Open pit expansion considered — High gold values in

Results from initial bulk sampling of the Siwash North gold deposit in southern British Columbia has property owner Fairfield Minerals (TSE) considering an expansion of its open pit program to 5,000 tons before making an underground exploration decision.

The company said assays from a recent 300-ton bulk sample averaged 3.8 oz. gold and 2.9 oz. silver per ton, based on weighted assays from 20 contiguous blocks extracted along a strike length of 140 ft. by 35 ft. downdip. These results — and the improved prospects for a small, but profitable mining operation — provided a nice boost to the company’s share price, which recently reached a high of $1.50 from a year low of 71 cents. The Siwash North deposit on Fairfield’s 100% owned Elk property near Merritt, B.C., features a high-grade, but narrow vein that was mined at an average width of only 1.7 ft. during the recent open pit bulk sampling program. But Fairfield points out that the initial minability has been “excellent,” with much less dilution than expected. The open pit is on the surface exposure of the “Mother Shoot” which has drill-indicated dimensions of 350×1,000 ft. downdip, and represents only a portion of the total vein system. The Mother Shoot is the most prominent of a number of gold-rich shoots identified on the Siwash North zone which contains total preliminary reserves of 340,000 tons grading 0.64 oz. gold and 0.72 oz. silver per ton. This estimate is based on a cutoff grade of 0.29 oz. gold over a true width of 6.6 ft., below which mining is viewed as uneconomic unless gold prices move upward.

Gold mineralization at Siwash North is hosted by quartz veins and silicified granite containing pyrite, minor chalcopyrite, galena and tetrahedrite. The gold is largely in the free state, and abundant visible gold was noted throughout the recent mining and sampling process which suggests a substantial portion of the gold could be recovered by gravity separation. Fairfield President John Stollery — a well-known mining engineer credited with several discoveries in Western Canada — said the company is already involved in discussions concerning possible sales of ore that could be custom-milled. The Elk property is easily accessible by road, and is within trucking distance of several plants in southern British Columbia. The company believes the limited size of its open pit operation would create little surface disturbance. And it intends to apply revenue from the open pit production toward the underground exploration program which would be aimed at establishing grade, continuity, mining techniques and ground conditions. Fairfield notes that good continuity of the vein and grade has already been demonstrated within the pit.