Timmins project keeps Holmer rooted at home

BBY THOMAS BROCKELBANK

While it is making a name for itself with its Cuban projects, Holmer Gold Mines (HGM-T) is keeping one foot firmly planted in one of Canada’s oldest mining camps.

Holmer has a 100% interest in the Timmins gold project, 14 miles southwest of its namesake city. The project, recently visited by The Northern Miner, is shaping up as a small, relatively high-grade open-pit prospect. That being said, the project has what might be called a checkered past.

Gold was found near the centre of the Holmer property (an area once known as the Orpit property) as early as 1911, and limited drilling took place in the ensuing decades. The site differed from other mineral properties west of Timmins in that it had outcrops and generally much less overburden.

Holmer acquired the property from private interests in 1964, and extensive exploration was carried out sporadically between 1964 and 1989. The company completed more than 18,000 ft. of drilling in 1973-74, during which time the Main zone was outlined. Assay results included an intersection of 10.8 ft.

grading 4.74 oz. gold per ton and many much weaker gold intercepts grading between 0.1 and 0.2 oz. gold. However, lack of funds appears to have scuttled exploration efforts at that time.

Completion of a financing cranked up the old project again in 1980. An engineering study recommended the driving of an 1,000-ft.-long adit to a depth of 200 ft. and construction of a 250-Ton-per-day mill, to be increased later to 1,000 tons per day. Indicated gold recovery using cyanidation was found to be 90% over 48 hours, and no recovery problems were expected in the processing of the mined material.

Results of a feasibility study were released the next year, showing that an underground mine could be profitable at then-Current gold prices (close to US$500 per oz.), but Holmer was unable to raise the $8.1 million needed for mill construction, shaft raising and decline development before the price of gold plummeted in 1982.

Hopes were raised again when, in 1984, Noranda signed an option deal to acquire a half interest in the project and promptly began drilling. However, the major dropped its option in the following year.

In 1987, a unit of petroleum major Chevron signed an option deal to acquire 50% of the Timmins project. Over the next few years, Chevron’s drilling turned up gold intersections similar to those Holmer had hit in 1973-74, and a preliminary resource of 720,000 tons grading 0.11 oz. gold per ton was calculated. Nonetheless, Chevron slowed down its work at Timmins, leaving mine development no closer to reality. Holmer reacquired Chevron’s interest in 1991 in return for 400,000 shares.

“Basically [Chevron] just stopped their program because of their corporate strategy. If they had done a few more holes, they would have probably discovered the zones we did,” said Holmer Project Geologist David Beilhartz.

Band-Ore Resources (BAN-T) optioned the property in 1995, agreeing to spend $1 million over six years for a 70% interest. But early in 1996, Holmer announced that Band-Ore had never completed the deal, and so it began drilling again on its own.

Gold mineralization at the Timmins project occurs within an 8,000-ft.-long, 140-ft.-wide deformation zone exhibiting intense ductile shearing, which is thought to be a splay off the Bristol fault. Beilhartz believes the Bristol fault, which bisects Holmer’s property, is an extension of the famous Destor-Porcupine fault that extends east from Timmins to Matheson and beyond.

“In the past there wasn’t enough geological evidence to show that it’s the same feature, because there is so much overburden,” he said.

Three parallel gold structures have been outlined within the deformation zone, namely the Main, Hangingwall and Footwall zones. Each has been traced from near surface to a down-plunge depth ranging from 1017 to 1591 ft. Also, each plunges to the west and is open at depth.

The Main zone occurs in the nose of a fold, and the Hangingwall zone’s quartz-Tourmaline veins occur on the flanks of the fold, on the contact between the mafic volcanic and sediment units. Both zones contain abundant quartz and tourmaline, 1% to 2% arsenopyrite and some pyrite associated with a small amount of coarse, visible gold.

“We think we understand the geology now,” Beilhartz said. “We know the quartz-Tourmaline veins are associated with the sediment-Volcanic contact.

Along the contact there is strong carbonate and sericite alteration, and the fold nose caused a dilation zone to be formed. Basically, this is classic Timmins geology.”

