ABM continues search for future mine reserves

Having proven up enough ore to keep its Colomac mine running for at least eight years, ABM Gold (AMEX) is under no immediate pressure to find new reserves on or outside the 32,000 acres it now controls. For the moment, attention is focused on getting the new 200,000- oz-per-year operation into a full production mode by September at the latest and within budget.

But as mill construction at the Northwest Territories project moves toward its mid-March completion date, ABM has been quietly looking around for sources of mill feed both in and outside the Colomac boundaries.

To prove it, the Northgate Exploration (TSE) affiliate has just completed a $1.5-million exploration program consisting of 46,000 ft. of drilling in more than 80 holes. ABM has also signed an option agreement with three Alberta companies to conduct exploration on 8,000 acres immediately to the south and east of the Colomac boundary.

When The Northern Miner visited the makeshift offices where consultant Cary Cohoon and his team of geologists are based, proven and probable Colomac reserves stood at 28 million tons grading 0.056 oz gold per ton.

Those reserves, contained within three zones (the 2, 2.5 and 3), are within a feldspar porphyry system known as the Colomac Dyke. According to Cohoon, the ore zone averages 175 ft. wide over a strike length of 5,000 ft.; proven reserves have been outlined to a depth of about 700 ft.

Indications that more reserves can be placed in the proven category are based on the Goldcrest and No. 1 zones, to the southwest and immediately north respectively of minable ore.

Possible reserves in Zone 1 are reported to be four million tons of grade 0.055 oz., while Goldcrest is estimated to contain 2.2 million tons of grade 0.065 oz.

A number of showings have also been reported just south of the Colomac border including what appears to be a southern extension of the Colomac Dyke.

“We are hoping to add a little proven and probable tonnage around Goldcrest and look for other targets to get our teeth into,” Cohoon told The Northern Miner.

Under an agreement with Alberta companies Petromet Resources (TSE), Comaplex Resources (TSE) and Greenstrike Resources (ASE), ABM may earn a 60% stake in a block of ground surrounding its own claims by spending $700,000 by Dec. 31, 1991. Comaplex holds a 50% stake in those claims, while Petromet and Greenstrike each has 25%. A clause in the agreement allows ABM to earn 100% on ground containing the Colomac Dyke’s southern extension.

Future work on the optioned ground will probably include geophysical surveys and a fall diamond drilling program. However, Cohoon said any future work would be based on results of the $1.5-million program, which are expected to be released in April.