Maude Lake tables mixed results

Vancouver — The first nine holes of a planned 6,000-metre program by Montreal-based Maude Lake Exploration (MAU-V) has outlined a low-grade mineralized envelope some 500 metres long on its newly optioned ground north of, and contiguous with, the Comtois gold property, west of Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Que.

Targeting previously discovered showings the first four holes cut a mineralized zone ranging from 2-to-15 metres thick. Highlights from the drilling include:

• Hole 9 — 1.5 metre grading 4.6 grams gold per tonne from 97.5 metres down-hole,
• Hole 10 — 3 metres grading 3.3 grams gold from 127.8 metres down-hole,
• Hole 12 — 1.5 metre grading 4.6 grams gold from 47 metres down-hole and 3 metres grading 2.6 grams gold from 54.5 metres down-hole,
• Hole 13 — 3 metres grading 2.8 grams gold from 219.5 metres down-hole.

The other five holes tested potential strike extensions, but failed to return any significant mineralization.

In the mid-1980s, Noranda (NRD-T) outlined two gold-mineralized zones at the property, generating drill results such as 3.43 grams gold over 5.3 metres and 10.4 grams gold over 2.6 metres.

Maude Lake can earn a 95% stake in the 15-claim property from Newmont Mining (NEM-N). To do so, the junior must spend $200,000 on exploration before February 2005. Government-owned Socit de developpement de la Baie James holds the remaining 5% interest.

The known mineralized zones at the Newmont property are 7 km north of, and possibly continuous with, the Comtois property’s North and South gold zones, where a 5,000-metre drill program carried out by Maude Lake over the winter developed an indicated resource of 695,485 tonnes grading 9.05 grams gold at a cutoff grade of 4 grams gold. At a 1-gram cutoff, indicated resources rise to 1.8 million tonnes of 4.5 grams gold.

Comtois’s gold mineralization has been delineated within a 1.2-km-long corridor of felsic volcanic rocks that remains open both to the east and west.

Two recent metallurgical tests on the Comtois material indicate that gold can be recovered using conventional cyanidation methods, and recovery rates above 95% are anticipated.

Earlier this week, Maude Lake announced that it has acquired a half-interest in 130 claims owned by Cameco (CCO-T) at the 185-claim Comtois gold property. The deal was reached after Maude Lake completed two holes at Colline de l’ouest, 1 km west of Comtois. The work brought the company’s expenditures on the Cameco option to $1.3 million. The holes are part of a 6,000-metre drill program that is expected to last until the end of January.