Partners size up East Bay (March 14, 2005)

Equal partners Placer Dome (PDG-T) and Wolfden Resources (WLF-T) have tabled an inferred resource estimate for the Green Altered zone (GAZ) on the East Bay property, near Red Lake, Ont.

The GAZ comprises five mineralized lenses in which are contained 1.4 million tonnes grading 8 grams gold per tonne. The calculation was made using a cutoff grade of 3 grams gold per tonne and a minimum width of 2 metres.

The resource is hosted by at least three sub-vertical, altered and mineralized structures containing quartz-stringer/veinlet-style gold-bearing shoots.

Meanwhile, drilling on the newly delineated Gap, East and Contact zones has returned encouraging results.

At the East zone, hole 50 intersected 3.5 metres (from 95 metres below surface) grading 22.9 grams gold per tonne, including half a metre of 158 grams gold. Hole 133 returned 2 metres of 11.1 grams gold.

Results from the Gap zone are highlighted by hole 99, which yielded 50 metres (from 127 metres) of 2 grams gold, including 8.4 metres of 7 grams gold and 0.85 metre of 54.5 grams. Hole 140, 175 metres to the west, returned 2.3 metres (from 87.7 metres) of 17.7 grams, including 0.4 metre of 101 grams gold.

The Contact zone surrendered 1 metre (from 459 metres) of 8.5 grams gold in hole 119, and 1.1 metre (from 565 metres) of 6.2 grams gold, including 0.4 metre of 12 grams, in hole 119.

Metallurgical tests on a drill-core composite indicated average grades of 6.8 grams gold, 1.2% sulphur and 0.09% arsenic. Wolfden says the sample displayed a significant “nugget effect,” owing to the presence of visible gold.

Overall gold recovery from the composite, using gravity concentration and cyanidation, exceeds 93%. The figure climbs to 95.9% and 97.5% during testing of flotation and cyanidation. Recoveries vary from 5.9% to 75% using gravity separation alone but improve to around 90% when combined with a flotation component. Recovery rates by cyanide leaching exceed 97%.

Farther afield, at the High Lake polymetallic project in Nunavut, Wolfden is preparing to start expanding existing resources and outlining new targets.

High Lake’s indicated resource is pegged at 14.3 million tonnes grading 2.34% copper, 0.32% lead and 3.53% zinc, plus 1.01 grams gold and 75.69 grams silver per tonne, based on a cutoff grade of 2% copper-equivalent.