Infill drilling on a recently discovered small but very high-grade oreshoot at the Lawyers property has prompted Cheni Gold Mines (TSE) to proceed with mining the zone in the fourth quarter.
The Lawyers mine, in north-central British Columbia, ran into difficulties in 1990 when the company downsized reserves, finally being forced to suspend operations in July due to a lack of ore.
The company estimates reserves in the new zone at 3,245 tons grading 1.69 oz. gold and 101.7 oz. silver per ton after cutting high-grade assays to 9.25 oz. gold and 500 oz. silver.
The mineralized structure outcrops over a strike length of about 82 ft., extends to a depth of about 115 ft. and will be mined over a width of about 4 ft.
Cheni plans to drive a 300-ft.-long decline to allow shrinkage mining of the zone. Estimates for development and operating costs have not been released although Robert McMorran, controller, did say the company has made arrangements to finance the work.
Preliminary metallurgical tests show that at least 95% of the gold and 90% of the silver can be recovered in jig and flotation concentrates. The gold and silver values are contained in native silver, argenite and electrum. Cheni plans to conduct further trenching and surface work in the spring to test similar silicified structures.
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