Apparently, 36 drill holes of less than 100 feet were put down on the McDonald showing and surrounding area with "poor results". However, given that their objective was to find DSO, and looking at the trench assays, which averaged 44.6% Fe and ranged as high as 65.24% Fe - well within the range of DSO - and bearing in mind that finding a taconite deposit was not regarded as a success, it is quite possible that drill results would be considered "poor".
Ball No. 1 Showing
This showing is described as having heavy rust over an area of 1400 feet by 900 feet. According to GM2160A, there is a fold in the iron formation:
"The country rock at the Ball showing is iron formation of the Hard-Ore Jasper type, consisting of finely oolitic jasper, magnetite and hematite with minor amounts of iron carbonate and silicates. Oxidization of this rock has produced a soft, crusty-textured, blood-red material in which most of the iron minerals have been converted to hematite and some of the silica has been leached out. Analysis of nine samples (http://www.zone-resources.com/projects/girard/) showed iron content ranging from 28% to 43% and silica from 24% to 59%; a composite sample of these nine specimens assayed 0.22% sulphur and 0.0107% phosphorus. Prospecting is made difficult by overburden which ranges in depth to at least 25 feet and testing must be done by digging pits through it to bedrock. The work done to date consists of 15 test-pits, covering a length of 800 feet and a width in one place of 600 feet. The actual dimensions of the oxidized zone are not known because of the glacial covering; on the evidence of the soil colouration however, it is estimated that not more than 10% of the zone has been test-pitted. Five short diamond drill holes were driven to confirm the general character of the oxidized formation.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------Drill Hole Footage Iron% Silica%----------------------------------------------------------------------------1 0-6.0 51.48 1.32----------------------------------------------------------------------------1 6.0-10.0 36.88 42.80----------------------------------------------------------------------------2 0-8.0 33.04 51.00----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 0-2.0 33.52 52.52----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 2.0-5.0 35.88 37.68----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 5.0-8.0 20.88 51.60----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 8.0-12.0 28.56 28.88----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 12.0-16.0 29.08 53.80----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 16.0-18.0 29.18 44.04----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 18.0-21.0 34.64 27.76----------------------------------------------------------------------------4 0-2.0 23.80 62.16----------------------------------------------------------------------------4 2.0-4.0 24.84 62.50----------------------------------------------------------------------------4 4.0-8.0 29.60 57.23----------------------------------------------------------------------------4 8.0-11.0 40.84 41.44----------------------------------------------------------------------------4 8.0-17.0 26.84 57.44----------------------------------------------------------------------------
