Bonaventure Enterprises Begins Exploration Program
Goldfield West Property, Goldfield, Nevada
The Goldfield West site is considered to be a property of merit by Mr. Carter which will warrant additional exploratory work. A first phase program of deep-penetrating resistivity surveys is recommended for the Goldfield West property to identify targets for subsequent drill testing. Fritz Geophysics of Fairplay, CO, a veteran of over 38 years in mining, has been engaged to conduct a variety of high tech mining exploration studies. Richard Kern, M.S. Geology and vice president of exploration for Bonaventure Enterprises defines the exploration strategy to locate the high grade gold deposits.
(PRWEB) November 9, 2003 --Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. is pleased to announce the engagement of Fritz Geophysics of Fairplay, Colorado to conduct extensive geophysical testing of the Goldfield West site. Fritz Geophysics has 38 years experience in Mineral Exploration Geophysics including extensive field applications on six continents and 24 countries for most metals from Antimony to Zinc with emphasis on base metals and gold.
The widespread, albeit low gold values encountered to date on the Goldfield West property may be indicative of higher grades at depth. Prospective targets for higher grades are thought to be intersections of north and east-trending fault structures which are indicated by previous, preliminary geophysical surveys," states Nick C. Carter, Ph.D. P.Eng. an independent geologist who reviewed the Goldfield West claim for the 43-101 Mining Report for the TSX-Venture Exchange.
The Goldfield West site is considered to be a property of merit by Mr. Carter which will warrant additional exploratory work. A first phase program of deep-penetrating resistivity surveys is recommended for the Goldfield West property to identify targets for subsequent drill testing.
Richard Kern, M.S. Geology and vice president of exploration for Bonaventure Enterprises defines the exploration strategy to locate the high grade gold deposits.
First we will digitize the records of over 150 drill holes on the property and other geochemical and geophysical studies. Next, we will do some on-the-ground magnetic testing to determine the magnetic low zones which are indicative of gold deposits," said Kern. Finally, we will utilize Controlled Source Magneto Tellurics (CSMT) which will measure the earth's impedance to naturally occurring electromagnetic waves in order to glean information about variances in conductivity and help define the geologic structures of Goldfield West's subsurface.
Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. remains optimistic as the price of gold continues to be above past levels. However, the bonanza gold strike still hinges on geophysics and geochemistry advances.
All known gold deposits in the Goldfield district are associated with magnetic lows, caused by destruction of magnetite by mineralizing fluids. Older east-west and younger north-south trending lows show the location of major faults," said Kern. East-west lows are dominant in the central portion of the district, while north-south trending lows are more abundant at Gemfield (Metallic Ventures TSX-VE= MVG) and the Goldfield West site (Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. TSX-VE= BVT)."
In addition, Gemfield drilling has located at least one high-grade feeder fault for the deposit with grades sometimes in excess of 100 g/t gold," adds Kern. No systematic drilling for high-grade feeder faults has been done at Goldfield West where the highest gold grade drilled to date is 23 g/t over 3.3 m."
In the early exploration days in Goldfield, prospectors used a burro and a rock hammer to explore for minerals. Today, NASA and the US Geological Service have used high flying sensors aboard aircraft and satellites do the dirty work.
Goldfield, Nevada has been the subject of a report called Prospecting from Space" as images of Goldfield were taken by the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). AVIRIS collects data in 224 spectral bands, ranging from visible blue (0.4 µm) to shortwave infrared (2.5 µm). The large number of closely spaced bands allows geologists to calculate spectra for each pixel of the image, and determine what minerals are on the surface (assuming theres no vegetation in the way).
Minerals in the central core of the Goldfield structures include: dickite with silica + diaspore; alunite along the margins; and kaolinite in the argillic envelope (which grades into illite and montmorillonite). This study shows that gold is likely to be present whenever dickite occurs in a quartz-alunite ledge.
Goldfield, Nevada was also the feature story of Prospecting and Mining Journal in February 2003.
Noted mining author Edgar B. Heylmun, PhD, states that Many have thought the district was mined out, but recent drilling has revealed as many as five new mineralized areas. Chances are that many ore bodies in listric and detached faults await discovery."
Rock alteration should be used as a guide in the search for new deposits. Some of the new ore bodies that have been found are up to 50 feet thick, with gold values ranging up to 0.10 oz./ton. Since mined out ore bodies were irregular, the new ore bodies are no doubt irregular as well," adds Heylmun.
Richard Kern shares his conclusions for Goldfield West and Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. as:
- Goldfield West is an under-explored portion of the Goldfield district.
- It shows the same geologic, alteration, geochemical and geophysical characteristics as other gold occurrences in the district, especially the Gemfield (Metallic Ventures) deposit.
- The key to finding an economic gold deposit at Goldfield West is locating high-grade feeder faults beneath the large stratigraphic hosted low-grade halo.
- Detailed geophysics and systematic angle drilling across identified structures will be used to explore for potential bonanza grade veins.
Website for Bonaventure Enterprises Inc.: www.bonaventure.us
About Richard R. Kern, geologist
Mr. Kern is a Professional Geologist with over 25 years of experience in base and precious metal exploration in the U.S., Central America, South America and Australia. He has been involved in major discoveries in the Western U.S. and Australia. His hands-on, field oriented mentor management style has been used very successfully. In addition, his exploration methods used involve results driven mixing of practical field geology, geochemistry and drilling with state of the art GIS, geochemical and geophysical methods.
Mr. Kern is currently the president of MinQuest, Inc. and prior to joining MinQuest he was a principal in BristleCone Ventures, LP, Geo‑Surveys, and Sierra VisionLaunch, LLC. He has held executive and management level positions in companies such as Western North America North Mining, Inc., Homestake Mining Company, Superior Oil, and U.S. Geological Survey. His experience includes establishing base and precious metal exploration programs for North America with an emphasis on Western U.S., Mexico, Honduras and Panama. He has also managed major gold and copper exploration programs in W. U.S., Australia, Mexico, and Ecuador with minor work in New Guinea, Malaysia, China and Fiji.
Mr. Kern has strong analytical skills and has proven success in developing various mining ventures. He has a Masters of Science Degree in Geology from Idaho State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Montana State University in Geology. In addition, he has published a Thesis titled: "Geology and Economic Deposits of the Slate Creek Area, Custer County, Idaho."
About Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. and the Goldfield West Property
Bonaventure Enterprises Inc. is a Canadian based resource and exploration company traded publicly under the symbol BVT on the TSX-Venture Exchange. The Company's mission is the discovery and development of economic, gold deposits through the exploration of high quality projects, located primarily in Nevada in areas of historically big discovery potential and low cost production.
The Goldfield West property is situated west of the Goldfield district, Nevada, in an area that has historically produced over five million ounces of gold. Aside from early prospecting and limited production on and around this property in the 1800s, exploration was limited until the 1980s, when several major mining companies (i.e.: Placer Dome Inc. (NYSE: PDG), Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), Kennecott Exploration Co. (LSE: RIO), North Mining Inc.) initiated programs. In total, 154 drill holes were completed to short depths over a five-square-mile area by the various companies. As well airborne geophysics, geological mapping and sampling were undertaken. High-grade values (up to 14 grams per tonne (g/t) and 200 g/t silver) occur at structural intersections.
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ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Basil Pantages"
BASIL PANTAGES, Director
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