by Glenn Taylor
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 21/97) - "Excellent." "Terrific." "Once in a lifetime."

Waves of optimism for a world-class mining discovery near Paulatuk flowed from Darnley Bay Resources Ltd. last weekend, in town to give the public an update on its work.

More than 50 people -- many of them eager investors -- crowded the Eskimo Inn banquet room to hear the latest results from the company. Most left the meeting smiling.

The final results of an airborne magnetic survey of the company's property are due next week. Meanwhile, early results from the survey show "excellent" results, according to company president Leon LaPrairie.

Four magnetic anomalies -- unusual geological structures -- were pinpointed by the aerial search, suggesting the potential for mineable quantities of nickel and platinum-group metals. These "terrific hot spots" are "closer to the surface than we ever thought possible," said LaPrairie. "I'm very confident we will have some excellent drill holes."

The early results suggest the potential not just for one mine, but for a "complex" of multiple mines, said LaPrairie. The anomalies were likely formed by a meteor strike, which hit the earth with enough impact to force mineral-rich magma from the earth's core close to the surface, in a ring-shaped formation.

Within this ring or mushroom shape are several mineral deposits, suggesting the potential for numerous mines.

"We've got four major targets, each with 50 to 100 sub-targets," said project manager Phil Chidgzey. "That's the amount of potential this thing has got."

Comparisons of the property to the Sudbury formation in Ontario have been made by the company many times before. Sudbury was also caused by a meteor strike, and is now the world's largest nickel producer, employing thousands of people in numerous mines and reaping billions of dollars annually.

LaPrairie said he's optimistic Darnley Bay has that same potential. He joked that if all goes well, Paulatuk could soon become the new capital of the western NWT, attracting thousands of new residents and infrastructure, like a road from Inuvik.

How confident is LaPrairie? Consider this reply: five mining companies and two financial firms have approached the company so far, he said, each offering millions of dollars for a piece of the action. LaPrairie's answer: no way, at least not yet. "We don't want to give this away until we have a better idea of what we've got."

The company hopes in January to start a $3.1-million ground exploration program, to further refine targets for drilling. The company plans to hold a two- to four-week training course in January, so Paulatuk residents eager for employment will have the skills necessary for the exploration work.

The company still has a number of hurdles to cross. It has been blocked by regulatory hurdles in its attempt to list company shares on a major stock exchange, such as the Toronto Stock Exchange. LaPrairie said he's confident, however, that the company has passed muster with the Vancouver Stock Exchange, and will be listed publicly on the VSE next week.

The company is currently trading on the "over-the-counter" market on the Canadian Dealers' Network at about $2.15 per share, up substantially from the initial $.85 per share cost.

Environmental concerns are another troubling factor. With Bluenose caribou calving nearby, and with a proposed national park just a few kilometres from the anomalies, a backlash from environmental groups is possible.

"Can a mining development co-exist beside the park? We believe it can," said Wayne Bryant, a Yellowknife environmental consultant hired by the company to consider environmental concerns.

Bryant said the company has been aggressive in undertaking environmental studies of the area, including an overflight study conducted prior to the aerial search, to determine how many caribou were in the area at the time. Other projects, such as fish studies and traditional environmental knowledge-gathering, will be conducted in the future.

Bryant said the company is doing its environmental homework in tandem with its exploration work, so that "in two or three years, if the drill results are successful, then we will already have the environmental information we need to move forward."

LaPrairie urged the people of region to get behind the project. "You have to take advantage of what you've got up here," he said. "There's big potential here, and I hope I'm the guy that can turn the key."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime situation as far as I'm concerned. I've seen lot of projects, but I think this one is a dandy."