Worvest drill hole results a boost for Lenora, Barrick

Encouraging drilling results from Lenora Explorations and American Barrick Resources’ Worvest option in Kirkland Lake, Ont., offers more proof of a new ore shoot in the area. Located within mining distance of American Barrick’s McDermott mine, the Worvest joint venture property is part of a group of claims shared 65%-35% between Barrick and Lenora respectively.

Based on results from 20 drill holes completed by American Barrick last year, reserves before the new hole was discovered, stood at 216,307 tons grading 0.194 oz gold per ton.

Using a lower cut-off grade of 0.08 oz , reserves are increased to 442,458 tons grading 0.149 oz.

But according to project geologist Wayne Penno, results from the new hole could add significantly to those reserves. The results which come nearly two years after Lenora’s initial gold discovery, were as follows: Hole MC-87-318 intersected a 5-ft cut grading 0.224 oz. The same hole also intersected a 33-ft cut averaging 0.182 oz and a 58-ft section averaging 0.134 oz.

“This hole is very encouraging as it has not been taken into the present ore reserve calculation and leaves the deposits open to the west and at depth,” said President Robert Kasner.

According to Mr Penno, American Barrick will drill at least five more holes to see if they trace the “shoot” towards depth and increase tonnage on the property.

The Worvest option’s proximity to the Holt McDermott mine which is expected to produce 100,000 oz of gold beginning in 1988, gives added significance to the latest results.

The Worvest reserves are believed to be hosted in extensions of the same structure hosting the Holt-McDermott reserves which stand at 2,841,000 tons averaging 0.197 oz. The Holt-McDermott reserves include a higher grade core of 1,566,000 tons grading 0.263 oz.

In a bid to delineate how strong this zone actually is, American Barrick plans to continue drilling in the area for some time.