Greenstone Gold Mines, a 50-50 partnership between Premier Gold Mines (TSX: PGM) and Centerra Gold (TSX: CG), reports that its Hardrock gold deposit in northwestern Ontario has grown in grade and ounces from a previous estimate three years ago.
The project, 275 km northeast of Thunder Bay in the Beardmore-Geraldton greenstone belt, has measured and indicated resources of 147.5 million tonnes grading 1.5 grams gold per tonne for 7.11 million oz. gold. Of those numbers, 137.7 million tonnes grading 1.33 grams gold per tonne for 5.87 million oz. gold can be mined from an open pit.
Inferred resources measure 25.5 million tonnes averaging 3.77 grams gold for 3.1 million ounces.
“The increase in ounces and grade within the updated pit shell confirm our view that Hardrock is one of Canada’s most attractive near-term development opportunities,” Ewan Downie, president and CEO of Premier Gold Mines, said in a statement.
The resource estimate updates a previous estimate that formed the basis of a 2016 feasibility study. Both estimates used a gold price of US$1,250 per ounce.
The estimate released on Oct. 3 was supported by 12,000 metres of additional infill drilling and 26,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling in two separate work programs earlier this year and last year.
The drill program this year included 12,008 metres of core drilling in 53 holes and 5,946 metres of RC drilling in 76 holes. The program tested up to seven benches (70 metres) in previously drilled zones.
The drill program last year involved 20,011 metres drilled in 405 holes in five key areas. A variety of zones and mineralization styles were tested through the first three benches (30 metres) of the mine design.
In addition to the Hardrock deposit, the Greenstone property, formerly known as the Trans-Canada property, hosts additional deposits that could become potential sources of production, such as the Brookbank and Key Lake deposits.
Mineralization at Hardrock is typical of Archean epigenetic hydrothermal gold deposits, a 2016 technical report on the project states. The property has four claim groups, Hardrock, Brookbank, Key Lake and Viper, over a distance of more than 100 kilometres.
The Hardrock claim group contains the Hardrock and Kailey deposit; the Brookbank claim includes the Brookbank, Cherbourg and Fox Ear deposits and the Irwin prospect; the Key Lake claim includes the past-producing Jellicoe mine; and the Viper claim hosts exploration prospects, according to the 2016 technical report.
The property benefits from its close proximity to the Trans-Canada Highway and the Trans-Canada natural gas pipeline. It’s also close to a regional airport, 12 km north of Geraldton.
Gold on the property was first found between 1916 and 1918. The Hardrock mine was the largest of many mines in the region, which together produced more than 4 million oz. gold between 1930 and 1970.
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