Just 3 km to the south is Band-Ore’s Thorne project, which differs from Holmer’s property in that sediments are the predominant host rock, whereas Holmer’s mineralization is hosted by mafic volcanics.

“Ours is more typical of the Timmins camp,” Beilhartz noted. “The two types of mineralization — sulphide-bearing mineralization in mafic volcanics and then the quartz veins — are common in the region. We’re lucky enough to have both, as the potential for discovering more mineralization is greater.

Last month, Holmer announced uncut assay results for 12 drill holes from the Timmins project. The best intersections were encountered in hole 97-32, including 0.2 oz. gold over 37.14 ft and 0.22 oz. gold over 16.6 ft. This hole was drilled below two previous holes which intersected similar mineralization. Hole 96-10, which was drilled 125 ft. above hole 97-32, intersected 0.2 oz. gold over 23 ft., and hole 96-09, situated 246 ft. above hole 97-32, intersected two 10-ft. sections grading 0.2 and 0.14 oz. gold.

Another drill hole, 97-30, tested the Footwall zone 820 ft. down-plunge from hole 96-09 and encountered similar gold mineralization.

Additional drill results included a 157-ft.-wide zone of alteration and minor gold mineralization in hole 97-27. This intercept confirmed the continuity of the Main zone west of a north-south-Trending diabase dyke.

Results released earlier this year include: 0.2 oz. gold over 35.6 ft. at a depth of 188 ft. in hole 97-15; 0.21 oz. over 25.7 ft., at a vertical depth of 177 ft. in hole 97-17; and 0.19 oz. over 146 ft. at a vertical depth of 940 ft. in hole 97-7.

Drilling continues, with two rigs testing several geophysical targets, as well as the down-plunge and depth extent of the stratabound Footwall zone.

“We’ve been following the mineralization down-plunge quite consistently,” Beilhartz said of the latest drilling. “We’ve found it’s always there where we expect it to be.”

A 200-Metre-long arc of near-surface rock has now been stripped, representing what is thought to be the potential surface exposure of mineralization that has been drilled at depth.

Extensive surface sampling will be carried out on the newly stripped area, possibly including channel samples, to be followed by drilling at 25- and 12.5-Metre spacings.

The potential pit area appears to be roughly 200 metres long and between 50 and 100 metres wide. The potential pit depth will depend on the stripping ratio and the width of the mineralized zones at depth.

“If everything continues as it’s going, we’ll probably end up having both an open pit and an underground mine, though a lot more closer-To-surface drilling is required before we can prove up a potential pit,” Beilhartz said.

“Right now we’re drilling on 50-Metre spacings, and that just gives you a broad idea of where the mineralization is and that there is pit potential.” He said 25-Metre spacings would be necessary to define the pit and 12.5-Metre spacings would be required to define the exact boundaries of the mineralization.

A 100-Metre hole takes about a day to complete, and drilling is continuing around the clock. When The Northern Miner visited the Timmins project, Holmer had drilled up to 43 holes in the current program, with roughly $750,000 remaining in the drilling budget. Deep drilling was following mineralization down-plunge in an attempt to test geophysical (magnetic and

induced-polarization) targets.

The objective of the drill program is to define a pit and indicate the potential for a subseque
nt underground operation. Also, expectations are high that another mineralized zone will be discovered along the same shear structure.

“Right now we have to follow the structure to see if we have more zones that will enhance the potential profitability of mining here,” Beilhartz said, adding that by the time the program is finished, there may be sufficient information available to determine whether mining will be economically feasible. “Right now, I personally think there’s a very good chance it will be.”

Recent holes have been drilled down to between 600 and 700 metres of vertical depth.

Drilling is now taking place 600 metres down-plunge of the original showings, and gold grades are as good or better.

“We’re going to finish this 20,000-Metre program and then decide where to go,” said Holmer director Douglas MacKenzie, who is confident about the potential of the project.

“I’m sure there is a mine, it’s just a question of how big it is.”