LAC continues to work adjacent Queenston ground

Queenston Mining’s (TSE) Kirkland Lake West ground adjacent to the Macassa mine, a target of underground exploration through an agreement with LAC Minerals (TSE), has not yielded economic gold mineralization yet. However, LAC is still drifting on to the ground because past production history in this mining camp has rewarded persistence. LAC’s Macassa miners, for example, once drifted along the known gold- bearing structure for better than 1,000 ft. without hitting ore.

Past experience aside, LAC’s motivation comes from something more tangible — a tempting sniff of uneconomic gold.

“We found a hangingwall vein on the 5875 level,” LAC’s chief area geologist George Nemcsok told The Northern Miner on a recent visit. “There’s nothing economic to date, but there’s no way of predicting when and where we will hit ore.”

LAC will drift on an upper level (the 4750 level) in hopes of encountering the hangingwall vein again. At that upper level, it can also probe downdip with diamond drills. These offspring veins, discovered in the Macassa workings adjoining the Kirkland Lake West ground to the east, are hook-like splays off the 04 Break. Macassa has been mining the 04 Break for years and fairly recently began to tap the hangingwall veins for ore-grade material.

From Macassa’s workings, drifts have been driven as far as 1,100 ft. on to the Kirkland Lake West ground. The drifts, on the 5875, 6450 and 7050 levels, have not hit traditional 04 Break gold mineralization, even though Macassa’s geologists are convinced they are following the 04 structure.

Following the 04 into Kirkland Lake West isn’t as straightforward as it might sound. A major cross fault, called the Amikougami Fault, has displaced the 04 Break roughly 460 ft. to the south. Vertical displacement has also been noted, but the extent remains a mystery.

While Nemcsok places high priority on locating the hangingwall veins off the 04 Break, he has not thrown in the towel on the hunt for ore along the 04 itself.

“At the 5700 and 5800 levels of Macassa, we sometimes drifted through 1,200 to 1,500 ft. of nothing,” he said. He feels that experience justifies persistence on Queenston’s property. On Queenston ground, LAC is also testing for the 05 Break, a structure discovered from the Macassa workings that runs parallel to the 04 Break, but about 1,300 ft. to the north.

After completing a total 5,000 ft. of underground development (mostly drifting) and 15,000 ft. of underground diamond drilling on the Queenston property, LAC will have earned a 65% stake in the profits from the first 400,000 oz. produced from Kirkland Lake West. Queenston will be entitled to 35%. Once the 400,000-oz. benchmark is surpassed, the partners share profits 50/50.

LAC must foot all exploration and development costs.