Queenston eyes Duquesne West

Queenston Mining (QMI-T) is sending a geological field crew to the Duquesne West gold property near Rouyn-Noranda, Que., having recently acquired the right to earn a 60% interest.

To earn its interest, Queenston must spend $8 million on exploration, pay $750,000 and issue 1 million treasury shares to a private company over four years. An additional 10% can be acquired from Globex Mining Enterprises (GMX-T) by completing a bankable feasibility study, which, upon delivery, would leave that company with a 40% stake in the project.

The 1,000-hectare property straddles the Destor-Porcupine fault, along which over 62 million oz. has been produced. A series of shears and splay structures that branch off the regional structure are known to occur on the property.

In 2002, Kinross Gold (K-T), which has since walked away from the project, drilled into two new discoveries. At the Liz zone, two holes spaced 100 metres apart returned 6.9 grams gold per tonne over 11.1 metres (starting at 310.4 metres) and 5.5 grams over 11.4 metres (starting at 440.6 metres), respectively.

Hole DQ2-9, collared in the Nip prospect, returned 3.5 metres running 9.9 grams. The mineralized interval occurs at the contact of an altered mafic flow unit and a quartz-feldspar porphyry.

Kinross also tabled a resource for four previously known zones, pegging them with a combined 664,661 tonnes averaging 11.4 grams. The estimate, classified as inferred, is based on a cutoff grade of 5 grams, which, when reduced to 1 gram, increases the resource’s volume to 1.07 million tonnes but reduces its grade to 8.9 grams.

Drilling is scheduled to begin in early October. Holes will initially be collared in the Liz and Nip areas.