Underground work starts at Esperanza Tillicum bet

An underground development program is under way at Esperanza Explorations’ Tillicum gold property in the Nelson area of B.C. By the first w eek in July, the 2,112 level had advanced another 220 ft and it extended over 420 ft from the portal. The first 110 ft of development work in 1986 averaged 1.8 oz gold over a 7-ft width, said Esperanza.

This year’s program has also yielded impressive results with a 22-ft section returning 0.16 oz gold and a 46-ft section of drift averaging 1.2 oz. Both these sections occur over 8-ft widths. Within the latter section was 6 ft of 9.0 oz gold. The higher grade zones are being slashed to determine their ultimate grade and dimension, noted the company. The 2,050 level has been collared to intercept the Heino- Money gold zone at a depth of 200 ft below the 2,112 level.

Sixteen holes were completed on the Heino-Money zone during June. Fourteen of these holes intercepted the gold zone with thicknesses ranging from 3-22 ft. The continuity of the zone has been established up to 200 ft below the present underground workings, Esperanza said.

Assay results from the first eight holes range up to 0.11 oz gold over 4 ft but the company noted that in bonanza-type gold deposits “not all holes are expected to encounter high grade gold values.” Historically, underground drifting has upgraded the gold content, said Esperanza.

Drifting is planned on the 2,112 level for at least another 300 ft making a total drift length of 720 ft along the Heino-Money zone. A raise is planned from the 2,112 to the 2,160 level to intercept high grade gold mineralization indicated in an earlier drill program. Trenching is planned to further define the Jenny zone where surface samples assay 2.3 oz gold across 6.6 ft on strike and to the north of the Heino- Money gold zone.