Steps toward Magino start taken by McNellen, Muscocho

McNellen Resources and Muscocho Explorations report they will jointly finance and install a test- milling facility at their Magino gold property near Wawa, Ont., at a cost of about $5 million.

The move is one of two “significant” steps the 50-50 partners say they are taking on the Magino project, where advanced definitive exploration is continuing, and rapidly reaching the point where production plans can be finalized.

The second step involves a deal by which Muscocho will provide administration services to McNellen, through a management agreement between the two companies which, among other things, puts Muscocho President J. T. Flanagan in the president’s chair at McNellen.

Alfred Patte, McNellen’s president in recent years, moves to vice- chairman of the board. Mr Patte says the changes in operating management of McNellen will “bring needed technological expertise to McNellen’s pre-production planning.”

Drill-indicated reserves at the Magino deposit have been calculated at 1.9 million tons averaging 0.251 oz gold per ton. This is down to the 500-ft horizon, and there have been gold intersections well below this level, the partners say.

Installation of the test-milling facility will allow large-scale bulk sampling as an important adjunct to the current $7-million surface and underground exploration program at Magino.

And, it will also make available test-milling facilities for other projects in the region, they point out.

Muscocho holds approximately 1.3 million shares of McNellen, second only in size to the holdings of Charles H. McNellen, who continues as chairman of McNellen.