Esperanza’s Tillicum nears production

The Tillicum Mountain gold property of Esperanza Explorations should see production early in 1989. The property is near Burton in southeastern British Columbia.

The project, to cost an estimated $5 million, includes extensive underground development, 15,000 ft of diamond drilling and construction of a mill this summer.

Tenders are being called for construction of a 125-ton-per-day mill with capacity for future expansion to 300 tons, President John Brock reports. Construction costs are expected to be around $3 million.

Pilot-scale milling from the Heino-Money deposit is slated for late 1988 with full-scale production reaching 100 to 125 tons per day early next year. Brock estimates annual output will be around 20,000 oz of gold. As reserves are added from the Strebe and East Ridge zones, this could increase to 30,000 oz by the second year of operation.

Stockpiling of ore will begin by May. Average mill head grade is expected to be 0.7 oz gold per ton, Brock reports. The average grade from a 3,700-ton bulk sample mined in 1986 was 0.93 oz gold.

Underground drifting and drilling will be continued on the Heino- Money deposit to further prove gold reserves to a depth of 800 ft and along a 2,000-ft strike length. Proven, probable and drill-inferred reserves in the deposit are 200,000 tons grading 0.55 oz, for a total of 109,000 oz of gold.

At East Ridge, drill-indicated reserves stand at three million tons of 0.05 oz. Potential exists for development of a higher-grade core zone, Brock explains, the extent of which will be determined by drilling followed by underground sampling.

Recent drilling of eight holes at the Strebe prospect confirmed continuity of gold mineralization to depth and drill hole assays ranged to 0.33 oz over 30 ft. Drilling will continue to define the extent and grades of both these zones.