Exploration on Leipsigate bet to be squekly clean, Coxheath

Geologist Michael Riddell says his tse-listed company, Coxheath Gold Holdings of Halifax, is going to tread very softly exploring a gold property in Nova Scotia, near the town of Bridgewater.

Located in the watershed area which supplies this small Atlantic coastal community with its drinking water, the Leipsigate property is also one of the company’s prime gold exploration targets in the province. Reserves on the property are estimated at 680,000 tons grading 0.40 oz gold per ton.

This year Coxheath plans to spend $345,000 dewatering an old 300-ft, 3-compa rtment shaft on the property to resample and evaluate known gold zones from the more than 1,000 ft of underground workings. They were driven in 1947-48 by previous owners.

Some 12,936 oz of gold were recovered from the property prior to 1908 from 37,915 tons of ore, Mr Riddell says. The shaft, one of eight on the 123-claim property, was partially rehabilitated in 1985.

“To develop this property to the satisfaction of the town, we will be taking every precaution — sometimes very expensive ones — to ensure we do not alter the quality of the water supply,” Mr Riddell told The Northern Miner at an information meeting in Toronto last week. The meeting was well attended by about 70 mine analysts and stock brokers.

Closed circuit waste control systems can be used on exploration drill rigs, for example, to contain drilling sludge. And non-contaminating drillling fluid lubricants can be used instead of normal rod grease.

Coxheath is also planning to extend two separated exploration programs on its Tangier and Beaverdam gold properties in Halifax Cty.

At Tangier exploration work is taking place underground from a 3,000-ft decline. Probable and possible reserves currently stand at 1.9 million tons averaging 0.276 oz of which 540,000 tons grades 0.305 oz.

The next phase involves driving the ramp an additional 600 m to establish a second level. An 8,000- ton bulk sample will be taken from each of three main zones. This potential ore will be treated on surface in a small, modular gravity and flotation mill.

When this work is completed and results evaluated, a production decision will be made — likely in January, 1988, The Northern Miner gathers. Arrangements are well underway to raise the $5-7 million required to complete the exploration program.

On the Beaverdam property Coxheath plans to spend $400,000 drilling from surface to further define the extent of a high grade zone discovered last year when a hole intersected 29 ft of mineralization grading 0.49 oz.

This intersection was located 1,200 ft west of the property boundary with Seabright Resources Inc.’s Beaverdam mine where reserves stand at 2.9 million tons grading 0.27 oz.

Coxheath has about 6,000 shareholders and the company has raised a total of $6.2 million in the past 20 months, all through private placements.

“We have yet to do a public offering and it is unlikely we ever will,” Mr Riddell says.

Coxheath has 6,543,207 shares outstanding, trading in Toronto this week at about $1.25.