Pierce Mountain drilling Ferro mine property

The technically-oriented junior, which is earning an 80% working interest in the property (a further 20% can be acquired at the option of the vendor), released assays from its ongoing drill program aimed primarily at increasing tonnage on the Ferro Main zone within the present mine workings. Development on the property by previous operators consists of a 545-ft shaft, with 4,300 ft of tunnelling on four levels.

Johnathan George, a geologist and president of Pierce Mountain, said the company is attempting to establish a minimum of 250,000 tons of 0.30 oz gold or better which would be recoverable from the existing shaft.

The first assay results from the current drill program include: 8.5 ft of 1.050 oz; 5.1 ft of 0.271 oz; 4.5 ft of 0.298 oz; 6 ft of 0.905 oz; and 11.5 ft of 0.454 oz gold per ton. The gold mineralization on the property is reported to occur in multiple quartz-filled shear zones and tension fractures in andesite flows. Based on its work to date, the company believes there is good potential for additional ore shoots both along strike and to depth.

Due to an abundance of visible gold encountered in the current program, the company said samples were screened to –140, and +140 and assayed for metallics, resulting in significant increases over standard fire assays. The company noted that earlier assaying done on old drill holes and underground drifts in the 1940s were carried out by fire assay only. Due to the relatively simple mineralogy and ore composition, no major metallurgical problems are expected.

By the end of February, Pierce Mountain expects to have completed drilling and exploration programs valued at $1 million (funded by a recent brokered private placement with Richardson Greenshields), with a further $1 million targeted for the 1989 season.

Two drills are now working on the Ferro Main zone where a total of 46 holes (from 86 holes totalling 30,000 ft) will be drilled to a maximum depth of 1,500 ft to increase indicated reserves, prior to dewatering and re-sam pling of underground workings. A third drill is expected to be added shortly to test a number of recently-defined geophysical anomalies elsewhere on the property.

In early January, the company announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in the NOC claims located 1/2 mi southwest of the Ferro mine project. The claims cover 3,165 acres and are located near the eastern end of the prolific Flin Flon/ Snow Lake greenstone belt. The company said anomalous gold is present in an area with strong, wide shear zones and faulting.

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