Gold & Silver Snapshot: Gold attracts seekers across Canada

There’s no doubt the gold sector is hot this year, and with Canada offering a stable jurisdiction, we’re seeing a strong uptick in gold exploration and mine development across the country. Here are five such examples.

ANACONDA MINING

Dustin Angelo-led Anaconda Mining (TSX: ANX; US-OTC: ANXGD) is a small but growing gold producer with a wholly owned mine and an advanced development project in Atlantic Canada.

Its Point Rousse project in northern Newfoundland produces 16,000 oz. gold annually.

Its Goldboro gold project in Nova Scotia is slated to produce 41,000 oz. gold per year for at least 8.8 years beginning in 2021, with ore shipped to the Point Rousse mill, which has a 1,300-tonne-per-day capacity and deep-water port access.

Between the two projects, there are over 1.1 million oz. gold in indicated and inferred resources.

By 2021, Anaconda could produce 50,000 to 60,000 oz. gold annually from the two operations.

The company also has several gold exploration projects in the region around Point Rousse, including Great Northern and Tilt Cove.

At last count, the company had only $1 million in debt and $4.5 million in cash.

BONTERRA RESOURCES

Vancouver-based BonTerra Resources (TSXV: BTR; US-OTC: BONXF) (not to be confused with oil and gas company BonTerra Energy) has its wholly owned Gladiator high-grade gold project in the Urban-Barry greenstone belt, 170 km northeast of Val-d’Or, which is comprised of two adjacent properties named Arena and Coliseum.

The Gladiator gold deposit has an inferred resource of 905,000 tonnes grading 9.36 grams gold per tonne for 273,000 contained oz. gold, according to a 2012 study.

A new resource estimate is due later this year, and it will incorporate 60,000 metres drilled in 2017 and 30,000 metres planned for the first quarter of 2018.

Meanwhile BonTerra is carrying out more metallurgical sampling and testing at Gladiator.

BonTerra also has its Larder Lake high-grade gold project just across the border in Ontario, where resources in all categories are just shy of 1 million oz. gold.

BonTerra’s major shareholders include Eric Sprott, VanEck Gold Fund, Kinross Gold and Kirkland Lake Gold.

GALWAY METALS

Galway Metals (TSXV: GWM; US-OTC: GAYMF) is based in Toronto and its flagship project is its Clarence Stream gold project in New Brunswick. It is also active at its past-producing, high-grade Estrades polymetallic project in northwestern Quebec, 95 km north of the town of La Sarre.

Galway says its “new vision for two previously misunderstood projects” presents it with a “golden opportunity.”

In September, Galway announced a 54% increase in resources at Clarence Stream, including 6.2 measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.96 grams gold for 390,000 contained oz. gold. Another 3.4 million tonnes grading 2.53 grams gold lie in the inferred category.

The company was slated to drill 24,000 metres at the project in 2017, and plans to drill another 12,000 metres in 2018.

Estrades is a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit with a resource calculated by Roscoe Postle Associates in August 2016 of 1.3 million indicated tonnes grading 3.89 grams gold per tonne, 137.9 grams silver per tonne, 7.95% zinc, 1.12% copper and 0.65% lead. Inferred resources add 1.2 million tonnes grading 1.54 grams gold, 68.6 grams silver, 4.31% zinc, 1.46% copper and 0.26% lead.

Breakwater Resources spent $20 million at Estrades in 1990, including building a ramp to 200 metres deep, a ventilation raise and associated infrastructure. Some 94,000 metres of historic drilling has been carried out at the site. Production at Estrades in 1990–1991 totalled 175,000 tonnes grading 6.4 grams gold, 172.3 grams silver, 12.9% zinc and 1.1% copper.

Galway plans to drill 13,00 metres at Estrades this year, and carry out other exploration work.

GT GOLD

Vancouver-based GT Gold (TSXV: GTT; US-OTC: GTGDF) is a new exploration company led by Kevin M. Keough that is hunting for gold in the prolific Golden Triangle region of northwestern British Columbia (hence the “GT” in its name).

The company’s flagship asset is the wholly owned, 432 sq. km Tatogga gold property, located 10 km off Highway 37, where the company has systematically developed the grassroots Saddle gold prospect since 2011.

A worker logs core outside a core shack at GT Gold’s Saddle gold project in northwest British Columbia. Credit: GT Gold.

Guided by geologist and vice-president of exploration Charles J. Greig, GT Gold says it has achieved “two entirely new discoveries” at its Saddle prospect: a high-grade epithermal gold-silver vein system at Saddle South; and near Saddle North, the “probable ‘engine’ for the entire system” in the form of a copper-gold-silver mineralized porphyritic intrusive, which geophysical surveying indicates is “large in scale, and which early drill results suggest may be rich.” GT enthuses that there is “potential for rapid expansion of these discoveries” in mid-year exploration.

GT has four goals for 2018: expansion drilling of the high-grade gold-silver vein systems at Saddle South and Saddle North; expansion drilling of the new copper-gold-silver porphyry discovery at Saddle North; completion of initial metallurgical test work; and completion of an initial National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource calculation, perhaps tabled in early 2019.

PROBE METALS

Abitibi-focused gold explorer Probe Metals (TSXV: PRB; US-OTC: PROBF) was formed after Probe Mines Ltd. sold to Goldcorp in March 2015. Goldcorp still owns a 13.7% stake in the Toronto-base junior.

In late February, Probe tabled a substantially increased resource estimate for its flagship Val-d’Or East gold project outside the city of Val-d’Or, Quebec.

Total indicated resources stand at 9 million indicated tonnes grading 2.35 grams gold per tonne for 682,400 oz. gold, plus 9.3 million inferred tonnes at 2.41 grams gold for another 722,100 oz. gold.

Most of these ounces could come from an open-pit, while the rest would need to be mined from underground.

Probe noted that it is well-funded, with a cash position exceeding $25 million. Its management — led by president and CEO David Palmer and chairman Jamie Sokalsky — also has a track record of delivering shareholder value.

Probe has a $12-million exploration budget for 2018, which will include 85,000 metres of drilling, engineering studies, environmental baseline studies and regional target generation.