Espalau to acquire Quebec properties

Montreal-listed Espalau Mining will acquire three properties near Desmaraisville, Que., near its Bachelor Lake gold mine.

The properties are held by a private company which has agreed to sell out for $5,000 and 125,000 common shares of Espalau. The vendor will retain a 2% net smelter return royalty on all production, but Espalau can buy back half of that royalty for $250,000.

One of the three properties is in Duplessis Twp., fewer than 30 km from the Bachelor Lake mill. This 560-hectare property has previously been mapped, sampled, surveyed and drilled, and various shear zones and quartz veins were identified in the process. Grab samples from the quartz veins have returned gold values of up to 62.67 grams gold per tonne.

Espalau considers the property to have geological characteristics similar to the Bachelor Lake mine, which was operated by Bachelor Lake Gold Mines (which merged with Espalau in 1994) from 1982 to 1989. The mine, with reserves of 1 million tonnes at 8.2 grams gold per tonne, has been closed since that time.

Espalau will also acquire a 400-hectare block of claims in Ruette Twp., and a 560-hectare block in Mountain Twp. Numerous showings have been found on these two properties by surface prospecting, and Espalau plans to follow up with geophysical surveys.