Crown Jewel lives up to its name

The Crown Jewel deposit, formerly known as the Buckhorn Mountain property, is proving to be a jewel for owner Crown Resources (NASDAQ).

Following a detailed study of all drilling results to date, independent engineering firm James Askew Associates calculated geologic reserves on the northeastern Washington state property at 8.3 million tons grading 0.102 oz. gold per ton.

If a minimum composite cutoff of 15 ft. grading 0.035 oz. gold is used, a minable proven-probable reserve was estimated at 5.5 million tons grading 0.106 oz. gold with a stripping ratio of about 7.2 to 1.0. Cutting all high-grade values to 0.400 oz. yielded a proven- probable reserve of 5.6 million tons grading 0.087 oz. gold.

Crown plans a 100,000-ft. drilling program starting March 1, which will include infill drilling as well as stepout holes designed to expand the size of the deposit. The skarn system has been traced on surface over an area about 12,000×3,000 ft., while the drilling to date has only encompassed an area of about 1,500 ft.x1,500 ft.

In addition to the drilling, the company plans detailed metallurgical testing as well as preliminary environmental studies. Metallurgical tests to date indicate that recoveries in excess of 90% can be achieved.

Allan Marter, vice-president of finance, said the company was also discussing a possible joint venture on the property with as many as 19 interested parties. He noted that although the project could be developed by Crown alone, a joint venture with an experienced operator might be to the company’s advantage. However, Marter was quick to point out that Crown was well financed with more than US$2 million in working capital and was in no hurry to enter an agreement unless it was in the best interests of its shareholders.