Echo Bay eyes Aquarius play

After several years of inactivity, the Aquarius gold property east of Timmins, Ont., is back in the news.

Senior gold producer Echo Bay Mines (TSE) has signed a letter of agreement with LAQ Canada, a division of Asarco (NYSE), to acquire a 51% interest by spending $8.8 million on exploration by Sept. 30, 1998. Under the deal, Echo Bay must expend $550,000 by Sept. 30, 1995, and Asarco will retain a 1% net smelter return royalty.

After Asarco staked the property in 1979, a reverse-circulation drill program returned values of up to 0.07 oz. per ton. Subsequent diamond drilling delineated a mineralized quartz stockwork about 1 mile south of the Destor-Porcupine Break.

Asarco then sunk a 700-ft., single-compartment shaft and carried out more than 3,000 ft. of drifting on three levels. The deposit was in production for a brief period in the mid-to-late 1980s. In 1984, reserves were estimated at 270,000 tons grading 0.25 oz.

Recent work has identified a significant potential resource which may be amenable to open-pit mining. Echo Bay will focus on defining this resource.