Cumberland tables $3.9 million for Meadowbank

Vancouver – With the latest drilling program increasing the gold resources at the Meadowbank property, Cumberland Resources (CBD-T) has decided to accelerate exploration activities over its wholly-owned project some 70 km north of Baker Lake in Nunavut.

The property hosts five deposits containing a measured and indicated resource of 7.8 million tonnes grading 5.79 grams gold per tonne, plus an inferred resource of 10.9 million tonnes averaging 4.44 grams gold.

Results from the newly completed $2.5 million program boosted the resources in two of the deposits and prompted the company to increase the budget for the next round of work from $2 million, to $ 3.9 million.

The expanded program is aimed at increasing reserves ahead of a feasibility study slated to begin later in the year. The new program will include 6,000 metres of resource definition drilling focussing on the North Portage and Vault deposits, where shallow open pit resources are outlined.

Another 2,000 metres of drilling will test new targets generated from previous overburden drilling. The company has five new target areas containing 200-to-3,000 parts per billion gold in bedrock between the North Portage and Vault gold deposits.

Cumberland also plans on ramping up its environmental studies. To this end, the junior plans on collecting the baseline data required for a project description report and initiate the mine regulatory review process. The program will include aquatic, terrestrial, engineering and social-economic components. Geotechnical engineering will focus on data collection for open pit designs at Vault and North Portage deposits.

Earlier economic studies on the project, envisioned a production rate of 246,000 oz. gold per year at a total cash cost of $US 168 per oz with initial capital cost set at $US123.5 million. The mine life comes in at 8.3 years and calls for a payback in 4.9 years with 85 % of the production derived from open pits and an average gold price of US$300 per oz.

Metallurgical studies aimed at optimizing gold recoveries and improve operating projections are continuing.Last year, initial metallurgical test work on the Vault deposit showed a 92% recovery rate. The Vault deposit hosts an inferred resource of 7.47 million tonnes grading 3.9 grams gold per tonne.