Pacific Minesearch drills U.S. bet

Encouraged by results at its Howie gold property near Charlotte, N.C., Pacific Minesearch is continuing a 15,000-ft diamond drilling program.

In a joint venture with Cominco America, the company will spend $2 million(US) by the end of l989 to earn 50% of Cominco’s 75% interest in the former producing property.

Drilling aims to delineate reserves in two gold zones, the Callow/Cureton and Klondike zones. It is also testing the continuity of the ore zones at vertical depths over 1000 ft.

Results from the latest holes are as follows: hole No 87- 25 averaged 0.116 oz gold over 5 ft; hole No 87-27 averaged 0.14 oz and 0.436 oz over two 5-ft intervals. Hole No 87-30 passed through the centre of the Callow zone with averages of 0.658 oz, 0.105 oz and 0.244 oz over three separate 5-ft intervals. Hole 87-28 also intersected the Callow zone but grades were sub-economic.

Drilling is continuing and will be followed by underground bulk sampling and drilling to upgrade reserves to a proven category. Based on previous exploratory work, inferred geological reserves are estimated at 174,000 tons grading 0.25 oz gold with potential for additional tonnage at depth and along strike.