Acadia anticipating major exploration program in N.S.

Toronto-listed Acadia Mineral Ventures has $5.4 million in flow- through money “locked in” to finance some major exploration work in Nova Scotia over the next 12 months.

Commitments have been received from three investment houses in Toronto, President Donald E. Smith told shareholders at a special meeting in Toronto last week.

Initial work so far on the Mooseland property, in Maguma Group terrain of Halifax Cty., indicates several significant zones of gold mineralization “worthy of a very large drilling expenditure,” according to Mr Smith. About 10 widely spaced holes have been put down on the property so far but assay results have been held up because of the amount of drilling activity going on in the country at this time of year.

In March when Seabright Resources Inc. starts performing assays in-house at the company’s Gays River mill, the backlog of work at assay offices in Saint John, N.B., should clear. “Then we expect a turn-around time of 3-4 days,” Mr Smith says.

Acadia has two drills on the Mooseland property and two drills on its Renfrew property. The first 10 holes were drilled to confirm previously reported gold zones. “Now the real drilling starts,” Mr Smith says, referring to the in-fill program about to get under way.

Should the flow-through financing vehicle not be available to the company in 1988, indications are financial backing could come from Ian McIvity’s Gold Fund, a TSE- listed precious metals fund in Toronto, according to Acadian director Samuel Reed. This vehicle would be sufficient to finance underground exploration should the work be justified.

The company has changed its Nova Scotia charter to a federal charter.