GOLD – Sabina Gold & Silver Corp, Oct. 18 reported additional assay results from holes drilled as part of the 2011 exploration program on its Umwelt deposit at its Back River project. The recently completed 2011 drilling campaign at Back River focused on expanding the existing deposits at Umwelt and Llama, and looking for new discoveries on the Goose and George claim blocks, as well as the Wishbone gold claims. The last of the company’s Nunavut drills shut down on Oct. 3, having completed a record 73,650 meters of drilling on gold targets in 2011. The last holes drilled at Umwelt in 2011 were focused on in-filling under drilled gaps in preparation for a new resource estimate and extending areas of open mineralization. Further results have been returned from drilling at the newly identified G2 Zone at Umwelt. Hole 11GSE123 returned 6.85 g/t gold over 32.95 meters, including 9.46 g/t gold over 16.85 meters. This hole is at a vertical depth of 550 meters and targeted a gap in drilling up plunge of the G2 Zone. New results at Umwelt also include two holes that targeted extensions of the resource defined by drilling in 2010. Both of these holes tested down-dip extensions of mineralization to the east on the Main Zone, successfully expanding the zone. Hole 11GSE114 returned 9.63 g/t gold over 9.6 meters. This hole is 35 meters down dip of hole 10GSE146 (which returned 1.25 g/t gold over 8.65 meters) extending and opening up the potential for further mineralization down dip. Hole 11GSE130 returned 5.34 g/t gold over 28.35 meters, including 21.02 g/t gold over 5.8 meters. This hole is located immediately below the bottom of the open-pit shell and extends the mineralized zone in hole 10GSE112 (10.25 g/t gold over 35.50 meters) a further 45 meters down dip. Additional results from shoulder sampling on hole 11GSE106 in the G2 Zone has expanded the width of the intercept by a further 6.35 meters to total 29.85 meters grading 9.48 g/t gold. There are numerous assays still outstanding, and currently assays for Umwelt are being prioritized to enable for the calculation of an updated resource estimate in preparation for the upcoming preliminary economic assessment expected at the end of first quarter 2012. “Our team is looking forward to assessing all 2011 results in order to plan next year’s program. We expect that drilling this year on Umwelt has added significantly to the resource, and we are excited about the numerous other targets we have for follow-up work and initial reconnaissance. We are very proud of the success we have had at Back River in what has essentially been two drilling campaigns,” said Sabina President and CEO Tony Walsh. The Umwelt deposit contains an indicated resource of 4.6 million metric tons grading 6.0 g/t gold for a total of 900,000 ounces of gold and an inferred resource of 1.1 million metric tons grading 6.4 g/t gold for a total of 221,000 ounces of gold. Drilling in 2011 has extended this resource some 900 meters along strike to the south. Umwelt has now been defined over a 1,150-meter strike length and 1,500 meters down plunge and remains open. Sabina’s objective is to become a mid-tier gold producer through the development of its Nunavut gold assets. The Umwelt, Goose and Llama deposits are located within a 5-kilometer (3 miles) long corridor and are envisioned as three major open pits supporting a central milling facility located on the Goose claim block. The George deposit, some 50 kilometers to the north, is envisioned as an underground satellite deposit that would be mined and transported to the mill at Goose via a winter road. The company recently engaged SRK Engineering Ltd. to commence work on a preliminary economic assessment of a gold mining operation at Back River. The study will comprise the new open pit Goose resource, the soon to be updated Umwelt and newly generated Llama resources as well as the existing George resource. The study is anticipated to be completed early in 2012, after which, if positive, a preliminary project description will be filed with the Nunavut Water Board to initiate the permitting process.
