Lac intersects Main break at Kirkland West

A 7-ft intersection with a subeconomic grade of 0.11 oz gold per ton wouldn’t merit much attention in the majority of North American exploration projects. But the announcement that Lac Minerals (TSE) had pulled an identical intercept while exploring Queenston Gold Mines’ (TSE) Kirkland West property at Kirkland Lake, Ont., sparked a wave of activity on the Toronto Stock Exchange June 16 and 17.

As indicated by the Queenston share price, which climbed from $1.90 to $2.25 in two days of hectic trading, the result means that Lac has intersected the famous Kirkland Lake “Main Break” on Queenston ground.

The Main Break is a structure that has produced 23 million oz gold and supported seven mines since 1913 (including Lac’s Macassa mine which is located beside the Kirkland West claims). Macassa produced 67,800 oz gold last year.

While a grade of 0.11 is well below the 0.28 oz cutoff grade at Macassa, the very fact that Lac has encountered the well-known geological feature, has been enough to generate recent investor activity.

Confident that the geological structure extends west onto Queenston’s Kirkland West claims, the two companies agreed to form a joint venture designed to give Queenston and Lac a 50% share of gold production after the first 400,000 oz of gold is extracted.

Under the agreement, Lac is earning its interest at Kirkland West by completing a minimum of 5,000 ft of drifting on three levels and 15,000 ft of underground diamond drilling.

Conducted via the 7,000-ft No 3 shaft at Lac’s adjacent Macassa mine site, the program involves drifting across the Amikougami fault which separates the two properties and back along the 04 break.

Less than a month after the two companies agreed to form the joint venture, Lac announced last week that it had intersected the famous geological structure while drilling from a depth of 6,450 ft at the Kirkland West property.

According to Gerald Gauthier, Lac’s senior vice-president of operations, a 7-ft intersection pulled from 70 ft above the 6,540 drift, indicates that the Main Break continues onto Queenston ground.

“Of all the drill holes pulled from the Main Break, only 18 to 20% have produced economic grades,” Gauthier told The Northern Miner. “The important thing for us is that the structure is there (on Queenston’s claims”).

“All we want to do now is get on with the job,” said Gauthier who expects to be drifting in the Main Break structure by September.