Major underground effort set by Placer at Seabee $4.2 million

A $4.2-million underground exploration program at the Seabee gold project has been given the go ahead by Placer Development. Held under option from Claude Resources, the Seabee property is located 78 miles northeast of La Ronge, Sask. Placer calculates reserves of 2.1 million tons grading 0.185 oz gold per ton to a depth of 700 ft. Included in this reserve is a higher grading core of 813,670 tons grading 0.364 oz g. Reserves are based on a minimum zone width of 4 ft.

The underground program, Placer says, is designed to confirm grade and continuity of the mineralized zone. This will be done via a 3,300-ft decline ramp, lateral development, drilling and bulk sampling. Since optioning the property from Claude in 1985, Placer has spent more than $2 million on surface drilling in 72 holes. The company has the right to earn a 55% interest in the property by spending $2.5 million on exploration and bringing the property to production. A feasibility study must be completed before July, 1988.

For Claude Resources, a junior company with a major land position in the La Ronge mining camp, the Placer decision was only a matter of time. “The Saskatchewan gold play is a very real thing for us,” Peter Gummer, vice-president exploration at Claude Resources tells The Northern Miner.

During a visit to the property by The Northern Miner last September. Mr Gummer, noted that Placer had completed applications for construction of a winter road. Located on the shores of Laonil Lake, the Seabee property is more than 35 miles from the nearest road. As a result, the transportation of heavy equipment for underground work must be done during the winter across frozen lakes. Poor ice conditions, according to Mr Gummer, have delayed road construction. However, cold weather in recent weeks at La Ronge should alleviate the problem.

A majority of the reserves are hosted in the V2 zone, a major shear structure drilled to a depth of 1,000 ft. At least three other sub- parallel shears hosting gold mineralization have been outlined on the Seabee property.