Calgary-based Golden Rule Resources (TSE) has consolidated its ownership interests on various joint venture projects in the La Ronge gold belt of northern Saskatchewan. Earlier this year, the company entered into an exchange agreement with its other partners in Saskatchewan including Cameco and Goldsil Resources (TSE). The deal is designed to consolidate Golden Rule’s ownership on certain projects while terminating its participation in a number of others.
As a result of the deal, the company’s holdings have become focused on an area known as the Byers mineral belt which hosts a number of gold deposits along a major fault. The consolidation was negotiated with Goldsil and Cameco through “swapping” various minority interests in certain projects held by Golden Rule in exchange for an increased interest in the Byers mineral belt properties.
According to Larry Lahusen, vice-president of Golden Rule, the consolidation will give his company “a stronger property position in a geological environment that has significant gold potential.”
The revised property interests currently held by the company in the Byers mineral belt are shown on the accompanying diagram.
During 1980-1989, Golden Rule, together with its joint venture partners, spent nearly $30 million on exploration and development in Saskatchewan’s La Ronge belt. That work resulted in the discovery of seven gold deposits in two main geological environments — the Byers mineral belt and the Star Lake pluton area.
The Star Lake pluton area hosts several high-grade, low-tonnage gold deposits in highly silicified shear zones within felsic intrusive rocks. Deposits such as the former Star Lake mine, and the currently producing Jolu and Jasper mines occur within this environment. Last year, Golden Rule sold its 30% interest in the Jasper mine to Cameco and Shore Gold Fund (ASE) for $6.7 million.
The Byers mineral belt represents the second area of significant gold mineralization and has become the current focus of Golden Rule’s exploration efforts. In this environment, precious metal mineralization occurs mainly as disseminated “free gold” within highly fractured volcanic and intrusive rocks.
The Byers mineral belt currently hosts six gold deposits including the Golden Heart, Tower East, Niko, Komis and EP deposits. The preliminary tonnage figures for these deposits are summarized as follows: Tons Gold Project Deposit (oz/t) Grade Tower Lake Tower East 593,000 0.20 Weedy Lake G’n Heart 733,800 0.25 B-zone 346,000 0.14 Kaslo Niko 76,000 0.21 Oven Lake Corner L. 150,000 0.47 Waddy Lake Komis 1,610,000 0.15 EP 250,000 0.17 Wedge Lake Twin 387,000 0.18
This year, Golden Rule has slated exploration programs for the Kaslo, Tower Lake, Weedy Lake, and Waddy Lake projects. With a total budget of around $2.4 million, the work is designed to further delineate and extend the known deposits along the Byers mineral belt.
After this season’s work, several of the projects could advance to the prefeasibility stage, according to Golden Rule. Bulk sampling programs, either by open pit or underground exploration, would then be considered to gather more information for production feasibility studies. The company’s ultimate plan could eventually see the construction of a central mill for processing material from the Byers belt projects.
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