Assays keep Bre-X hopeful

Results from a hole drilled on the Busang gold project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, are adding to the enthusiasm of 90% owner Bre-X Minerals (ASE).

Hole BSSE-78, drilled on fenceline SEZ-54 in the Southeast zone, confirms that the deposit is 400 metres wide and continuous over a 250-metre strike length between SEZ-49 and SEZ-54.

The hole assayed 2.45 grams gold per tonne over 319 metres, starting at a downhole depth of 14 metres. This intersection included an intercept of 3.1 grams over 192 metres. A deeper intersection, beginning at a down-hole depth of 367 metres, averaged 1.79 grams over 32 metres.

Meanwhile, on the nearby island of North Sulawesi, Bre-X continues to drill the Red Hill prospect. The copper-gold deposit is the prime target on the Sangihe project, ownership of which is split 60-30 between Bre-X and Bresea Resources (ME). Bresea, in turn, owns 24% of Bre-X.

The 8-hole, 2,000-metre scout drilling program, already half-completed, is expected to wind down by March 1996. It will be followed by vertical drill-testing of what is believed to be a core of high-grade copper-gold mineralization.