Golden Rule expects to do record exploration work

Direct exploration costs in the 1987 fiscal year funded by Golden Rule Resources totalled approximately $4.2 million. But it was exposed to $11 million in expenditures under various joint venture agreements.

Glen H. Harper, president, says that 1988 will constitute the company’s “most aggressive exploration year to date with several projects reaching the prefeasibility stage.”

Harper notes that the highlight of 1987 activity was Saskatchewan Mining Development Corp.’s Jasper’s Pond discovery in Saskatchewan and the associated James zone discovery made by Goldsil Resources on the Transom Lake property to the south.

The structurally-controlled gold deposit was discovered by prospecting, geological mapping and sampling. Initial high grade gold values were obtained from a trenching program last summer which was followed up by drilling in the fall.

The program confirmed gold mineralization averaging above 0.5 oz per ton over economic mining widths to a vertical depth of 325 ft and along a strike length of 825 ft. An aggressive program has been established to evaluate and delineate the new discovery in the first half.

Total budget for the Saskatchewan joint ventures is $10.3 million of which Golden Rule’s share will be $3.3 million this year.

The company has a 60% interest in Manson Creek Resources which last season conducted an integrated diamond drilling and backhoe trenching program on the Mets project in British Columbia’s Toodoggone area. The property is a 50/50 joint venture between Golden Rule and Manson Creek so the former has the largest interest in the project because of its equity holding.

The exploration program was designed to delineate the A zone deposit and test several other targets on the property. Total expenditures on the Mets project last year were $1.3 million for a cumulative total of $2 million.

Approximately 20,000 ft of drilling was completed last season on 40 holes. Reserves in the A zone now stand at 158,500 tons grading 0.33 oz gold but there is a significant reserve of higher grade material averaging 0.5 oz.

The A zone has been cut off and off-set by post-mineralization faulting which caused structural and geological problems. So a portion of the 1987 program was devoted to resolving these difficulties. A late season drill program resulted in the discovery of a footwall zone which will be evaluated further this year.

About 32,000 ft of drilling is planned in 1988 and two drills will be employed. In addition, an underground exploration program is being designed to completely evaluate the A zone and to establish engineering parameters so a feasibility study can be undertaken this fall.