Placer Dome yet to prove that Lassie such a steal

Lassie Red Lake, whose sole asset is a group of claims bordering Placer Dome’s Campbell gold mine in Red Lake, Ont., recently became a 47.5%-owned affiliate of the Vancouver-based mining giant after Placer Dome complet ed some surface drilling on the Lassie property.

With an operating grade of 0.634 oz gold per ton, Campbell is the richest of Placer Dome’s Canadian gold mines. The Lassie property may contain the same rock units that host Campbell ore.

But according to Placer Dome, exploration so far on the property does not support 79-year-old George Cavanagh’s conviction that Placer Dome paid too little for the Lassie shares it now holds.

At Lassie’s recent annual meeting in Toronto, President Henry Brehaut said a 13-hole drill program did not offer enough encouragement to warrant further exploration.

In return for financing the drill program Placer Dome was issued 900,000 Lassie shares at 25 cents each. All holes intersected a quartz carbonate vein, but the highest gold value was only 0.07 oz over 2 ft, according to results tabled at the meeting.

“The Lassie property is still a long odds situation and there is no guarantee that the Campbell zones extend on to the property,” said Brehaut. Brehaut is also Placer Dome’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations.

Nevertheless, results obtained so far from the Lassie property will be reviewed this summer by Placer Dome and further exploration may follow.

Cavanagh, who holds 65,000 Lassie shares, failed to be re-elected to the company’s board at the annual meeting. But Placer-Dome Chairman Fraser Fell said a way would probably be found to get Cavanagh re-elected.

]]>