt cover. |
 |
Surface Geochemistry
There is no soil on top of the basalt flow that covers the Fletcher Junction target, so a soil geochemistry survey was not possible; however, a survey along the edge of the basalt revealed an unusual concentration of angular, mineralized, quartz boulders. NGE sampled 148 quartz boulders along the edge of the basalt covering the target: 11 samples reported gold values greater than 1.0 g/t (0.03oz/t), and the highest value reported was 90.5 g/t (2.9oz/t). NGE believes the anomalous gold in the angular, quartz-vein boulders suggests a nearby bedrock source, which, in conjunction with high levels of gold in the spring water flowing out from beneath the basalt cover, suggests the presence of bedrock gold mineralization a short distance up-dip, beneath the cover. Confirmation soil and vegetation samples were collected downstream and adjacent to anomalous springs along the edge of the basalt. The results showed gold enrichment in soil and vegetation as gold decreased in groundwater down-stream. Soil samples reported values ranging from 8 to 1,235 ppb Au and vegetation samples reported from 5.8 to 10.5 ppb Au. The elevated concentrations of gold in soil and vegetation confirm the geochemical expression in groundwater and suggest the groundwater is interacting with an upstream source area. |
 |
Phase I Drilling
In 2008, NGE completed a 13 hole reverse circulation drill program at Fletcher Junction. The holes were spaced an average of 500 metres apart (1,600ft), and drilled to depths ranging from 152 to 295 metres (500 - 1,000ft), for a total of 3,416 metres (11,200ft). The blocky basalt covering the Fletcher Junction target is rough and the drilling program was designed to take advantage of natural travel corridors on top of the basalt to limit the need for costly road construction. The objective of the Phase I drilling program was to test the target area with wide spaced, vertical drill holes to determine the depth to bedrock, the size of the expected hydrothermal system, and the nature of its primary, potentially ore controlling characteristics. The Phase I drilling encountered hydrothermally altered bedrock containing geochemically anomalous gold and gold-associated trace elements at depths ranging from 590ft to 965ft. The silicification and quartz-veining within the underlying bedrock suggest that the Fletcher Junction target is a low-sulfur, epithermal, quartz-adularia, hydrothermal vein system, and the propylitic and argillic alteration encountered are similar to that associated with the gold-silver quartz veins of the adjacent Aurora mining district. The drilling also showed the target area is consistent with the size and shape of the Aurora mining district and that the bedrock appears to be rising closer to the surface beneath the areas mapped as bedrock hills. While placer concentrations of gold eroded from areas as far away as the main Aurora district might affect the groundwater geochemical expression at Fletcher Junction, the hydrothermally altered and geochemically anomalous bedrock intersected during the Phase I drilling suggests the gold in groundwater, soils, and quartz boulders is likely sourced from the bedrock underlying the Fletcher Junction property. |
