New group set to raise $1 m for Baslen exploration plan

A group of businessmen gathered in a downtown Toronto hotel room recently to discuss the future prospects for junior exploration company International Baslen Enterprises (ASE). The informal meeting was attended by some of Baslen’s new directors, President Edward Willis, consulting geologist George Cargill and Texas broker Ron Rappaport.

Rappaport and two partners are representing a group of U.S. shareholders some of whom bought the Baslen stock when it was trading at over $2. There are currently 8.5 million shares outstanding.

Thanks to publicity over the alleged restaking of claims surrounding Hemlo Gold’s (TSE) Golden Giant mine at Hemlo, Ont., the stock ran up to $2.45 two years ago.

Stating that the claims on which Hemlo was mining hadn’t been staked properly, promoter Charles Stuart promised to take Hemlo to court. If he won, he promised to sell claims to Baslen.

But those promises never materialized and the lack of any significant developments regarding Baslen or its properties has taken the wind out of the stock. It has since dropped to 24 cents.

During a short slide presentation, Rappaport said he hopes a recently elected board, together with a renewed exploration effort on the company’s Bourlamaque Twp. property, east of Val d’Or, Que., will revive Baslen’s fortunes. A couple of holding companies, which Willis believes are controlled by Toronto-based Corona (TSE), hold a 20% net profits interest in the property.

“Our ultimate objective is to run the company as a business,” said director Scott Crawford, who operates a real estate development outfit from Whitby, Ont. To finance exploration on Baslen’s 2,822-acre Laduboro property in Bourlamaque Twp., Crawford will attempt to raise $1 million through a private placement in Europe. According to Cargill, the property contains three shallow zones hosting roughly 75,000 tons of preliminary reserves grading 0.15- 0.25 oz. gold per ton. One of those zones (the Harricana) is accessible by a 760-ft. shaft.

Future exploration is expected to focus on the Bourlamaque Batholith, a granitic formation which has given rise to other gold mines in the region including the Sigma and Lamaque.

While the Batholith runs though the centre of the Laduboro property, Cargill said the potential for new discoveries may lie in an untested area north of the geological structure. “An obvious first step would be surface geophysical surveys to pinpoint drill targets,” he said. If exploration proves successful, Crawford said his company may attempt to attract the interest of a major.