First Graphite Corp. (FGR:CA)

The Blachford Property currently consists of one mineral claim encompassing 7000 acres in south-central Northwest Territories. The Property is located some 95 km southeast of Yellowknife, north of the East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

The Blachford Property is within the Precambrian Shield, within the Aphebian alkalic, plutonic Blachford Lake Complex (BLC). The BLC is an igneous domain, in which successive intrusive phases range from older mafic bodies, through intermediate intrusions, to alkali-rich and increasingly felsic plutons. The Blachford Property is situated within the youngest Grace Lake Granite domain, near the centre of the BLC, south of Blachford Lake and north of Thor Lake. The Grace Lake Granite appears to be a more felsic contemporaneous equivalent of the Thor Lake Syenite.



Nepheline syenite outcrops in the central sector of the BLC, in the environs of Thor Lake, contain rare earth element (REE)-rich mineralization. What is now known as the Nechalacho REE-Zr-Nb-Ta Deposit (formerly the Thor Lake Deposit) is hosted by a subhorizontal, layered nepheline syenite body situated below the uppermost Thor Lake Syenite-Grace Lake Granite lithologies of the BLC. In 2010, the hydrothermally altered REE-Zr-Nb-Ta-bearing nepheline syenite intrusion was shown not to be confined to the environs of Thor Lake. It is now thought that this REE-rich layered intrusion, the Nechalacho nepheline syenite, is a larger sill-like entity with lateral extensions to the north around Cressy Lake and perhaps even beyond that point.

Two sites (Localities 1 and 2) were visited based on aeromagnetic anomalies identified by the GSC (1988) and geological investigations were performed. The Grace Lake Granite outcrops examined had crosscutting fractures and narrow veins (<2m) that often weathered to a chocolate-brown colour and often proved to be radioactive (scintillometer readings of up to 650 cpm). The occasional medium-grained aplitic lithologies encountered on the author's cursory ground surveys were also slightly radioactive. Many of the brown weathering fractures and narrow veins were clearly enriched in U±Th and possibly originally contained sulphides. Six samples of these veins and their altered wall rocks were collected, together with one background sample of pristine Grace Lake Granite.



The altered Grace Lake Granite and veins contain significant introduced contents of Zr, Nb, Ta, Th, and U with lesser but significant quantities of light rare earth elements (LREE) La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and heavy rare earth elements (HREE) Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Lu, and Y. Total rare earth element oxides (TREO) within the veins show a maximum of 0.126%; heavy rare earth element oxides (HREO) are 21.99% of the TREO in this sample. This ratio is almost the same as the HREO distribution recorded by Avalon for the Basal HREE zone of the Nechalacho Deposit below Thor Lake, where average HREO content is about 20% of the TREO content (Avalon Rare Metals, 2011). Percentage-level concentrations of Nb2O5 in three samples are highly significant. The contents (up to 0.455%) compare with average concentrations of Nb2O5 in the Nechalacho Syenite REE-Zr-Nb-Ta-(U-Th) Deposit around Thor Lake to the southeast.



Subsequent structural interpretation of satellite images of the Blachford Property has revealed a series of topographic lineaments that could have resulted from uplift or roof collapse of an underlying younger intrusive body. These lineaments are parallel to NW-trending anisotropic features visible on a preexisting aeromagnetic data map (magnetic highs) and on an airborne radiometric survey (Th equivalent). This has led the author to hypothesize that the REEZr-Nb-Ta-bearing Nechalacho nepheline syenite intrusion could extend northwestward from Thor Lake at depth to the Blachford Property. The newly discovered Zr-Nb-Ta-Th-U-REEbearing veins may be caused by upward venting of hydrothermal fluids from an underlying REEZr-Nb-Ta-(U-Th)-enriched intrusion. Thus, to test the hypothesis of the possible existence of REE-Zr-Nb-Ta-bearing Nechalacho nepheline syenite below the cover of Grace Lake Granite on the Blachford Property.



The Blachford Property is considered under-explored for syenite-hosted REE-Zr-Nb-Ta deposits and is of sufficient merit to warrant further exploration.

Regional Geology:

The Montpellier Graphite showing is claims in the Grenville Province in
western Quebec. According to Schwerdtner et al. (2009), the south-western
Grenville Province is made up largely of granitoid gneisses, metavolcanic
and metasedimentary schists and typically impure marbles. It is complex,
both lithologically and structurally, but two principal divisions have been
recognized: the Central Gneiss Belt (CGB) and the Central
Metasedimentary Belt (CMB). The CMB of Ontario and western Quebec is
characterised by a relative abundance of marbles and associated siliceous
calc-silicate rocks, along with lesser amounts of other supracrustal rocks. In
addition, the CMB also contains abundant mafic and felsic metavolcanic
rocks
Local Geology:
The Central Metasedimentary Belt contains the Montpellier Graphite
showing with a thickness varying from 10 to 50 m, with a grade varying
from less than 1 up to 20% graphite, with the majority of graphite as flakes (up
to 1 mm in diameter). The graphite rich horizon is generally associated with
biotite and sillimanite rich paragneiss with concentration up to 20%, with a
calc-silicate (diopside) rich marble horizon, containing up to 3-5%
disseminated graphite flakes. The graphite rich paragneiss unit seems to
be overlain by a quartz rich granitic gneiss unit.

Observation and Results:

The graphite showing is exposed at surface along a vertical cliff about 4 m high and over a
distance of 100 m. This zone is easily oxidized by the presence of some
sulphide minerals (mostly pyrrhotite and some pyrite) and is very friable
and weathered along this exposure. The graphite was easily visible as dark
flakes within the competent gneissic unit and when weathered, the graphite
flakes were easily picked out of the rock. The graphite seemed to be
preferentially aligned along planes parallel to the gneissosity/bedding
planes. In this particular part of the showing the gneissosity was shallow
dipping to the west.
Four grab panel samples were selected for analyses from this outcrop from
several different locations on the vertical face. The samples were submitted
to SGS labs in Toronto, Ontario for graphitic carbon analysis by method
Csa05V which uses a roast and coulometry procedure to report total
graphitic carbon. The results of the analyses are given in Table 1. The
graphitic carbon values vary from 0.82% to 14.4%. At the moment the total
thickness of the graphite bearing horizon is not known.