Underground drilling by River Gold Mines (RIV-T) below known reserves at its Eagle River mine near Wawa, Ontario, has cut some wide swaths of high grade gold mineralization. The company has three drills running underground, and one on surface.
The latest results from zone 6 are highlighted by 11.8 metres of true width running 22.7 grams gold per tonne at a depth of 450 metres in hole 58. With grades cut to 140 grams, the interval averages 13.4 grams gold.
About 35 metres to the west, hole 55 returned 4.8 metres of 72.7 (30.8 uncut) grams gold at a depth of 615 metres.
Previous drilling on the zone last month returned between 7.3 and 39.8 cut grams gold over widths between 1 to 5.8 metres at depths around 650 metres.
The zone remains open at depth.
About 1.2 km to the west, thirteen holes on zone 808 returned up to 23.9 (15.4 uncut) grams over 5.6 metres of true width at a depth of 426 metres in hole 22. High-grade assays were cut to 60 grams.
Other selected results include:
- Hole 29 – 4.5 metres of 11.1 cut grams at 425 metres;
- Hole 20 – 2.4 metres grading 12.2 grams at a depth of 350 metres; and
- Hole 28 – 2.9 metres averaging 8.4 grams at 380 metres.
The remaining holes returned 0.3 to about 4 grams gold over similar widths.
The zone remains open at depth and displays an erratic gold distribution. Previous mining above the 280-metre level encountered an average grade of 8 grams gold.
Initial drilling on the No Name Lake zone has returned encouraging values over narrow widths to a depth of 450 metres. The zone outcrops 400 metres south of Eagle River’s main mine structure (zone 8) and dips to the north at 65 approaching the mine workings.
Hole 1000 yielded 1.2 metres grading 11.3 grams gold at 345 metes below surface. Fifty metres to the west, hole 1003 cut 1.2 metres of 12.9 grams at 450 metres. Hole 1004 cut some visible gold, and ran 2.6 grams gold over 1 metre at a depth of 340 metres.
Drilling continues on 50-metre spacings over the zone’s 500-metre strike length.
Preliminary drilling on the 817 zone 150 metres beneath known reserves at zone 8 encountered cut grades of 6.7 and 5 grams gold both over widths of just more than 2 metres.
Development on zone 2 indicated the main zone is wider and richer than previously indicated and a second zone has been discovered. Drifting on the 185-metre level exposed a 150-metre zone with an average true width of 3.5 metres averaging 11.7 grams gold. The zone is open down plunge to the east below a depth of 250 metres.
About 400 metres west of that, a new 25-metre-long ore shoot (zone 202) has returned between 17.7 and 22.8 grams gold over widths under 2 metres. The zone remains open below 300 metres.
Surface drilling at Eagle River has cut a pyrite-pyrrhotite sulphide zone hosted by an iron formation. The discovery hole cut 4.1 grams gold over 4.8 metres at a depth of 205 metres. Recent drilling on the same section cut a similar zone at a depth of 165 metres, which runs 5.5 grams over 2.4 metres.
At the end of 2001Eagle River’s proven reserves totalled 428,000 tonnes of 11.8 grams of gold per tonne. Probable reserves were 471,000 tonnes at 9.4 grams of gold.
About 17 km to the north, the company has launched a 7,000-metre drill campaign.
Hole 02-4, collared 4.2 km southeast of the past producing Magnacon mine cut 2.4 metres of 14.2 grams gold. To the south, hole 02-5 surrendered 6.7 grams over 1.7 metres, and hole 03-5, sunk at right angles to first two, encountered 1.06 grams over 2 metres.
Follow-up drilling is planned for late December or early next year.
Gold occurs in quartz veins with galena and pyrite in a broad shear zone straddling the contact of mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks.
The Magnacon property is owned 75% by River Gold and 25% by Windarra Minerals (WRA-V).
On the financial front, River Gold recently posted a third-quarter loss of $2.8 million (or 8 per share) on revenue of $ 8.2 million, compared with year-ago net earnings of $1 million (3 a share) on 10.9 million. Cash flow slipped to $345,000 from $3.2 million.
The loss is attributed to lower grade ores, including the first 18,000 tonnes from the Mishi open pit, and higher costs. The higher costs come thanks mostly to Mishi’s start-up; extensive development and the refurbishing of mining and milling equipment.
Third-quarter gold production came in at 16,450 oz. at US$286 per oz., down from the 24,300 oz. produced at US$187 apiece in the year-ago period.
At quarter’s end, River Gold’s cash and equivalent position was just less than $7.8 million.
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