Inco goes for gold

As northwestern Quebec was blanketed in more snow, Inco Gold could well have re-named its first mine “Frozen Pond” instead of Golden Pond.

With a stockpile of 40,000 tons of ore waiting on surface, Inco will soon pour the first bar from the operation.

Situated 100 km, north of La Sarre, Que., the project is the first of the Casa Berardi gold plays with sufficient reserves to sustain a mining operation. It is also an important part of Inco’s plan to produce 115,000 oz. from at least three gold mines by 1991.

Spurred by improved U.S. trade deficit figures and a growing belief that the U.S. dollar has bottomed out, markets have regained a degree of confidence, albeit on minuscule volume.

The recent rally helped push the composite index on the Toronto Stock Exchange to 3,130.62 points — that’s up by 81.17 points for the week. Gold bullion also showed considerable support at US$440 per oz. The gold and silver index was better, gaining 30.82 points to close at 6,213.96.

Life in the North American goldfish bowl is becoming much more crowded for publicly traded companies with reserves and production potential. Indeed, the predatory fish themselves are being pursued, including U.S. gold mining giant Homestake Mining.

No sooner had Homestake announced a $4-per-share offer for Vancouver-based North American Metals than it too the object of a takeover attempt. The partnership of corporate raider T. Boone Pickens made a cash offer for the major worth about US$1.9 billion, or US$20 per share.

A 1,040-ft intersection at Newmont Gold’s Post deposit, near Elko, Nev., is a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records. At 0.495 oz. per ton, including 470 ft. grading 0.93 oz., it is the richest assay ever recorded over such a long intersection.

But the astonishing drill hole comes as no surprise to the man who mapped the 45-mile region known as the Carlin trend. Back in 1954, Ralph Roberts was working as a geologist with the United States Geological Survey. At that time, the Carlin trend, which now hosts some 27 million oz. gold, was known more for its antimony mines.

Roberts believed disseminated gold deposits exist in certain geologic terrains, with Carlin meeting all the necessary criteria. Published in 1960, his 6-page report Alignment of Mineral Districts in North-Central Nevada, has served as a reference for Newmont and American Barrick, among other mining companies active in the region.

A wholly owned subsidiary of federal Crown corporation Eldorado Nuclear has received environmental approval to go ahead with a 3-pronged mine development plan in northern Saskatchewan.

Estimated to cost in the order of $1 billion between 1992 and 2012, the project gives Eldorado Resources a firm hold on uranium production well into the next century.

The mine is expected to create $1.3 billion in royalties for Saskatchewan and $1 billion in federal taxes. The largest of the deposits, known as Eagle Creek, contains 3.7 million tons grading 1.8% U3O8.