Narrow-vein miner Aurizon Mines (ARZ-T) has started a drill program to assess two recently discovered gold zones as it tries to build up reserves at the Casa Berardi project in northwestern Quebec.
Aurizon, which took over the dormant producer in 1998, discovered the two new vein systems, Zone 113 and Zone 118, in a drill program in 1999. Zone 113, where a deep drill intersection cut a 14.8-metre core length that graded 19.3 grams gold per tonne, will be tested down-dip from earlier intersections.
Aurizon plans to test the eastern extension of Zone 118, where a 1999 drill hole returned a grade of 26.4 grams gold per tonne over a core length of 10.9 metres.
Both zones are at about 1,000 metres depth, so Aurizon plans to test them partly with wedged holes from main drill holes. The company sees four weeks of drilling before the bits will be near their targets.
Feasibility work in 2000 suggested the existing reserve at Casa Berardi, 6.9 million tonnes with a gold grade of 6.7 grams per tonne, could be mined at a cash production cost of US$145 per oz.
Be the first to comment on "Aurizon starts Casa Berardi program"