Drilling adds to Converse’s potential

Encouraging gold values have been intersected in a drill program at the Converse joint venture in Nevada’s Battle Mountain trend.

The project is operated by Uranerz USA, which has a 25% interest. Newmont Gold (NGC-N) holds 50% and is expected to assume operatorship at year-end, once it has completed its earn-in. The remaining 25% is held by Romarco Minerals (R-T).

Situated less than 10 miles south of Newmont’s Lone Tree gold mine, the property has so far been subjected to 22 holes (18,895 ft.) this season.

Nine of these intersected significant gold mineralization.

The drilling focused on the North Redline deposit and included the following highlights:

* Hole 83 cut 605 ft. of low-grade mineralization (from 295 to 900 ft.) grading 0.03 oz. gold per ton, including 210 ft. (from 420 to 630 ft.) of 0.052 oz.

* Hole 82 returned 45 ft. of high-grade mineralization (from 615 to 660 ft.) grading 0.293 oz., including 5 ft. of 2.5 oz. The 45-ft. interval represents uncut assay results, and the mineralization remains open to the south and west. Romarco says the high-grade intersection, hosted in an altered porphyry intrusive, demonstrates the presence of structurally controlled quartz vein stockwork.

* Hole 74 cut 325 ft. of low-grade mineralization, starting at a depth of 55 ft., grading 0.021 oz.

* Hole 75 cut 120 ft. of 0.025 oz., starting at a depth of 340 ft.

The North Redline zone is covered by alluvial gravels that host a large-tonnage, low-grade deposit. The depth to bedrock is as little as 45 ft. at North Redline and considerably deeper at the main Redline zone.

Typical intercepts cover long intervals of disseminated mineralization hosted in metamorphosed sediments at intrusive rocks similar to those found in the Fortitude district, 15 miles to the southeast.

The joint venture plans to drill 12 more holes at North Redline before moving on to the main Redline zone. Together, the two deposits are known to contain just over 1 million oz. gold within 50 million tons of deep mineralization grading 0.021 oz. gold.