Timmins-Area gold resources grow — Geophysical results keep St Andrew hopeful at Hislop

Exploration crews are out in force along the Destor-Porcupine Break, near Timmins, Ont., pleasing the blackflies and the gold bugs in equal measure.

* Pentland Firth Ventures (PFO-T) has a new resource estimate for its Schumacher III property in Hoyle Twp., about 15 km east of the Timmins city centre. The new resource of 673,000 tonnes grading 2.9 grams gold per tonne (742,000 tons at 0.08 oz. per ton) takes in a block measuring 150 metres along strike, 200 metres deep, and 100 to 200 metres wide.

It includes three sets of flat veins that form saddle or arch-like structures dipping 30 to the east. All the structures are open at the property’s eastern boundary; across the line, on the Vogel property of Black Hawk Mining (BHK-T), the gold resource from the same structures stands at 1.6 million tonnes grading 8.2 grams per tonne (1.8 million tons at 0.24 oz. per ton).

* Kinross Gold (K-T) has completed a $1-Million drill program on Vogel and is developing a production plan, partly funded by Thunderwood Resources (THS-T).

When Kinross completes the earn-in work, Black Hawk will have a 50% interest, Kinross 32.5% and Thunderwood 17.5%.

Southeast of town, Vedron Gold (VDGI-C) has received results from another eight holes drilled on its Fuller property, which tested a series of known mineralized structures between 200 and 470 metres deep.

The Fuller deposit’s Contact zone provided the highest grades, including a 7.6-Metre intersection grading 11.3 grams gold and a 5.7-Metre intersection grading 14.3 grams.

* About 14 km southeast of Matheson, St Andrew Goldfields (SAS-T) has drilled a new gold zone near the western boundary of its property in eastern Hislop Twp. Two drill holes tested a resistivity anomaly outlined in an earlier induced-polarization (IP) survey, cutting gold grades of 2.8 to 3.4 grams (0.08 to 0.1 oz.) over core lengths of 1.5 to 4.5 metres.

Northwest of the Hislop mine (which St Andrew operated throughout 1994), two more drill holes have extended known zones of mineralization to the northern boundary of St Andrew’s land package. Three northwest-striking structures were outlined by Hiskerr Gold Mines in the 1940s, and the two new drill holes suggest that mineralization may continue on to the property to the north, held by Battle Mountain Canada (BMC-T).

One hole intersected a 9.8-Metre core length grading 3.9 grams gold (0.11 oz.

per ton). The other intersected two zones — one with a gold concentration of 4.9 grams (0.14 oz.) over 2.2 metres; the other with 5.4 grams (0.16 oz.) over 2.3 metres.

St Andrew has received excellent results from a real-section IP survey on the Hislop property, finding significant gold mineralization in 10 of the 11 holes it drilled to test anomalies outlined in the survey. Twenty additional IP anomalies are known to exist on the property.

St Andrew has contracted five diamond drill rigs, one of which will be mobilized to the Hislop property in July. The other five drills are all west of Matheson; one will be drilling from the 330-Metre level at the Stock Twp.

mine, and the remainder are at the Taylor Twp. property, where St Andrew is testing structural extensions of mineralization from the Taylor mine.

St Andrew has also consolidated its shares, trading one new share for five old.

.SUnited Tex-Sol

* United Tex-Sol Mines (UTX.A-A) has announced new resource estimates for the Clavos deposit, in Stock and German twps., west of the St Andrew operation.

In total, 342 holes have been drilled at 30-Metre centres, blocking out the resource to an average depth of 250 metres.

Four mineralized zones exist at Clavos; the D-HW and D-FW zones carry most of the resource, while smaller tonnages are present in the Sediment and Contact zones. Tex-Sol’s four resource calculations range from 6.1 million tonnes grading 5.2 grams gold at a cutoff grade of 2.7 grams, down to 1.1 million tonnes grading 10 grams at a 7-gram cutoff.

Both the D-HW and D-FW zones have a strike length of 1,680 metres and are open along strike and below 250 metres. The Contact zone, 1,200 metres long, is also open along strike and at depth. The 320-Metre Sediment zone is believed to have been defined.

* Two holes drilled by Sparton Resources (SPTN-C) in Tisdale Twp. have confirmed drill results obtained in 1982 by Canico, the exploration subsidiary of Inco (N-T). The two holes cut gold mineralization with grades of 4.4 to 8.4 grams over core lengths of 2.5 to 4.6 metres. Four other holes have been drilled to test possible extensions of the mineralization to depth, and assay results are expected shortly.

* West of Timmins, drilling continues at the Bristol Twp. property of Holmer Gold Mines (HGM-T). Two recent holes tested down-plunge from known mineralization drilled in 1996, going through wide zones of gold mineralization.

Hole 97-35, about 100 metres down-plunge from the 1996 intersection, cut 11.7 metres of disseminated sulphides grading 3.2 grams gold (0.1 oz. per ton).

Another 150 metres down-plunge, hole 97-41 intersected a 4.9-Metre core length grading 10.8 grams (0.32 oz.), at a vertical depth of 570 metres.

The mineralization has also been exposed at surface on its up-plunge extension, where channel sampling is under way.

* Battle Mountain has released drill results from the Thunder Creek property, immediately south of the Holmer ground, where it is earning a 60% interest from Band-Ore Resources (BAN-T). In the current program, Battle Mountain is testing geophysical anomalies around a porphyry body.

Two drill holes encountered gold mineralization — one cutting 1.6 metres grading 1.7 grams (0.05 oz.), and another intersecting a 1-Metre length grading 5.9 grams (0.17 oz.). More drilling is planned on the Thunder Creek land package, immediately west of Band-Ore’s Thorne property.

Band-Ore has engaged geological consultant Joseph Spiteri to prepare a resource estimate for the Golden River zone on the Thorne property.