Drilling program under way at Prairie Creek in N.W.T.

A 10,000-ft. drilling program is under way on the Prairie Creek property in the Northwest Territories, an advanced mine project recently acquired by San Andreas Resources (VSE).

The property, developed as a silver mine during the 1980s by the Hunt brothers of Texas, contains reserves in all categories totalling 2 million tons grading 11.75% zinc, 10.8% lead, 0.42% copper and 5.3 oz. silver per ton. A total of $64 million was spent on the property which has been developed underground on two levels, and on surface where a 1,200-ton-per-day capacity mill and ancillary facilities remain on site.

The first priority of the drill program is to upgrade possible and probable reserves and increase the confidence level in the grade and tonnage. The second priority is to further examine zones 6, 7, 8 and the Winter Road zone which was discovered near the end of the project.

Meanwhile, the company is conducting a series of metallurgical tests aimed at enhancing the recovery of lead and zinc, as previous work was focused on silver recovery due to its inflated price (US$40-50 per oz.) at the time. The new tests involve using a gravity circuit to improve overall recoveries, and the company notes that preliminary results are favorable. A preliminary evaluation of the project last year estimates that capital costs to bring the mine into production would be about $8 million.