Exploration ’88 AGNICO-EAGLE

Agnico-Eagle Mines has set a $9.6 million exploration budget for 1988. The bulk of the money, about $8.3 million, will be spent on surface and underground exploration for silver in the Cobalt/New Liskeard area of northern Ontario. Last year, the company spent half that amount looking for silver and $1.2 million in the search for gold. The search for gold will focus on three properties, all of which are in northwestern Quebec. Diamond drilling on an 803-claim block in the Casa Berardi area will cost about $800,000. Agnico-Eagle’s portion of this joint venture play with Cominco will amount to $384,000.

At the Valrennes Twp. property, near the producing Agnico-Eagle mine, the company will spend about $400,000 to extend along strike and to depth a previously outlined gold- bearing zone.

In a second play with Cominco, this one in the Macho River area about 50 miles east of Lebel Sur-Quevillon, Que., five target areas merit work, the company says. At a cost of about $300,000, geophysical surveys and a diamond drilling program will be carried out.

The company’s silver division will spearhead five exploration projects. At the Temiskaming mine, exploration has delineated a silver zone at the north end of the property. After 2,800 ft of crosscuts, drifts and raises are completed, diamond drilling will radiate out in search of new veins.

At the Langis mine, near New Liskeard, underground drilling will continue to ferret out new veins to the east and south of the current ore zone around the No 3 shaft. The new Penna shaft, 5,000 ft east of No 3, is to be sunk to the 1,150-ft horizon. This will give access not only to the silver zone that strikes eastward from the current mine area at depths below the 425-ft No 3 shaft, but also to areas inaccessible from current underground workings.

At the Castle mine, exploration will focus on the adjacent leased property of more than 2,500 acres. The former Coleroy shaft will be pumped out early in 1988, and a second shaft near known silver mineralization will be equipped with a headframe and hoist facilities. Exploration drifting, raising and drilling will begin before October of this year.

In addition, Agnico and Silver Century Explorations will drive a 4,000-ft decline to explore three silver zones below Peterson Lake. And finally, the Silver Centre area, about 18 miles south of Cobalt, will be subjected to an intensive search during the 1988 summer season. Agnico holds mineral rights to more than 1,741 acres in the Silver Centre area.

Agnico-Eagle affiliate Dumagami Mines will spend $700,000 to further define the orebody at its mine in the Bousquet and Cadillac Twps. of Quebec. The mine should be producing at the rate of 1,500 tons per day by July of this year. The company will also spend another $200,000 on additional targets in subparallel horizons adjacent to the deposit and $500,000 on surface exploration to the east of the mine. The 1988 program will include re-evaluation of previous work, surface geophysics and geology, as well as about 10,000 m of surface diamond drilling.

Another affiliate, Goldex Mines, will spend about $3.9 million on exploration. This expenditure will complete the $15.5 million spent underground since 1985 to explore and evaluate the auriferous Main zone at the Dubuisson Twp. mine.

The 1988 budget will cover an additional 3,300 ft of raising and lateral development, 36,500 ft of underground diamond drilling and the excavation of a 20,000-ton bulk sample from the 1,100-ft and 1,250-ft horizons. A new level will be established at 800 ft. The mine’s West zone will also be tested by lateral development and diamond drilling.