Aur to complete 20,000 ft program at Louvicourt bet

A new $3-million surface exploration program is under way after a short delay at the massive sulphide discovery, east of Val d’Or, Que., of Aur Resources (TSE) and Societe Miniere Louvem (TSE). “Our objective is to continue to define the deposit down plunge and determine its centre of gravity,” says Aur Vice-President Howard Stockford. “The new program will consist of 20,000 ft. of drilling and some metallurgical test work.”

With three drills operating on the Louvicourt Twp. site, Aur is also planning to probe the copper-zinc- rich deposit along strike to the west in a bid to find out if the “Aur horizon” contains other as yet undiscovered massive sulphide deposits.

So far, the joint venture, which is waging a legal battle for control of the property, has outlined 36 million tons of grade 3.11% copper, 1.34% zinc, 0.55 oz. silver per ton and 0.03 oz. gold in potential reserves. Those reserves are above a vertical depth of 2,700 ft., about 800 ft. south of the old Louvem mine horizon.

Realizing that it has misjudged the plunge direction of the deposit, Aur is essentially attempting to “fill in the gaps” between holes 78G and 69, two of most easterly holes drilled to date.

Targeted to reach a depth of 2,600 to 3,100 ft., 78G ended up below the trend of the deposit, while 69, about 1,000 ft. further north, returned no significant assays.

“We hope to deflect off hole 69 and drill to the east of 78G where we think the zone should be,” says Stockford, who claims it could be several weeks before any meaningful results are available.

Because it has experienced problems with excessive drill hole deviation, Aur is using a seismic triangle method to determine where exactly the holes are located. “The system is accurate within about 50 ft.,” adds Stockford.

For that reason, the company expects to be able to release the next batch of drill results in less time than it took to produce the last ones. “You have to know where the holes are before you can say anything,” says Stockford.