Drilling at the north end of the preliminary pit design on the North Portage open pit deposit has cut higher gold grades, and improved overall confidence in the gold resource, reports Cumberland Resources (CBD-T).
The final 14 definition and expansion drill holes from the 2002 drilling program at North Portage returned similar grades to previous drilling, plus some higher-grade holes at the extreme north end of the preliminary pit design.
Better results include:
- Hole 431 – 1.35 metres grading 20.25 grams gold per tonne;
- Hole 433 – 2.1 metres of 39.53 grams gold;
- Hole 427 – 2 metres of 12.73 grams gold.
Cumberland says the new holes may lead to an extension of the pit design to the north.
On the metallurgical front, Cumberland says ongoing studies at Meadowbank compare favourably with previous test work, which indicated 92.4% recoveries for both North/Third Portage and Goose Island deposits and 82% for the Vault deposit. The latest work returned 95.7% recoveries for North/Third Portage and 92.5% for Goose Island and 92.3% for the Vault deposit.
The wholly owned Meadowbank project lies about 70 km north of Baker Lake, Nunavut.
A feasibility study began in October 2002.
Meanwhile, geotechnical engineering studies by Golder Associates at the Vault deposit indicate that the deposit’s rocks are expected to be able to support steep pit slope angles to allow maximum extraction of gold-bearing rocks.
At last count, Meadowbank’s measured and indicated resources stood at 7.8 million tonnes grading 5.79 grams gold. Another 11 million tonnes running 4.44 grams are classified as inferred. A new resource estimate at Meadowbank is planned for the first quarter of 2003.
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