Partners drill Timmins project (October 08, 2003)

The first four holes from a recently doubled 10,000-metre definition-drilling program on Holmer Gold Mines‘s (HGM-V) Timmins gold property, 18 km west of its namesake city, have returned some high-grade intersections.

Results include the following:

• hole 1 22.6 metres (from 541.1 metres below surface) grading 4.5 cut grams gold per tonne, including 2.2 metres (from 541.1 m) running 8.5 grams gold;
• hole 2 3.95 metres (from 365.3 m) averaging 9.7 grams gold and 1.75 metes (from 464.6 m) running 14.1 grams gold;
• hole 3 1.3 metres (from 635.3 m) averaging 10.3 grams, including 11.3 metres (from 692.3 m) of 11.6 grams;
• hole 4 20.4 metres (from 566.3 m) running 7.5 grams, including 2.9 metres (from 566.3 m) of 22.4 grams, and a 6.7-metre interval (beginning at 576.5 m) of 10 grams.

True widths are estimated at 80-90% of the drilled intersection. The holes targeted the Hanging Wall and Ultramafic zones on 25-metre centres. Holmer says the results confirm that the grade and width of the ultramafic zone increases down plunge.

Operator Lake Shore Gold (LSG-V) recently sent two more drill rigs to the property to accelerate drilling designed to expand the gold resource in the Main zone, the Hanging Wall veins 1,2 and 3 and the Footwall and Ultramafic zones.

Meanwhile, a third rig will test new structural targets identified outside the resource area during a recently completed mapping and modeling program. That program outlined a second shear zone about 100-150 metres south of the shear zone hosting the main resource.

Three holes collared on the new zone cut strong alteration and anomalous gold values (less than 1 gram gold). Further drilling is planned to test gold-in-soil anomalies to the west. Surface work has indicated shearing, strong sericitic to albitic alteration and quartz veining with grab samples assaying up to 1 gram gold.

The company is reviewing the results of a recently completed airborne magnetic survey covering the entire property.

Drilling, which includes scout holes aimed at finding potential shallow, open-pit resources, is expected to wrap up by late November.

The Timmins property is home to an indicated resource of 422,000 tonnes grading an uncut 17.78 grams gold per tonne. When high grades are cut to 50 grams, the resource totals 422,000 tonnes running 13.7 grams. Both estimates employ a lower cutoff grade of 6 grams gold.

Lake Shore can earn a half-interest in the property by spending $2.5 million on exploration, paying $250,000 in cash, and issuing 150,000 shares over three years. Lake Shore must also confirm an indicated mineral resource of at least 500,000 ounces of gold.