In the pantheon of producing mines controlled or owned outright by American Barrick Resources, the Holt-McDermott property should hold a place of distinction. Once this property comes on-stream, it will be the first that American Barrick has developed from the exploration stage. Both the Camflo and Renabie mines in northern Ontario were inherited when Barrick merged with the old Camflo company. And with the savvy that’s been a hallmark of this company, it acquired the Mercur mine, transforming this former money-loser in the hill country near Salt Lake City, Utah, into a model mine.
And then, of course, there is the Goldstrike mine in Nevada. American Barrick’s own deep drilling cut into two big deposits, but development is still some way off. So Holt- McDermott, once it is operating, should hold pride of place among Barrick’s mines.
Once production gets under way at the planned 1,500 tons per day, the Holt-McDermott should yield about 90,000 oz per year.
This project dates back to 1981, when Barrick started surface drilling. In late 1985, after considerable drilling on surface to ensure that a potentially mineable deposit did exist, Barrick went underground with a 1,400-ft shaft.
The decision to go into production was made in mid-1985.
Gold mineralization is hosted within a deformation zone 5 m to 100 m thick. Within the mineralized zone are a number of lenses of breciated, silicified, and carbonitized zones. Pyrite and albite are associated with higher gold values. Holt-McDermott Notebook Location: ……. east of Matheson, Ont., in Harker and Holloway twps. Major owner: ……. American Barrick Resources Commodity: ……. gold Discovery date: ……. Main ore zone found in 1984 Production decision: ……. December, 1986 Start-up: ……. mid-1988 Capital costs: ……. $52 million Operating costs: ……. not established Reserves: ……. 3.3 million tons of 0.187 oz gold per ton Means of access: ……. 420-m, 3-compartment shaft Extent of vertical workings: ……. drifting and development on three levels Mining method: ……. not established Mining equipment: ……. track Production rate: ……. 1,500 tons per day Milling plans: ……. 1,500 tons per day, carbon-in-leach Major contractors: ……. Kilborn Engineering Status: ……. pre-production
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