The Bellavista gold project in Costa Rica has been acquired by Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-T), which now plans to complete a bankable feasibility study by late 1998.
Past operators have spent US$15 million exploring Bellavista, which contains a total known resource of 1.9 million tonnes grading 1.63 grams gold per tonne using a cutoff grade of 0.7 gram gold.
The property has about 10.7 million tonnes grading 1.76 grams gold (608,300 contained ounces) in proven and probable reserves.
The stripping ratio is 1.26-to-1. The project also has a separate, higher-grade resource estimated at 3.6 million tonnes grading 3.28 grams gold (380,000 contained ounces), which is potentially minable by underground methods.
A work program, aimed at upgrading the underground resource to reserve status, is scheduled to get under way shortly. A 5-tonne bulk sample from existing workings has been sent for metallurgical testing.
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