Queries: Flin Flon now among assets of Saskatchewan-based Vista

Have you any updated information on Flin Flon Mines since it went into receivership last year.? J.C., East Rutherford, N.J.

As you know, operations at the gold mine and mill complex of Flin Flon Mines near Creighton, Sask. were suspended just three months after commissioning in the fall of 1984. At the time Flin Flon’s President Charles A. L. Hogg cited a poor mill recovery rate of less than 60% as the main cause of the shutdown.

The complex was put on sale by receiver/manager Peat Marwick in the spring of 1985. It was recently bought by Stay Sales, a Calgary- based company involved primarily in mine and plant liquidation, dismantling and construction. Stay, in turn, has sold the complex to Vista Mines an affiliate of Saskatchewan- based Vista International Petroleums, which trades on the Alberta Stock Exchange under the symbol VSI.A. Lately, it has been trading around the 62 cents level.

Nathan G. Hollick, chief operating officer of Vista Mines, tells The Northern Miner the company holds a total of 15,080 acres of mineral properties in northern Saskatchewan. The company proposes to put the Flin Flon mine, now renamed the Bootleg gold project, into operation and proceed with the milling of known reserves on the property as well as custom milling. The mill is designed at 125-ton-per-day capacity, but can be upgraded to 325 tons per day.

The first order of business, however, on the Bootleg property is a $3-million exploration program starting month-end and continuing to the end of February, 1987. Mr Hollick says the program’s purpose is both to confirm and increase the known tonnage on the three separate deposits on the property. The Rio has geologic reserves of 126,351 tons grading 0.28 oz gold per ton; the Henning-Maloney has geologic reserves of 14,962 tons grading 0.45 oz gold per ton while the Newcor has reserves of 42,558 tons grading 0.313 oz gold per ton.

The plan says Mr Hollick is to complete the exploration work by the end of February and compile all the data. Work on tuning up the mill should start in April and the mill would run for a few months on a test basis using stockpiled ore. Meanwhile the company would be talking with other companies regarding custom milling work. Vista Mines also plans to carry out an extensive exploration program on its other mineral properties to both identify the extent of known ore bodies and to locate new commerical ore bodies. For instance, it may acquire a 60% working interest from Vista International Petroleums in the 5,000-acre Uskik Lake property, located 135 km northeast of La Ronge by expending $215,000 over the next 2-year period.

The company has also entered into an option agreement to acquire a 50% working interest from the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corp. (SMDC) on the Batty Graham property, 15 km west of Flin Flon by expending $350,000 over the next two years. Here, four known zones of gold mineralization are known to exist. The property looks very interesting, says Mr Hollick, noting a recently completed summer program has reported higher values than previously reported. Drilling is planned this fall on the property.

Vista has also entered into an option agreement to acquire a 50% working interest from SMDC on the Phantom Lake property by spending $350,000 over a 2-year period. This year $220,000 will be spent on exploration including drilling on this 18-claim property located 5.5 km south of Flin Flon, adjacent to the southeast corner of the Bootleg Lake property. To help finance the work, Vista is now proceeding with the sale of a $5- million issue, available only in Saskatchewan. The issue consists of 500,000 units to be sold for $10 each. Each unit consists of five common shares made up of two class A common shares and three class B subordinate voting shares.