A 15-hole diamond drill program by Santa Fe Pacific Gold (NYSE) is testing the potential of several mineralized, “pipe-like bodies” on the Swan gold property, 20 miles south of Helena, in southwestern Montana.
By incurring exploration expenditures of US$1.7 million and paying $375,000 over a 10-year period, Santa Fe can earn a half interest from Vancouver-based Mountain-West Resources (VSE).
Mountain-West, over the past nine years, has held separate joint venture agreements concerning the property with Homestake Mining and Newmont Exploration.
Michael Fitzgerald, Mountain-West’s president, says both Homestake and Newmont dropped the option agreements because the companies concluded the property did not have enough reserve potential for a stand-alone operation.
The Swan property is just south of Santa Fe’s Elkhorn project, where drill-indicated reserves are estimated at 6.9 million tons averaging 0.13 oz. gold per ton.
Santa Fe reports that preliminary mine planning and metallurgical testwork are under way at Elkhorn. A summer drilling program is scheduled.
Mountain-West’s Swan property hosts a preliminary reserve of 1.4 million tons grading 0.12 oz. gold per ton.
At least three mineralized, cylindrical-to-elliptical breccia pipes occur within andesite and diorite. Santa Fe is currently drill-testing the Plymouth No.2 pipe, and plans to test the Tourmaline Queen pipe as well.
Drill results to date from the Plymouth pipe are as follows: HoleIntervalWidthGrade
(ft)(ft)(oz/t)
CTQ-1215-295800.114
355-4601050.061
CTQ-2110-140300.023
CTQ-3300-5155150.089
incl.300-953950.152
300-380800.162
CTQ-6380-395150.104
495-505100.082
590-675850.126
705-71050.120
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