Vior and partners increase size of Douay West deposit

Societe d’Exploration Miniere Vior (ME) has revised upwards its estimate of preliminary reserves for the West zone of the Douay gold project in northwestern Quebec. The project is 42%-owned by Inco (TSE), with the third partner Cambior (TSE) holding a 21% interest.

Following the completion of a 44-hole diamond drill program on the West zone, preliminary reserves have increased to 584,000 tons grading 0.30 oz. gold per ton, said Vior.

That figure includes intersections from holes as deep as 1,200 ft. at a cutoff grade of 0.08 oz.

Back in May, the partners estimated preliminary reserves of about 370,000 tons grading 0.31 oz. for the West zone. Some of the better gold intersections included 59.3 ft. grading 0.23 oz., 53.1 ft. of 0.24 oz. and 30.7 ft. of 0.69 oz.

Claude St. Jacques, president of Vior, said the gold mineralization occurs in carbonate-altered, albitized and pyritic zones hosted by iron formation, as well as gabbro and volcanic breccias.

“The mineralized zone appears to be subparallel to a graphitic fault zone which lies immediately south of the deposit and defines the northern limit of a sequence of variolitic basalts,” he said.

To date, the gold deposit has been defined over a strike length of 1,100 ft. and to a depth of 1,200 ft.

The zone is still open at depth, particularly down-plunge below the 600-ft. depth, and additional unexplored potential also exists along strike to the west of the deposit.

More drilling to define the extent of the mineralization is planned as soon as field conditions allow, said Vior.