$5.5 million alloted for Golden Bear

About $5.5 million will be spent on a 3-phase program to explore the Golden Bear property in northwestern British Columbia.

The property is owned by North American Metals (VSE) which, in turn, is 81% owned by Wheaton Minerals (TSE).

Construction of a $3.1-million ramp on the Grizzly zone has started and should take seven months to complete. The ramp is roughly 1,300 ft. below the current mine workings. Drilling in the area last year intersected a 50.8-ft. section, representing a true width of 25 ft., averaging 0.42 oz. gold per ton. On the Kodiak zone, two drill rigs will soon start a 6-month program which is expected to cost $1.4 million. Initial drilling will concentrate on a geophysical anomaly 2,300 ft. north of the previous drilling, which intersected 0.22 oz. over 110 ft. The anomaly is thought to represent the extension of the structure that hosts the Kodiak zone.

After drilling to the north is completed, drilling will be done at depth and to the south of the zone. A bulk sample will test the amenability of the mineralization to vat or heap leaching.

Another $930,000 will be spent exploring other targets on the 88,000-acre property, including Bandit, a 984-ft.-long shear zone with surface samples grading up to 0.50 oz.

To finance these programs, North American has completed a flow-through issue that will net the company $400,000. North American has also repaid all interest and capital from a $1-million loan borrowed from Repadre Capital(VSE). As a result, Repadre’s royalty rate has dropped to 2% from 7.5%.