An underground exploration program budgeted at $7.1 million, has been proposed for Abitibi Resources, Bevcon-Buffadison property near Val d’Or, Que. Abitibi and affiliate company Mid-Canada Gold & Copper Mines hold a 45% and 55% interest respectively in the ground.
The program has been recommended by two independent geological consultants who concluded the property hosts mineable reserves of 313,052 tons grading 0.2 oz gold per ton. Abitibi President Jack H. Kentish says in Abitibi’s annual report that negotiations are in progress with a group of investors interested in financing the project.
An underground program would utilize the existing Bevcon and Buffadison shafts and their associated underground workings developed to six levels. Consulting engineers, A. S. Bayne and Co., note that difficulties exist in trying to determine tonnage and grade from drill data as gold is erratically distributed across varying widths in quartz veins. As a result, detailed underground work is warranted. The Bayne report also notes that at the Lamaque gold mine, which is geologically similar to the Bevcon, mill head grades were 2.2 times the grade indicated by drill core.
On the company’s Bourlamaque property, diamond drilling has failed to establish economic reserves. However, the work did outline a favorable geological environment warranting additional drilling, the company says.
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