Golden Goose eyes revived Magino

Golden Goose Resources (GGR-V) will launch an 18-hole, $250,000 drill program on its Magino gold project, near Wawa, Ontario, in late May.

A total of 2,700 metres of drilling will attempt to increase the property’s open-pittable gold resource base. The drilling will test three previously cut mineralized zones. The main zone of interest is located along strike to the southwest of the proposed open pit, which hosts a total measured resource of 5.8 million tons grading 0.09 oz. gold per ton, based on a cutoff grade of 0.05 oz. gold. That’s up from 20.5 million tons grading 0.05 oz. gold in a 1998 scoping study.

Gold mineralization in all three zones is hosted by granodiorite similar to that hosting the mineralization in the proposed open pit area. Previous drilling in the target areas is highlighted by 44 ft. running 0.06 oz. gold per ton and 144.5 ft. of 0.03 oz. per ton.

The Montreal-based company has been trying to breath life back into the past producer for years now.

In the 1998 scoping study, the heap-leach proposal lowered the projected capital cost to $69.9 million, compared with $110.6 million for conventional milling. The operating cost of producing 1 oz. gold held steady at US$191.

In 1999, metallurgical tests showed that the gold recovery could be increased to 84% by crushing the ore-bearing material to minus 1.7 mm. However, this approach would also push up the capital cost, to US$147 million for conventional milling and to US$88-97 million for heap-leaching.

Commercial production, targeting narrow, high-grade veins, originally began in October of 1998. The operation was suspended and place on care and maintenance about four years later thanks to low gold prices and lack of working capital.

Golden Goose expects its 2001 financial result to be posted by mid-May 2002.