Barrick’s reserves top 13 million oz

What a difference a year can make in the life of a mining company. This time last year, Toronto- based American Barrick Resources was sitting with reserves totalling 3.5 million oz in seven Canadian and U.S. gold properties.

But within the space of just 12 months, exploration successes at the company’s Goldstrike property near Elko, Nev., have added just under 10 million oz to that total.

Of the 13.3 million oz reported on Dec 31, Barrick says 10.8 million oz are in the proven probable category.

Since the company reported its initial deep drilling find at Goldstrike last March, the company has encountered two major deposits below 1,000 ft. — the Post and Betze — which are thought to lie in one vast orebody.

According to Jerry Garbutt, Barrick’s chief financial officer, Goldstrike reserves stood at 8.7 million oz on Dec 31 with 1.4 million oz contained in a low grade surface oxide pit and 7.3 million in a deep sulphide deposit.

Goldstrike oxide reserves tend to be in the 0.05-oz-per-ton range while the recently discovered sulphides which lie at a depth of around 1,000 ft, have assayed between 0.22 oz and 0.4 oz.

After adding 1.8 million oz to its Goldstrike sulphide inventory since Jan 1, the only question remaining is how the Toronto company will mine those reserves.

The company points out that its latest reserve calculations are based on a mega open pit mining method but Barrick may decide to mine the deposit using underground methods, open pit or a combination of both.

That decision will be made on completion of these evaluations and will take into account the results of additional infill and exploration drilling, the company says.

Barrick currently has 11 drills on site at Goldstrike where annual production should increase from 52,000 oz in 1987 to 860,000 oz by 1991.

While Barrick is expected to announce its decision at the company’s annual meeting April 29, it is already driving a decline ramp to the 930-ft level to access one of several high grade zones in the deep sulphide ore body.

The ramp is designed to obtain more information on the characteristics of the ore to be mined, Barrick says.

It will also be used to pump some 20,000 gallons of water per minute to surface. Contracts have been signed with local ranchers who will use the water for cattle grazing purposes, says Garbutt.