Rankin Inlet (Aug 18/03) - Although Placer Dome's Maze Lake gold play south of Rankin Inlet is still in its infancy stage, personnel within the Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) and locals within the community are optimistic for future development.

Placer is presently in the midst of an airborne geophysical study along with ground studies and till sampling.

Starting in mid-July, the project is ongoing with field crews still working on the claim.

"It's located 45 kilometres east of Whale Cove and it's total area is under 40,000 hectares," said Robert Pease, Placer Dome's general manager of exploration for Canada and global projects.

"We're looking for indicators of gold-bearing systems. These things are like needles in a hay stack," said Pease.

After the initial survey, Placer plans to do it again.

"You effectively re-do the survey within a smaller area and commence with drilling and 3-D results and you start to see what you get," said Pease.

A crew of six people will be working in the area until the end of August.

In that time, Placer is investing $400,000.

Maze Lake is being developed in association with the Nunnavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI), said Pease, adding that NTI will be receiving a royalty on any future development.

Keith Morrison, administrative geologist with NTI based out of Cambridge Bay, said the Maze Lake play is on Inuit-owned lands with the NTI administering the royalty.

Previous to Placer's exploration, WMC International Ltd. signed some exploration agreements with the NTI about 2 1/2 years ago.

Soon afterward, WMC International made the decision to pull out, said Morrison.

WMC International, an Australian headquartered gold company, allowed those agreements to lapse earlier this year, when NTI received an application from Placer to pick up that same ground.

"There's been work done in that general area for the last few decades and there's some good potential in there. "WMC did some very basic information but they did get some interesting assays and a few elevated gold readings.

"Over the last couple years it's just been underexplored in that area but our opinion here is that there's some good potential in there. It just needed someone to go in and knock some rocks," said Morrison.

Ron Roach, senior administrative officer for the Hamlet of Rankin Inlet, confirmed Placer was in the area and had spoken recently with close to 25 people in council chambers. "Five councillors attended and representatives from 12 different businesses and seven to eight people from the community at large came to the meeting.

"They basically explained who they are and what they're doing," said Roach.

"They said they were doing preliminary exploration and added it was too early to say whether there would be any results," he said.

Roach said the council is encouraged by Placer Dome's size and credibility. Placer is the second-largest gold producer in Canada and the fourth largest in the world.