Magnacon first mine at Mishibishu gold camp

An impressive looking plant, it is owned 50% by Flanagan McAdam Mines (TSE), 25% by operator Muscocho Explorations (TSE) and 25% Windarra Minerals (TSE), who brought it from a grassroots showing in a then-isolated location in mid-1985 at a total cost of close to $65 million.

“We think this is going to be a great operation,” Muscocho president Terry Flanagan told 125 invited guests.

High in his praise for the financial input of Echo Bay Mines (TSE) into the project was Jack McAdam, Terry Flanagan’s mining partner for 34 years and head of the Flanagan McAdam company. McAdam emphatically predicts the development of more mines along this 25-mile Mishibishu belt.

One could be the adjacent Mishi joint venture project of Granges Inc. (TSE) and MacMillan Energy (VSE). A crew of 20 is on the site now (including six geologists) evaluating both its underground and open pit potential, George Zbitnoff, Granges’ vice-president exploration told The Northern Miner. Tentative plans are to make some test shipments to this new Magnacon mi ll, which could be readily expanded.

The mill is an 800-ton-per-day, cyanide-leach zinc-precipitation plant, but Muscocho plans to operate it at 600 tons per day. The initial feed is all being drawn from a surface stockpile of low grade development muck containing some 82,000 tons expected to average about 0.17 oz gold per ton.

Once management is comfortable that all circuits are filled and operating smoothly, ore from underground will start to be fed into the circuit. This should prove much better grade. Initially it will come from shrinkage stopes now starting on both the main and south vein on the second and third levels. (30% of the ore must be drawn off as broken in this type of stoping).

By year-end, it is expected that the mill will be treating 600 tons daily, averaging 0.30 oz or better, Robert McIntosh, Magnacon’s project geologist told The Northern Miner. This would spell an output of around 80,000 oz annually.

Grade should certainly exceed the pre-production reserve estimate of 1.4 million tons of 0.248 oz. Tonnage will also be up, for both widths and values found in the underground workings to date are running consistently better than indicated from surface drilling.

The better over-all mine grade was first apparent in five 20-ton bulk samples sent to the Lakefield Research Laboratory at Peterborough, Ont., for independent analysis. Surprisingly, these ran 81% greater than the estimate based on the chip sample averages calculated by company geologists.

There are two principal veins known as the main and south, now partially opened on four levels from two declines. The main vein is narrower but better grade, estimated to contain 460,000 tons averaging 0.36l oz. The south vein averages about 18 ft in width. Where these join, ore values run to widths in excess of 50 ft.

Both are strong looking quartz vein structures easy to follow, The Northern Miner can report based on a brief underground trip. Gold is clearly visible at a number of points, especially in the Main vein. And grade does appear to be picking up with depth, with some very high grade material being encountered in a raise from the bottom level.

The deepest hole drilled to date cut a 10-ft ore intersection at a vertical depth of 1,700 ft, suggesting that before too long some thought will likely be given to putting down a shaft, for it is not too difficult to foresee a long and profitable operation ahead for this brand new mine.

Some 90 employees are on site, with the senior operating staff housed at Wawa, 30 miles to the east. This includes Mine Manager Tom Kelly, Mill Supervisor Davis Anthony, Mine Supervisor Eric DuRussel and Chief Geologist Colin McAleenan.

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