Drilling program begins at Dore/Orofino project

Orofino Resources of Toronto has begun a 4,000-ft diamond drilling program on two joint venture properties at Vermillion Lake, near Mine Center in northwestern Ontario.

Part of a major shear zone and a quartz porphyry containing numerous sulphide and gold bearing quartz veins, the properties are being explored under a joint venture with Alberta-listed Dore Exploration.

Dore can earn a 40% interest in the property by spending $150,000 and by issuing a fixed amount of shares by March, 1988.

According to Orofino, the 25- claim Vermillion Lake property contains at least 20 gold and silver showings in quartz veins. The initial phase of drilling will test the Nos 11, 12, and 13 veins and their associated shear zones.

Orofino says the No 11 vein is 4-8 ft wide and has yielded assays over surface widths up to 5 ft of trace, 1.0, 0.32, 0.78 and 0.36 and 0.15 oz gold per ton over an exposed strike length of 375 ft.

The No 12 vein is intermittently exposed over 425 ft and ranges up to 6-ft wide. The company says surface samples across the vein assayed, trace, 0.14, 0.36, 0.28 and 0.18 oz.

The exposed length of the No 13 vein is 150 ft with an average width of 1-4 ft. Orofino says two samples assayed 0.12 and 0.48 oz. The No 1 vein has an exposed strike length of 500 ft but a narrow width, ranging from a few inches up to 2 ft. It lies within a 100-ft wide shear zone which hosts several parallel gold- bearing veins. Assays of the No 1 vein ran trace 0.14, 0.02 and 0.38 oz.

According to Orofino, all four veins are open along strike in both directions and the samples were taken over the full width of the veins.

On the 128 claim Seine River property which is adjacent to Vermillion Lake, initial drilling will test four coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies that are associated with sulphide-bearing shear zones containing quartz veins.

Orofino expects to produce 7,000 oz of gold from its Sudbury area operations in 1987 and 10,000 oz in 1988. The company is currently planning an exploration ramp and underground exploration program to test the feasibility of developing the Swayze gold property near Timmins in 1988.

Orofino shares were trading recently on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $1.22, just below its 52-week high of $1.50 but well above its 45 cents low point.

The company is 61% owned by Northgate Exploration.