Wayside hits more gold (August 05, 2002)

Vancouver — With the latest drill results from the northwestern extension of the Bonanza Ledge prospect showing little gold, International Wayside Gold Mines (IWA-V) has remobilized its rig to the original discovery area on the Cariboo gold project, near Wells, B.C.

Hole 8 was collared just east of the discovery holes and returned 204.5 ft. grading 0.29 oz. gold at 57.5 ft down-hole. Included in this interval was a higher-grade section running 0.6 oz. gold over 68.6 ft. Assays from holes 9 through 14, all of which were collared within 250 ft. of hole 8, are pending.

Moving some 2,500 ft. northwest, holes 4 through 7 intersected the BC vein and the Bonanza Ledge stratigraphy, but only hole 5 cut significant values, returning 0.03 oz gold over 3.4 ft.

The Frank Callaghan-led junior discovered the Bonanza Ledge prospect in 2000. Wayside has been operating in the district since 1994, when it optioned the Cariboo group of claims from Mosquito Creek Mines. The Cariboo gold project comprises 153 sq. km, 85 km east of Quesnel. The project centres on the historic Cariboo Gold Quartz, Island Mountain-Aurum and Mosquito Creek mines, which collectively produced more than 1.2 million oz. from 1933 to 1987.

Early work by Wayside targeted the bulk-tonnage potential of the Sanders, Pinkerton and Rainbow zones of the historic Cariboo Gold Quartz mine, on the flank of Cow Mountain. Wayside tabled an indicated resource estimate for Cow Mountain of 5.9 million tons grading 0.07 oz. gold, equivalent to 430,885 contained ounces. An additional 1.5 million tons grading 0.06 oz. gold, equivalent to 90,936 oz., were classified as inferred. Earlier this year, the first four holes drilled into the Island Mountain area of the Cow Mountain gold property returned narrow, high-grade gold sections.

Holes 1 and 2 tested a coincidental gold-in-soil and geophysical anomaly. Drilled from the same site, the holes returned high values of 0.11 oz. gold per ton over 2.7 ft., and 1 ft. of 2.01 oz. gold, respectively. Higher up in hole 2 was another higher-grade intercept; it ran 0.57 oz. gold over 1 ft.

Moving some 600 ft. southeast, holes 3 and 4 tested for quartz veins in the favourable Rainbow unit. Hole 3 returned 0.11 oz. gold over 4 ft., while hole 4 cut eight veins ranging in value up to 0.2 oz gold over 6 ft.