Reserve Estimate Being Compiled For Colony’s Blue Moon Project

A detailed ore reserve estimate is being compiled by the mining consulting firm of Derry, Michener, Booth and Wahl on the Blue Moon polymetallic deposit in California, owned 100% by Colony Pacific Explorations (TSE). By the end of October, the company expects to have its new reserve estimate in hand, along with an environmental assessment report and a report on the metallurgical test work now being undertaken by Lakefield Research.

Colony Pacific is owned 21.29% by Imperial Metals (TSE) and 25.5% by Westmin Resources (TSE), which is the operator of the Blue Moon project. The three companies also have a mutual interest agreement on a number of other properties in the polymetallic foothills belt of the California Sierra Nevada Mountains where the Blue Moon deposit is located.

Ten drill holes totalling 17,000 ft were recently completed on the Main, West and Footwall zones. The company reports that all intersections with the exception of two are within the pre-existing inferred reserve blocks and new estimates will define the extent to which reserves will be upgraded from inferred to probable category.

Earlier this year, the company had reported the geological reserves as 4.11 million tons grading 0.062 oz gold, 2.56 oz silver, 9.61% zinc, 1.16% copper and 0.46% lead per ton, with some 2.1 million tons of this considered to be a diluted recoverable mining reserve.

Several selected intersections from 1988 drilling include: 17 ft of 0.027 oz gold, 0.48 oz silver, 2.56% copper and 12.95% zinc per ton; 17.2 ft of 0.156 oz gold, 6.44 oz silver, 0.07% copper, 0.55% lead and 1.66% zinc; 7.8 ft of 0.033 oz gold, 2.80 oz silver, 1.23% copper, 0.46% lead and 14.97% zinc and; 24 ft of 0.017 oz gold, 0.28 oz silver, 0.23% copper, 0.08% lead and 3.92% zinc.

Colony Pacific reported a net loss for the nine months ended July 30 of $103,000 (1.5 a share) on revenues of $114,000 compared to a net income of $84,000 (6 per share) on revenues of $284,000 in 1987.