Bre-X continues drilling Indonesian prospects

Having rebuffed several interested majors, Bre-X Minerals (ASE) intends to continue exploring and advancing several projects in Indonesia.

A key project is the Busang prospect in East Kalimantan province (in Borneo), where the first hole of this year’s program returned gold mineralization from 33 ft. to 99 ft. over a continuous 66-ft. intercept averaging 0.12 oz. gold per ton.

To date, 11 holes of a 15-hole program have been drilled. Results have been released for seven of these shallow holes, all of which tested one of three distinct target areas identified on the property. The scout drilling program is widely spaced and covers an area of 984 ft by 395 ft. within a larger area of favorable geology.

Some of the more significant results from this shallow drilling are: 16 ft. of 0.47 oz.; 85 ft. of 0.38 oz.; and 70 ft. of 0.24 oz.

Hole 2A returned a 20-ft. interval grading 0.23 oz. (from 13-33 ft.) and a 40-ft. interval of 0.22 oz. (from 46-86 ft.). Hole 3 returned a 6.5-ft. interval of 0.08 oz. and a 228-ft. interval of 0.07 oz. (including waste intercepts).

Hole 4 intersected 20 ft. of 0.31 oz., while Hole 4A intersected 66 ft. of 0.12 oz.

Bre-X President David Walsh said the company is well-financed, with a recent $3-million placement allowing it to carry on work at Busang. “We have a few more holes to drill in this phase and then we plan a 5,000-metre definition drill program on our main targets,” he added.

John Felderhof, Bre-X’s general manager, said the goal is to prove up a million-ounce-plus, open-pit-type gold deposit. “We would like to take this project up to feasibility.”

Felderhof noted similarities to the nearby Kelian mine (124 miles southwest of Busang) which is reported to contain 5 million oz, gold. He also said Busang is geologically similar to the maar diatreme deposits at the Acupan gold mine in North Luzon island in the Philippines.

Felderhof has 14 years of experience in Indonesia and its neighboring countries and is a co-discoverer of the OK Tedi mine in Papua New Guinea.