Nuinsco’s Cameron Lake ready for phase 2 ramp

We may be headed towards the cold months, but Toronto-based Nuinsco Resources is still in hot pursuit of hidden gold reserves.

Just one week after announcing drill results from its Aldermac property in Beauchastel Twp., Que., the focus has shifted to the company’s northwestern Ontario interests.

Nuinsco and partner Echo Bay Mines say they are proceeding with the second stage of underground exploration at their Cameron Lake gold property 55 miles southeast of Kenora, Ont.

At a cost to Echo Bay of $6,750,000, work will begin immediately to extend a ramp to the 750- ft level. Exploration drifts at various levels will be used to establish drill stations for testing the deposit in detail below 365 ft to a total depth of 1,600 ft.

“Essentially we have all the funds necessary to complete the program within nine months,”said Nuinsco President Douglas Hume. “We expect to be at the feasibility stage upon completion of this work and after that it won’t take much to bring the property to production,” he said.

As reported (N.M., Jan 26/87), drill indicated reserves on the Main zone now stand at 1.6 million tons with a weighted average grade of 0.16 oz gold per ton to a depth of 1,100 ft. Of that amount, one million tons grades 0.2 oz, including a higher core grade of 516,000 tons grading 0.258 oz undiluted.

According to Mr Hume, the project will be financed through the sale to Echo Bay of 2,625,000 Nuinsco flow-through treasury shares. In return for funding the work, Echo Bay will receive an extra 125,000 common shares in addition to the amount which the partners had agreed to back in 1986.

Under the terms of that agreement, Echo Bay had the right to acquire 2.5 million common shares for a cash payment of $4,125,000.

The latest flow-through issue, including the extra 125,000 common shares, will increase Echo Bay’s interest in Nuinsco from 37% to 50.1%.

This second stage of underground exploration follows a $3.6- million phase 1 program which Nuinsco says produced some encouraging results. Phase 1 consisted of driving a 2,200-ft ramp to the 365-ft level and completing an ore drift at this level to test ore within the east-west extent of the alteration halo.

Nuinsco says ramp development drifting and crosscutting totalled 3,561 ft and in addition 18,237 ft of fill-in drilling was completed from the ramp and ore drift.

According to the company, metallurgical studies conducted by Lakefield Research on ore from the 365-ft level assayed 0.222 oz. “Ore is clean, metallurgically simple and amenable to a recovery rate of at least 92% gold,” said Mr Hume.

He says Lockwood Petroleum did not contribute funding for the work program and on completion of Phase 1, its property interest has been reduced to 17.34%, with Nuinsco holding 82.66%

“If Lockwood’s working interest is reduced below 15% for non-payment of its share of expenditures, it would be converted to a carried 10% net profits interest,” said Mr Hume. That would leave Nuinsco with a 100% interest in the claim group.