Westmin closing Stewart mine

Full-scale operations at the Premier Gold project near Stewart, B.C., will be closed by June 30 of this year.

Operator Westmin Resources (TSE) plans to continue exploring the area, and will continue milling Premier underground and custom ore whenever viable quantities are available.

Westmin gave employees and government officials advance notice of its plans in mid-April. The closure will result in 98 employees being laid off. Meanwhile, Westmin is continuing to encounter exploration success at its Myra Falls mine property near Campbell River, B.C.

A recent hole drilled to test the Battle zone discovery returned 2.8 metres of 0.4 grams gold and 16.9 grams silver per tonne, 3.1% copper, 0.05% lead and 17.3% zinc. Another hole returned 4.8 metres of 0.3 grams gold, 7.3 grams silver, 2.5% copper, 0.05% lead and 0.1% zinc from the Battle zone. At presstime, Westmin reported that hole 14-752 had encountered upper horizon, ore-grade mineralization strat-

igraphically and mineralogically similar to the Gap zone, but nearly 100 metres to the south. (The hole is still being drilled and is expected to intersect its Battle zone target shortly.)

Assays from two intersections from hole 14-752 were released by Westmin. The hole encountered 15.3 metres grading 4.7 grams gold, 126.3 grams silver, 0.5% copper, 1.1% lead and 6.6% zinc, and 7.4 metres of 4.4 grams gold, 195.2 grams silver, 0.8% copper, 1.9% lead and 11.6% zinc.