Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Paulatuk (Nov 29/99) - Why do Leon La Prairie and Hank Vuori care so deeply about what kind of rock lies under the ground near Paulatuk?

U.K. bound Darnley Bay Resources, the company hoping to develop a property in Paulatuk, will pitch the project to major United Kingdom investors next month, company president Leon La Prairie said. Darnley Bay executives will make the presentation during a Canada government-led seminar. The audience for the seminar, entitled Canada's North -- Recent Mining Developments and Opportunities, will include members of the U.K.'s Association of Mining Analysts. When it comes to mining investors, the AMA is a major group. Specialist investment funds, like Mercury World Mining Trust, investment banks such as N.M. Rothschild and Paribas, and stockbroking firms like Yorkton, are among the association's members. Company members include Rio Tinto and Billiton. The seminar, led by the mineral resources directorate of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, will be held Dec. 7 at the Canadian High Commission in London, England. "There is a great deal of interest from AMA members in current mining developments and opportunities in Canada's North," according to material provided by Darnley Bay. The Dec. 7 seminar stems from a meeting set up by Canadian High Commission between an NWT government official and the AMA president to discuss association interest in mining in Northern Canada. That meeting occurred during a GNWT trip to London.

"For me, it's just because I want to find out what the heck is causing the gravity anomaly," Vuori said.

"I've got a lot of patience. I've been waiting 40 years to find out and it looks like I'll be waiting at least one more," he said.

"It's a good challenge. It's a mystery," La Prairie said. La Prairie is president of Darnley Bay Resources, the Vancouver Stock Exchange-listed company looking to develop the Darnley Bay anomaly, located in the Inuvialuit settlement area.

He has 40 years of exploration experience in Nunavut and the NWT.

In 1955, Vuori, who today acts as an advisor to Darnley Bay, was the first to notice the "kink" on a magnetic survey map of the Paulatuk area. He discovered the anomaly.

The two prospectors were among 450 delegates at the annual Geoscience Forum in Yellowknife last week.

They spoke not only of Darnley Bay but also of their geological work across the Arctic showing slides taken in the 1950s.

As for just what is causing the largest magnetic anomaly in North America, Darnley Bay Resources may have a better picture next year. It could be a nickel deposit similar to the Sudbury nickel basin, which supports several resource-based activities, not just one mine. The Darnley Bay anomaly is larger than the Sudbury basin which is 10 times bigger than Voisey Bay.

Whatever it is, it's something big and heavy.

The anomaly is also much closer to the surface than the Sudbury nickel basin.

In 2000, Darnley Bay Resources is planning a $12- million drilling program. Falconbridge and another major mining company are interested in funding the two-year drill program.

As for the evolution of the project, Darnley Bay has not yet reached pre-feasibility.

As well as a possible massive nickel deposit, Darnley Bay may also contain copper and platinum group elements.

The company has also sent till samples away for diamond study.

One good drill hole will go a long way to determining the future of the project.

And if it turns out the way La Prairie and Vuori think it will, lookout Yellowknife, says La Prairie.

"They may just have to move the capital to Paulatuk."