DRC extends Afton at depth

Vancouver — Deeper drilling by DRC Resources (DRC-V) is attempting to boost tonnage at the past-producing Afton copper-gold mine, near Kamloops, B.C.

Hole 42, drilled as part of an ongoing $2-million program, intersected 1.53% copper and 1.09 grams gold per tonne over 204 metres at a down-hole depth of 550 metres. Included in this interval was a high-grade section running 1.88% copper and 1.37 grams gold over 66 metres.

The latest results show a marked increase in width from 100 to 400 metres below surface. So far, with mineralization open along strike and at depth, the junior has defined the zone over a 488-by-76-metre area.

At last count, the property hosts an indicated mineral resource of 23 million tonnes grading 2% copper and 1.4 grams gold per tonne. Preliminary tests, using standard flotation, show recovery rates of 89% for copper and 90% for gold.

DRC can acquire the 6-sq.-km property from Westridge Enterprises and Indo-Gold Development by issuing 2 million shares over six years and spending $6.5 million on exploration over nine years. The company is also required to bring the property into production within 10 years.

The mine entered production in 1978 and cranked out 450,000 oz. gold and 45 million tonnes copper before being closed by Afton Mines, a subsidiary of Teck Cominco (TEK-T), in May 1997. The remaining resource was estimated to be 9.5 million tonnes averaging 1.52% copper and 0.9 gram gold.

DRC continues to drill along strike and at depth.