Infill and extension drilling is enabling
The newest drilling centred on the 34 level, about 1,520 metres deep. Much of the work was meant to confirm reserves and resources already estimated from earlier, more widely spaced drill holes.
Confirmation of mineralized blocks in the mine’s HW1 zone included a 5.6-metre intersection that ran 2,864 grams gold per tonne; the same hole cut a 32.7-metre section grading an average of 54.9 grams per tonne in the area of the HW and Main zones.
Most of the intersections in the infill drill holes were 1 to 5 metres long, and grades were typically above 10 grams per tonne. “Bonanza” grades of more than 100 grams were not uncommon.
Testing on structural extensions of the zones updip to the 30 level suggests that the known resource could expand into that area. One hole between the 30 and 32 levels cut 6.7 metres grading 86.7 grams gold per tonne; another cut 4.3 metres of 250.3 grams.
Another exploration hole, downdip from the known mineralization, intersected 54.1 grams gold over 1.7 metres in the HW5 zone, and 81.6 grams over 0.7 metres in the HW zone.
Starting in 1995, exploration drilling below the 30 level encountered a series of stacked, structurally controlled gold veins with grades in the plus-1-oz. range. Goldcorp released a resource estimate of 1.3 million tonnes grading an average 47 grams gold at the end of 1998. Most drilling since that time has concentrated on moving those same resources into the reserve category.
Goldcorp intends to commission a mill in the third quarter of 2000, feeding it with development ore from the 32 and 34 levels. Development work by Goldcorp’s contractor, Dynatec, included driving a ramp between the main levels in the lower part of the mine.
In mid-October, miners (members of the United Steelworkers) rejected a new contract offer, continuing a strike that began in June of 1996. The company and union were returning to talks at presstime.
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