Echo Bay Kettle River bet heading for production

With four gold deposits already discovered, it’s not surprising that Echo Bay Mines has put its Kettle River project in Washington State on a fast track to production. Vancouver- listed Gold Texas Resources is participating in the joint venture along with Crown Resource Corp.

Echo Bay recently announced plans for a $2.5-million(US) underground exploration program and feasibility study which will include both open pit and underground reserves.

Echo Bay President John Zigarlick confirms the joint venture is “very encouraged by the potential of the Kettle River project.” Although he describes the geology of the Granny deposit as “complex,” Mr Zigarlick says it’s similar to “other mining properties in the Republic district of Washington.”

The underground program will provide information on appropriate mining techniques and also metallurgical data for process design which will be incorporated into the broader development program for the property. “Those plans are likely to include open pit and underground mining and a central processing facility estimated at this time at 1,000 tons per day,” he claims.

Under its option agreement, Echo Bay can earn a 60% interest in the property for an expenditure of $10 million by 1992. Its two partners will share a 40% working interest at that point and they will also have to raise their share of production costs.

Presumably they might eventually have to consider a merger to simplify the property ownership and secure their share of production financing, The Northern Miner gathers.

The properties are located just eight miles over the border and exploration work has blocked out drill-indicated open pit reserves of 3.5 million tons grading 0.127 oz gold at the Key East, Key West and Overlook areas. In addition, there are 472,000 tons of 0.247-oz material in the Overlook and Granny areas which probably could be mined by underground methods.

The Granny zone will be reached by a 3,000-ft-long underground ramp reaching a depth of about 400 ft. Results from the program should be evaluated by third quarter 1988. Feasibility work, which is scheduled to begin this summer, should be completed by mid-1988.

According to Crown President Paul C. Jones, Echo Bay has five drill rigs on the property including diamond and reverse circulation drills. He notes the Key property hosts three orebodies: the Key East, West, and Overlook. The bulk of the reserves are open pit mineable and they appear to be massive sulphide-magnetite deposits.

Each of the Key deposits has about 650,000 tons, he tells The Northern Miner, adding the Overlook reserve “is equal to that right now and it’s open on two sides and could be on a third.” The Granny is open along strike in both directions but could be cut off in one direction to depth which of course is subject to change. The Granny is a typical gold-silver vein type situation and in this case includes a low grade halo over the deposit “with several million tons potential.” This zone is under the water table and probably wouldn’t be oxidized, he points out. The higher grade portion of the orebody is believed to represent a feeder system.

The Granny and Key properties are about eight miles apart and they have different metallurgical characteristics which will be a consideration in flow sheet design. The gold appears to be finely disseminated but free on both properties and preliminary metallurgical test work has thus far indicated acceptable recoveries.

Gold Texas brought Echo Bay into the venture and the latter became project manager in early 1986.