EXPLORATION 1998 — Battle Mountain shifts exploration focus

Battle Mountain Gold (BMG-N) has restructured its exploration and corporate development groups in order to respond to opportunities that may result from the current industry downturn.

Battle Mountain Gold (BMG) has decided to farm out its exploration properties in Western Australia and close its exploration office in Perth.

It has already closed exploration programs and offices in China, Indonesia, Honduras, Panama and Queensland, Australia.

This year, BMG intends to explore in eight countries, down from 14 countries in 1997. Expenditures are targeted at US$25 million, down slightly from the US$28 million spent on worldwide exploration last year.

Of the allocated budget for 1998, some US$8.1 million will be spent in North America, US$6.6 million in South America, and US$3.9 million in Australia and Africa. About US$5 million is earmarked for new opportunities, or to follow-up encouraging results from one or more properties.

The Hemlo and Holloway gold camps of Ontario will remain an important focus this year. In the Hemlo camp, work is planned to evaluate and delineate potential reserves on the Sceptre and Goliath properties, where recent deep drilling has encountered new mineralization associated with known gold zones.

BMG’s Nevada holdings remain an exploration cornerstone. Work this year will focus on the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend, including an important drill program at Copper Canyon (at the Battle Mountain complex). Delineation drilling is also planned in the Phoenix and Midas areas, with several deep holes planned to test for “Fortitude-type” skarn mineralization at depth.

In Mexico, BMG’s exploration efforts will focus on four properties along the eastern flank of the Sierra Occidental range. The most advanced of these is El Cairo, a large land package 120 km north of the city of Durango, in the state of the same name. Drilling at El Cairo has identified a low-grade, bulk-tonnage gold deposit amenable to heap-leach processing. Selected results from recent drilling include 195 ft. of 0.08 oz. gold per ton; 145 ft. of 0.038 oz.; 280 ft. of 0.02 oz.; 613 ft. of 0.16 oz.; and 640 ft. of 0.21 oz. (including 243 ft. of 0.034 oz.).

A new exploration strategy has been adopted in Bolivia, where the company operates the Kori Kollo gold mine. This year’s effort, which is focused on locating new reserves that can be exploited by existing infrastructure, will make use of advanced techniques to define drill targets through the overburden cover.

Elsewhere in South America, BMG is active in the Maricunga district of Chile, the Argentine extension of the El Indio belt and the Amazon River area of Brazil’s Para state.

More work is planned for the 50%-held Pajingo joint-venture in Queensland, Australia, where deep exploration drilling early this year at Vera South returned 13 ft. of 0.68 oz. gold, 18 ft. of 0.55 oz. and 10 ft. of 0.34 oz.

Other significant intercepts were 31 ft. of 1.27 oz. and 41 ft. of 1.97 oz., both from a hangingwall structure. Exploration is also planned to test the Vera-Nancy and Toby trends, part of the large Pajingo epithermal system.

BMG’s exploration focus in West Africa continues to be the Dunkwa gold project in Ghana, where it is earning a 65% interest from Birim Goldfields (BGI-T).