Exploration starts on Mets project

Exploration work has started on the Mets property of Manson Creek Resources and Golden Rule Resources in the Toodoggone area north of Smithers, B.C. Diamond drilling is scheduled to begin once drill sites are prepared, says Glen H. Harper, president of the two companies. A backhoe and diamond drilling rig are currently on the property and the fuel haul is essentially complete, he adds.

This year’s exploration budget of $1.1 million will include backhoe trenching of the main structure hosting the gold-bearing zones and at least 20,000 ft of drilling on the A zone, the North zone, and the Cirque zone. Approximately 141,278 tons of reserves have already been blocked out in the A zone, he notes.

The program is designed to establish a minimum inventory of 500,000 tons of high grade gold mineralization this season. “Once this reserve has been drill-indicated, an underground program of bulk sampling, diamond drilling and exploration drifting will be necessary to provide the necessary engineering data for a feasibility study and production decision,” he states.

Sufficient fuel and equipment have been mobilized to support the exploration effort and he points out the Omineca road extension into the Toodoggone (see separate story on Cheni Gold) will improve exploration logistics and reduce costs in the area.

The joint venture feels it will take until November to establish sufficient drill indicated reserves to justify an underground exploration program in early 1988. He feels the “high grade gold zones outlined to date on the Mets property have the potential to develop a multi- million-ton ore reserve.”