Working quietly for almost a year with the venerable 110 year old Hecla Mining Company of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, final touches are now being put to an arrangement that will see these two companies forming a joint venture association for the exploration of precious and base metals in identified areas of North America.
This will be carried out by a new company to be known as Lucky Eagle. It will likely start out with at least 20 properties.
“In my 45 years in the mining business, I’ve never seen such a promising array of grass roots properties,” Agnico President Paul Penna tells The Northern Miner.
This new company, which could go public as early as mid-year, will have a $3 million(US) budget this year and probably the same next year.
Hecla is prepared to turn over 14 of its U.S. properties to the new company, while Agnico will put in seven in various parts of this country, three of which are in the Northwest Territories.
Voluminous reports on these, seen by The Northern Miner, are currently being evaluated by the joint companies to determine their percentage interest in the new company. Hecla, which will likely have the larger interest, will be the operator for the U.S. projects and Agnico for those in Canada.
In a completely separate exploration play, Agnico has set up its own new exploration division at Val d’Or, Que., under Chief Geologist David M. Rigg.
With a $2.5-million budget for this year, it will concentrate on the company’s already extensive holdings in northwestern Quebec — 11 separate properties and two joint venture groups with Cominco Ltd. (TSE). These are all within trucking distance of either Agnico’s mill at Joutel or the new 2,000-ton mill of its Dumagami subsidiary.
Exploratory drilling is starting almost immediately on a claim group on the Allard River and on another in Valrennes Twp.
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