Stepout drilling over the past year on the Crown Jewel property in northeastern Washington state has boosted preliminary estimates of reserves to 8.7 million tons grading 0.19 oz. gold per ton.
The new reserve estimate represents a 60% increase in contained gold from previous estimates. Preliminary estimates following last year’s drilling put reserves at 9.4 million tons grading 0.11 oz. gold.
Battle Mountain Gold (NYSE) can earn a 51% interest in the property from Crown Resources (TSE) by funding all capital and development costs for a minimum 3,000-ton-per-day operation.
The revised figure represents higher-grade results from drilling in the Southwest Extension zone as well as better definition of grade boundaries. Battle Mountain’s reserve estimate uses a cutoff grade of 0.032 oz. gold resulting in a preliminary pit with a strip ratio of about 9-to-1. The estimates use a gold price of US$400 per oz., a waste mining cost of US$1.25 per ton and ore mining cost of US$1.10 per ton. Processing costs based on a 3,000-ton-per-day facility were projected at US$10 per ton. Battle Mountain expects to complete a feasibility study on the project by the end of the first quarter of 1992 at which time a development decision will be made based on economics, permitting, and available financing.
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