The Hood 10 VHMS deposit of Nunavut, Canada: a case history

Abstract

Hood 10 is a small polymetallic (Cu - Zn) VHMS mineral deposit located in the Archean aged Slave Craton in arctic Canada, and is 100% owned by MMG Ltd. The deposit is hosted in the Napaktulik volcanic belt, a bimodal greenstone belt of approximately 2.67 Ga age. The deposit was initially discovered in the early 1970’s by Texas Gulf and covered with airborne and ground frequency domain EM (FDEM) and magnetics. The property has changed hands several times over the intervening years, with drill programs in the mid 1970’s, early 1980’s and early 1990’s resulting in a non-JORC compliant resource of 1.2 million tonnes of 4.4% zinc and 4.1% copper, and defining the ore body along a 250 m strike length and to a depth of 220 m. The property was acquired by MMG Ltd in 2009. In 2012, MMG Ltd conducted significant geophysical exploration on the property for the first time, acquiring surface and airborne time domain EM (TDEM) coverage of the deposit, as well as TDEM on 11 of 12 holes drilled into Hood 10 in 2012. New geophysical modelling of the TDEM results, drilling results, recent surface geological mapping and structural studies have significantly increased the understanding of the deposit. The current non-JORC compliant resource stands at 2.4 million tonnes of 3.5% zinc and 4.5% copper.