GOLD - Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. Feb. 3 reported the discovery of a new high-grade vein system at its Kensington Gold Mine located 45 miles northwest of Juneau in Southeast Alaska. The new structure, named the Kimberly, is a gold-bearing vein system exposed in the decline from the mill to the Kensington mine. In a drilling program initiated in 2009, eight phase-one core holes intersected very significant gold mineralization with assays ranging from 0.144 ounces per ton to over 1.29 ounces per ton. A total of 14 core holes, totaling about 1,245 meters, were completed in the fourth quarter. “This first phase of drilling at Kimberly intersected mineralization typical of other major gold systems at Kensington. We are encouraged with the style and strength of mineralization in this first phase of drilling and that Kimberly consists of at least two structures that are open at depth and on strike,” said Coeur Senior Vice President Exploration Donald Birak. “Phase-one drilling has defined gold mineralization over a north-south strike length of 600 feet and nearly 600 foot down dip to the southwest. These characteristics suggest that Kimberly may develop into a major, new gold system at Kensington and bodes well for other future discoveries in this gold district. Our future exploration will focus on expanding and defining Kimberly, testing other targets, and exploring for other similar blind veins nearby.” Kensington is scheduled to begin production in the third quarter of 2010 at a rate of 120,000 ounces of gold annually. At Dec. 31, Kensington held 1.5 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves with an initial mine life expected at 12.5 years.
GOLD - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Feb. 4 said the first phase is underway of its planned 50,000-meter 2010 exploration drill program at the Livengood gold project in Interior Alaska. The initial phase of this program is the 20,000-meter winter drill program, which focuses primarily on the expansion of the southwest and western parts of the Money Knob deposit containing the highest grade portion of the deposit discovered to date. In addition, the highly prospective area between the Sunshine and Core Zones will be infill-drilled during the winter program. The explorer said its 2010 winter program will employ four drills, which will operate 24 hours a day until the middle of April. The results of the winter drilling will be included in a resource update scheduled for the end of the second quarter of 2010. International Tower Hill also amended its existing Livengood project lease with the Alaska Mental Health Lands Trust to expand the fee simple land it leases by about 25 square kilometers, or about 9.7 square miles. The Livengood project now covers about 70 square kilometers, or 27 square miles, which includes additional potential exploration areas and surface mine facility sites. A new resource estimate that incorporates the final 70 holes drilled in the 2009 summer program is expected to be released soon.
GOLD – Teryl Resources Corp. Feb. 2 said a US$1,524,600 budget has been approved by joint venture partner Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc., a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corp., for 2010 on the Gil joint venture claims. Teryl said the goal of the 2010 program is to further delineate the strike extension of the mineralized zones, and to infill between step-out holes, in order to gain a better understanding of ore-zone continuity. The 2010 work plan calls for ground geophysics, 11,000 feet, or 3,350 meters of RC drilling, and 5,000 feet, or 1,525 meters, of HQ-NQ core drilling. In addition, fieldwork involving mapping, soil and rock sampling, and mobile metal ion geochemical sampling will be performed. The program is scheduled to begin in April and extend through the end of 2010. To date, a total of US$9 million has been expended by the joint venture partners, with Teryl accounting for 20 percent and Kinross accounting for 80 percent of total expenditures.
GOLD - Fire River Gold Corp. Feb. 3 said it is continuing work on its US$1.25 million evaluation of the Nixon Fork gold project in Southwest Alaska. The focus of the evaluation is to confirm the status of the geological work, confirm both the gold grade from the tailings pond, and further metallurgical testing. The evaluation program is continuing into 2010, with key milestones including a determination of a decision for completing the carbon-in-leach circuit to process tailings in March or April 2010, defining exploration targets for underground and surface drilling beginning in May, the preparation of a new resource estimate for the property by fall 2010, and the determination of a decision for the resumption of underground mining by the end of the year. The company plans to use the results of the geological re-evaluation program to guide a 12,000-meter underground drill program scheduled for spring and summer. The company also plans 8,000 meters of surface drilling which will test several development prospects on the property from surface in hope of establishing additional zones of mineralization. The final resource estimate, scheduled for release late in 2010 will incorporate the results of the re-evaluation program as well as the results of the 2010 drilling. Fire River is also evaluating the feasibility of re-processing about 150,000 metric tons of mill tailings from previous operations. A drill program was done in the fall to confirm the gold grades, and a metallurgical study is in progress, confirming prior study results. If the company elects to defer this option, gold recovery from the tails will be a component of an overall mine plan, anticipated for completion by the end of 2010. Ongoing periodic updates will follow as the program continues through 2010. In December 2009, the company closed a C$3 million first tranche of a proposed C$10 million brokered private placement.
NICKEL - Pure Nickel Inc. Feb. 4 reported its results for the three months and the fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2009. The company reported a net loss of C$520,241 (C0.8 cents per share) for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss of C$168,024 (C0.2 cents per share) for the same period of 2008, and a net loss of C$1,411,188 (C2 cents per share) for the fiscal year ended Nov.30, 2009, compared with a net loss of C$2,432,040 (C4 cents per share) in the prior year. In December Pure Nickel released the results of its 2009 exploration program at the Man nickel-platinum group element property in Alaska, which included 4,200 meters of drilling and an extensive geophysical program. The company said the geophysical surveys, including the proprietary TEM survey, have for the first time identified very compelling geophysical targets at depth. The 2010 drilling program will be designed to investigate the deeper source of these large and strong conductive bodies underlying the Alpha and Beta Complexes.
