Taseko’s drilling doubles width of Fish Lake deposit

A continuing drilling program at the Fish Lake property southwest of Williams Lake, B.C., has doubled the width of what is already a huge copper-gold porphyry system.

The property is managed by Taseko Mines (VSE) under an agreement with Cominco (TSE). Taseko hopes to find a buyer for the property while continuing with the property development. Under a scaled formula, Cominco will receive 40% of any sale proceeds to a maximum of $48 million.

If a buyer cannot be found by May 31, 1995, Taseko reverts to a 20% net profits interest.

A 10-hole drilling program last year, coupled with previous drilling data from the property, outlined an estimated 600-million-ton reserve block grading 0.32% copper and 0.016 oz. gold per ton. The block measures about 1,600 ft. across both in a north-south and east-west direction. As a result of the additional drilling this year, the deposit now measures about 3,900 ft. east-west, 2,200 ft. north-south, and up to 2,700 ft. in depth.

Taseko reports that the mineralization remains open in all directions and drilling is continuing with all three drill rigs in visual copper mineralization.

Drilling in the 600-million-ton reserve area totals 24 holes including the ten drilled last year and averaged 0.29% copper and 0.015 oz. gold per ton over an average thickness of 2,054 ft.

The majority of the stepout drilling was done to the west of the main reserve block with five out of six wide-spaced holes intersecting greater than a 0.4% copper-equivalent cutoff. The five holes averaged 0.18% copper and 0.012 oz. gold over 711 ft.

Two holes drilled on 330-ft. stepouts to the east extended the width by a further 660 ft.

Hole 92-11, the first stepout, intersected 1,659 ft. grading 0.21% copper and 0.011 oz. gold while hole 92-17, another 330 ft. to the east, intersected 362 ft. grading 0.10% copper and 0.028 oz. gold.

Taseko plans to complete a revised estimate of reserves when the limits of the deposit have been completely defined.