Important discovery for Lac on Doyon

What is termed “an important discovery” by Lac Minerals’ Peter Allen, yet another new gold zone has been identified on the prolific Doyon property in northwestern Quebec it holds jointly with Cambior Inc.

To be known as the Warrenmac zone, it lies 1.4 km east of the main Doyon shaft or about midway between the open pit mine and Lac’s newer Bousquet No 2 mine where a $60 million capital program is under way and a big 4,230-ft production shaft is going down.

As yet there are only two holes into this new find. Nevertheless they have excited management, The Northern Miner feels from conversation with company officials.

The first hole returned 0.12 oz across a true width of 19 ft while No 2 ran 0.30 oz over a true width of 2l ft. These are at vertical depths of 840 ft and 1,050 ft respectively, with the second intersection 210 ft below and 100 ft west of the first.

In addition to the gold values, assay results from the first hole also returned 6% zinc and 0.7 oz silver, while the second hole ran 2.2% zinc and 1.05 oz silver.

These results are deemed especially encouraging in view of the consistency of the assays.

Immediate plans are to complete a $300,000 Phase 1 drill program using two machines, calling for 11,500 ft in holes on 260 ft centers to partially delineate the deposit along strike and dip.

In addition to the drilling, a down-the-hole geophysics program will be initiated within the next few weeks.

Depending on the results of this program, which should be completed by year-end, a second phase will be undertaken using four drills at a cost of $2 million.

La Mine Doyon, Canada’s largest open pit gold mine, is already producing from its west underground mine as well, with the combination expected to turn out 250,000 ozs this year. And early next year its main underground mine there will be in commercial production.

Then further east are Lac’s two major Bousquet operations which are quite separate. The newer No 2 mine lies near the east common boundary with Dumagami Mines, astride which the latter company has just completed a 3,200 ft shaft and where a 2,000 ton mill is under construction.

All in all, these developments brand this booming Cadillac belt as one of the busiest and most prolific gold fields in this country today.

The shares of Lac Minerals have been very strong in active trading in recent sessions, advancing $2 a share on the tse this week to reach an all-time high of $20. While some analysts were attributing this to speculation over the long-awaited results of its court appeal in connection with the big Page-Williams mine at Hemlo, it is more likely that this new interest stems from this exciting Warrenmac discovery at Doyon. Too, the fact that a group of 39 mining analysts from both Canada and the U.S.A. were visiting the company’s operations this week might well have generated some market impact.