Heap leach bets high on Cominco’s list

With $40 million in its treasury from a recent equity offering, Cominco Resources International is preparing to initiate work on 50 international mineral properties. Exploration work at Cominco’s Buckhorn mine in Nevada is being pushed aggressively and gold production from the heap leach operation has exceeded forecast this year, says the company.

Early drilling is planned on two other Nevada properties including Kinsley Mountain where extensive mineralization was located last year averaging 0.06 oz gold per ton in the main zone. Three other mineralized zones with ore grade mineralization will also be tested on the property this July, says Cominco. A broad geochemical anomaly on the Richmond property near the Carlin mine will be drilled as well.

Work will get under way later this summer on the Moccasin property in Montana where a surface showing of 0.12 oz over 30 ft has been located. At the Howie gold property in North Carolina, the company’s joint venture partner, Pacific Minesearch has located two new gold zones and established greater continuity for the main zone where one hole intersected 15 ft of 0.22 oz. gold per ton.

Diamond drilling on the Marte property in Chile has confirmed 32 million tons of 0.04 oz gold-bearing material with heap leach potential. Heap leach tests are nearing completion, says Cominco. Drilling is also planned on four properties in Mexico with exposed gold mineralization. And crews are being mobilized in Peru for an underground test program on the high grade Jarhuarazo occurrence. Surface diamond drilling is included in the program to test other showings on the extensively mineralized silver-gold property.

In Brazil, an extensive gold geochemical anomaly has been outlined along strike from a 12-ft-thick gold showing averaging 0.2 oz which was located last year. The zone will be drilled shortly. Besides these programs, drilling is scheduled for a gold prospect in Italy and property examinations in two other European countries.

Cominco notes that it’s also working on several attractive base metal properties. The Sheep Creek property in Montana is the most exciting and recent intersections “suggest orebody potential,” the company claims. The intersections included 27 ft of 3.6% copper and 0.17% cobalt. A multi-drill program is currently under way to determine the extent of the deposit, it adds.

Metallurgical test work has been encouraging on samples from the company’s beryllium deposit in Utah and a lead-zinc bearing gossan in Idaho will be drilled this year. The gossan is about 3,000 ft long.

A drill program is being organized on the Sain Bell property in France to follow up on an intersection obtained in late 1986 of which 35 ft averaged 7% zinc and lead, 1% copper, 0.08 oz gold and 0.9 oz silver per ton. Underground development will be initiated on the small 10% copper body on the Maria property in Mexico. Cominco has sufficient funding for three years of exploration work whereas before it was hampered by a shortage of funds.