Wheaton ready to advance its Golden Bear project

Preliminary feasibility work on the Ursa zone at the Golden Bear mine property in northwestern British Columbia indicates the deposit can be mined at a profit.

Wheaton River Minerals (TSE), which controls the property through its majority ownership in North American Metals, has hired Strathcona Mineral Services out of Toronto to conduct a full feasibility study.

Wheaton believes the Ursa can be mined using underground methods, and estimates the capital cost at $3 million.

Ursa hosts drill-indicated reserves of 214,000 tonnes grading 22.6 grams gold per tonne.

Mining would be contracted out, with ore trucked down to the property’s existing 360-tonne-per-day mill.

Preliminary estimates put total costs, including capital and administration, at $168 per tonne, or US$200 per oz. Over two years, the mine would produce about 130,000 oz. gold, according to Wheaton’s study.

In the meantime, exploration drilling at the Golden Bear property is attempting to locate other deposits in the vicinity of the Ursa and nearby Kodiak zones.

Wheaton plans to continue drilling as long as weather conditions permit, and will consider a winter program, should results prove sufficiently encouraging.