URANIUM – Kivalliq Energy Corp. Oct. 18 reported the completion of the field component of the 2011 exploration program at the 225,000-acre Angilak property. The program included 23,849 meters of drilling in 153 holes focused on expanding the Lac Cinquante resource and testing new mineralized target areas; 6,411 meters in reverse circulation drilling in 88 holes, testing 25 target areas and identifying new areas for follow-up in 2012; 5,470 line kilometers of airborne magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric surveying;1,640 line kilometers of ground magnetic, VLF electromagnetic and gravity surveys; prospecting, mapping and soil geochemical surveys to advance known and new target areas; and ongoing modeling, geological and environmental studies. Kivalliq announced a comprehensive C$17 million exploration program in February. The company said the program exceeded all targets for proposed activities with the exception of the number of RC meters drilled. The 2011 diamond drilling program totaled 23,849 meters in 153 holes. Drilling in 2011 increased the known extent of mineralization along the Lac Cinquante Trend from 1,300 meters to 2,300 meters through the discovery of the Western Extension and Eastern Extension zones. At the Western Extension, mineralization was intercepted at a vertical depth of 327 meters; the deepest intercept at Angilak. Kivalliq has released assay results from 58 holes with assay results from 95 additional holes to be released. The company expects to incorporate results from new drilling along trend of Lac Cinquante into an updated resource estimate by the end of the first quarter of 2012. The 2011 RC drill program at Angilak totaled 6,411 meters in 88 exploratory holes. Of the 88 RC holes drilled this year, 45 holes generated anomalous radioactivity greater than 500 counts per second. Three discoveries made with the RC rig, i.e. Eastern Extension, Pulse, and Spark, were corroborated by diamond drill core holes, with additional targets set for diamond drilling in 2012. The company also completed 5,470 line kilometers of DIGHEM airborne magnetic, electromagnetic and radiometric surveys; 1,640 line kilometers of ground magnetic, VLF electromagnetic and gravity surveys; and a prospecting program which entailed the collection of 274 rock grab samples and 342 soil samples. The fourth quarter of 2011 will be dedicated to technical analysis and resource modeling with the goal of identifying new target areas and updating a mineral resource by the end of the first quarter of 2012.
IRON – Advanced Explorations Inc. Oct. 18 reported final drill results from its Tuktu iron ore project. Results show that drill-hole 11TT018 contained an interval of 196 meters of 31.32 percent iron. This hole further demonstrates the quality of banded iron formation at the Tuktu 1 deposit. Drill-hole 11TT019 was collared in the granite with the purpose of locating the banded iron formation contact at depth while confirming the dip angle of the hanging wall for the resource block-model which is expected to be released within the fourth quarter of this year. Advanced Explorations President and CEO John Gingerich said the company is now focused on completing the NI 43-101 resource estimate, which is expected to be released soon. “The drilling at Tuktu 1 has tested only about 10 percent of the BIF strike within the Tuktu claim group, indicating the resource potential of this area. Together with the other strike extensive BIF in the Roche Bay area, the Melville Peninsula is emerging as a significant iron ore district,” Gingerich said.
GOLD – North Country Gold Corp. Oct. 13 reported additional results from its 2011 drill program at the Three Bluffs gold project in the Committee Bay Greenstone Belt northeast of Baker Lake. The latest results from six holes at Three Bluffs and four holes at Antler continue to delineate and extend high grade gold zones within the Walker Lake gold trend. Highlights from the six diamond drill holes completed at Three Bluffs include 9.59 grams per metric ton gold over 18 meters in hole11TB122, and 6.65 g/t gold over 4 meters in 11TB124. These holes are located within the new high-grade trend at the western end of the Three Bluffs zone (including Three Bluffs West zone) which has now been delineated for at least 600 meters along strike and for about100 meters down-dip and remains open to depth. Results for additional diamond drill holes completed within the high-grade trend are pending; however, geologic similarities to the completed drill holes, including the presence of intense sericite alteration and common visible gold suggest results will be favorable. Highlights from the four holes completed at Antler include 4.99 g/t gold over 13.00 meters in hole 11AN041 and 3.06 g/t gold over 13 meters in 11AN025B. Mineralization at Antler has been delineated over a strike length of 1,000 meters and the zone has been tested to a nominal down-dip depth of 100 to 150 meters. High grade mineralization at Antler appears to be controlled by a series of steep east plunging grade shoots which vary in width from 50 to 100 meters. The high grade shoots remain open to depth. During 2010 North Country completed a Quantec Titan 24 survey over Three Bluffs. Results of this survey indicated that gold mineralization at Three Bluffs and Antler correlate directly with areas of low resistivity and additional untested resistivity anomalies occur 250 meters below surface between Three Bluffs and Antler. During the 2011 program, a single drill hole, 11AN042, was targeted at a resistivity low anomaly at the east end of Antler at a vertical depth of 300 meters. Previous shallow drilling in this area above the geophysical anomaly returned only modest results, over narrow widths. The results of 4.35 g/t over 10 meters validates the geophysical model and significantly increases the potential to develop resources to depth in the Three Bluffs-Antler gap area where deep, low resistivity anomalies covering at least 1,000 meters of strike remain to be tested. High-grade shoots remain open beneath Antler and Three Bluffs where the three deepest drill holes on the project to date, returned high-grade intercepts of 36.25 g/t gold over 4.81 meters and 9.03 g/t gold over 3.74 meters (05TB 038), 9.59 g/t gold over 18 meters (11TB122) and 4.35 g/t gold over 10 meters (11AN042) from three separate areas over at least 3,300 meters of strike along the Walker Lake Trend. North Country Gold believes that the Three Bluffs project has excellent potential to develop significant high grade underground resources to depth.
