GLOBAL SEARCH FOR GOLD — Viceroy explores Yukon mine property

With the Brewery Creek gold mine up and running, operator Viceroy Resource (VOY-T) is turning its attention to exploring the potential of the surrounding mine property in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

The Vancouver-based company has already spent $1 million on the 1997 exploration program, which included 33 holes drilled over a total of 2,914 metres. The program also included 2,396 metres of trenching at 29 sites, property-wide geologic and geochemical studies, and an airborne survey. A second phase of drilling, to follow up trenching results, was carried out on the Bohemian zone.

Meanwhile, a third phase of drilling, totalling 4,000 metres, is under way.

The 65-hole program will further test the Bohemian, Moosehead, East Big Rock, West Big Rock and West Grid zones. More drilling is planned for the Classic and South Canadian zones, and for the area east of the Bohemian zone.

Highlights of the summer program were: 24 metres grading 2.54 grams gold per tonne from trenching at the Moosehead zone; 2 metres of 5.72 grams and 4 metres of 1.04 grams from drilling at the Bohemian zone; 13 metres of 2.54 grams and 13 metres of 3.42 grams from trenching in the East Big Rock zone; and 16 metres of 1 gram and 4 metres of 0.86 gram from trenching in the West Big Rock zone.

Brewery Creek is an open-pit, heap-leach operation that contains oxide reserves in several zones. Sulphide resources are known to occur downdip of the oxide deposits. Viceroy has carried out metallurgical testwork on this material. Results indicate that the sulphides may be amenable to bio-oxidation with gold recoveries of about 90%. More metallurgical work is in progress. The next round of exploration at Brewery Creek may include a drill program aimed at outlining sulphide resources.