Minnova moves three drills on to Benoit property

A third drill rig has been added to the Benoit gold project in the Quevillon area northeast of Rouyn, Que., where Freewest Resources (TSE) made a significant gold discovery last winter.

Two of the rigs are testing potential strike and depth extensions of the main gold zone, while the third drill probes geophysical anomalies on the rest of the 365-claim package.

Under an agreement-in-principle with Freewest, Minnova (TSE) will complete a 20,000-ft. program on the property this year. About 75% of the program will focus on the main zone, where preliminary reserves stand at 550,000 tons grading 0.22 oz. gold per ton.

Minnova’s manager of exploration for eastern Canada, Gerald Riverin, says the holes will extend to a maximum depth of about 1,300 ft. He believes the main zone plunges steeply to the west.

The drilling, which relies on the thick ice covering Lac Pusticamica, will have to be completed by early spring. Most of Freewest’s ground is covered by the shallow lake.

Riverin says both the nature of the discovery zone and its proximity to the company’s Lac Shortt mine attracted Minnova to the Benoit site. The Lac Shortt mill, two townships northeast of Benoit Twp., is expected to process its last batch of ore in March.

“When I look at the core and the mineralization, I see the potential for a large-tonnage deposit,” says Riverin. He says the gold is not restricted to quartz veins but is associated with disseminated sulphides in an environment similar to Quebec’s Doyon and Bousquet mining camps.

Freewest announced the gold discovery, including intersections of 53.3 ft. grading 0.18 oz. gold and 19.7 ft. grading 0.23 oz., in February last year. Follow-up holes returned values of up to 0.15 oz. over 162.5 ft. in silicified volcanic tuffs.

“(Benoit) is by far Minnova’s most advanced program within trucking distance of the Lac Shortt deposit,” said Riverin. Since Minnova slashed its eastern exploration budget to $3.6 million from $5.9 million in 1991, Riverin has had to sacrifice some of his other projects in northwestern Quebec. In order to earn a 51% interest in the property, Minnova must spend $4 million over four years and make cash payments totalling $400,000 within five years.

A claim dispute launched after the discovery by Forbex Mining Resources (ME) remains unresolved. The dispute covers 54 claims outside the discovery area. To the immediate west, partners Orient Resources (ME) and Commonwealth Gold (VSE) say they will complete 5,000 ft. of drilling.