Wheaton looks to new gold reserves

Drilling on the Golden Bear property in northwestern British Columbia has returned gold intersections in two separate areas.

The mine is wholly owned by North American Metals (VSE). Wheaton River Minerals (TSE) holds an 85% equity interest in North American, as well as all its debt (more than $56 million).

The companies are extracting the remaining underground minable reserves in the Main Bear deposit. These are estimated to be 165,000 tonnes grading 20-23 grams gold per tonne.

That reserve will supply the mill into late next year, based on a milling rate of about 400 tonnes per day. As a result, the company is pushing to find a new source of ore.

The first hole of an 11-hole program on the Kodiak zone, about two kilometres north of the mine, intersected 48.3 metres grading 5.24 grams. The intersection started at a depth of about 21 metres and the true width is estimated at 34.2 metres.

The drilling is following up the September discovery of the zone, in a series of three trenches.

The first hole is about 30 metres north of the most northerly trench and extends the known strike length of the zone to about 110 metres. Adding to its drilling success, the company reports that drilling below the Main Bear deposit, in the Grizzly zone, intersected 14.4 grams over 15.5 metres, starting at a depth of 532.8 metres.

The hole, the last of a 3-hole program, intersected the Grizzly zone about 400 metres below the current mine workings and 200 metres north of the second hole, which intersected 0.95 metres at 8.5 grams.

The first hole, about 65 metres south of the second hole, intersected 3.87 metres at 1.68 grams.

Wheaton River President Vic Jutronich said the company is now reviewing further drilling plans for the Grizzly. He added that a decision has yet to be made as to what the next step will be at the Grizzly.

One option is to continue drilling from surface, but the talus slope of a rock slide makes it technically very challenging.

The other option is to proceed with a 800-metre-long decline down to the area, although that would be a big investment based on the results from one drill hole.

(For further commentary by Jutronich on the Golden Bear mine, see “Letters to the Editor” on page 5.)