An underground exploration program is to begin shortly on the 38 New Pascalis Mines claims located 26 km east of Val d’Or, Que., project operator Cambior Inc. reports.
The program, scheduled over 12 months, will involve dewatering and extending the existing underground workings, plus additional diamond drilling to upgrade reserves to the proven category and explore for lateral extensions of ore. A shaft is to be sunk to 375 m. Exploration for additional reserves to 320 m will also be pursued.
Exploration expenditures of $10 million are forecast for the next 12 months; approximately $8.1 million will be spent by March 1, 1988.
Probable reserves to date, calculated to a depth of 140 m, stand at 720,000 tonnes grading 0.11 oz gold per ton.
Cambior has a 62.4% interest in the property. The company will finance its p ortion of the exploration funding through a private placement of flow-through shares of $5 million.
New Pascalis, which holds the remaining 37.6% in the property, has 90 days to contribute proportionally to the exploration program in order to maintain its interest. According to Cambior spokesman Richard Leclerc, if New Pascalis elects not to participate, its interest can be diluted according to a formula defined in the existing joint- venture agreement.
In other news, Cambior recorded a first-quarter income of $3 million on revenue of $18.9 million. Gold production during the quarter totalled 30,439 oz, with 28,051 oz coming from the Doyon mine (for the full three-month period) and 2,388 oz from the Vezina mine (for the period Feb 13 to March 31). Mine dewatered
Also, Cambior and partner Maufort Resources are dewatering the old Siscoe mine located about 10 km northwest of Val d’Or. The first underground examination of the first and second levels (150 ft and 300 ft, respectively) has confirmed non-exploited gold-bearing quartz veins of economical width and grade.
A surface drilling program has extended the “K” zone in depth and laterally. One hole to 890 ft returned a grade of 0.13 oz across 10 ft, another hole to 1,355 ft indicated 0.07 oz across 4.3 ft, while a third hole to 1,440 ft indicated 0.54 oz across 3 ft
In addition to the “K” zone, two other zones, in the extension of the Siscoe and Hope veins of the former mine, have been discovered. Encouraging early results from the two zones are reported.
A new hoist and headframe will be installed this summer which will permit excavation of the shaft to 4,000 ft, if necessary.
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