Wheaton seeks funds for Golden Bear mine

In an effort to reopen the Golden Bear mine in northwestern British Columbia, Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-T) has retained the services of an independent financial group to assist it in obtaining a loan for production financing.

The company controls the heap-leach operation through an 82% interest in mine owner North American Metals (NAM-V) and expects production to begin in August 1997. The partners had attempted to reopen the mine earlier this year but were unable to receive commitments from financial institutions (T.N.M., May 20/96).

Wheaton reports that several institutions have shown an interest in the project; however, they continue to await the completion of an updated feasibility study, which will include the recently delineated Kodiak B portion of the project.

The Kodiak B deposit hosts a geological reserve, minable by underground methods, of 278,112 tonnes grading 8.6 grams gold, equivalent to about 76,600 contained ounces. A mine plan for Kodiak B indicates recoverable gold of 38,000 oz.

A previous feasibility study, conducted last April, included the Kodiak A and Ursa deposits. Current minable reserves for the two deposits are 824,000 tonnes averaging 3.3 grams gold and 511,000 tonnes averaging 7 grams gold, respectively. Both are amenable to open-pit methods, with stripping ratios of 1-to-1 and 6.6-to-1, respectively. To date, only the Kodiak A deposit has been permitted; the permits for Kodiak B and Ursa are still pending.

The updated feasibility study is expected by the end of the month. The addition of the Kodiak B deposit is projected to increase recoverable gold by 19%, to about 210,000 oz. gold over five years.

Gold production for 1997 is projected at 26,000 oz., which will come from a portion of the Kodiak A deposit utilizing the fully permitted No. 1 heap-leach pad. The pad is capable of holding 500,000 metric tonnes of ore.

Wheaton expects to receive a permit for a second pad by the end of the year.

Heap-leach pad No. 2 will be capable of holding 1.5 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, follow-up drilling on a new discovery has proved inconclusive. The discovery resulted from a wildcat hole that returned a 4.6-metre intersection grading 7.9 grams gold. Two holes were recently drilled underneath the discovery but were lost as a result of difficult ground conditions. Follow-up drilling is scheduled for early next year.