GOLD – Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., owner and operator of the Meadowbank Mine, Oct. 19 said it is suspending mining operations and gold production at its Goldex mine in Val d’Or, Quebec. The decision follows the receipt of an opinion from a second rock mechanics consulting firm that recommended that underground mining operations be halted until the situation is investigated further. While Agnico-Eagle continues to assess the situation, it appears that a weak volcanic rock unit in the hangingwall of the Goldex deposit has failed. This rock failure is thought to extend between the top of the deposit and surface. As a result, this structure has allowed ground water to flow into the mine. This water flow has likely contributed to further weakening and movement of the rock mass. “Considering the safety of the company’s employees, and the integrity of the mine’s infrastructure and that of the surrounding area, the decision was made to stop production indefinitely” said Vice-Chairman and CEO Sean Boyd. It is estimated that the mill will continue to process feed from the remaining surface stockpile until the end of October. The company will assess the potential for restarting the mining operations next year on the western side of the deposit where the ore zone is narrower and still considered to be relatively stable, however, there is no guarantee that this will occur. As a result, Agnico-Eagle will write off its investment in Goldex. It is expected that this will total about C$260 million (or approximately C$170 million after tax, or $1.00 per share) and will occur in the company’s third-quarter 2011 financial results, scheduled for release Oct. 26. Additionally, the company expects to make an accounting provision for a portion of the anticipated costs of remediation in the third quarter of 2011. All of the remaining 1.6 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves1 at Goldex (some 10 years of mine life), other than the ore stockpiled on surface, will be reclassified as mineral resources.
Separately, Agnico-Eagle and Grayd Resource Corp. jointly reported Oct. 13 that Agnico-Eagle has formally begun a C$275 million takeover bid to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Grayd at a price of C$2.80 per share. Grayd is an emerging gold producer in the Mulato Belt of Mexico. The offer represents a premium of 65.7 percent to the volume-weighted average price of Grayd shares on the TSX Venture Exchange for the 20-day period ended Sept. 16. Grayd shareholders will be entitled to receive, at their option, for each Grayd share, either C$2.80 in cash or 0.04039 of an Agnico-Eagle share and C5 cents in cash. The maximum amount of cash payable by Agnico-Eagle under the offer was to be equal to one-third of the total consideration (about C$92 million). However, the companies Oct. 20 said Agnico-Eagle amended the offer to effectively double the maximum amount of cash payable in the transaction to total about C$183 million. The maximum number of shares issuable by Agnico-Eagle under the offer remained unchanged at about 2.7 million (based on the number of Grayd shares outstanding on Sept. 19, on a fully-diluted basis), or about 1.4 percent of Agnico-Eagle’s outstanding shares on a fully-diluted basis.
GOLD – Uranium North Resource Corp. reported the completion of its 2011 drill program on the Mallery project located about 130 kilometer (81 miles) southwest of Baker Lake in Nunavut. Five drill holes totaling 750 meters were drilled into three known mineralized zones. “All drill holes intersected silica and quartz veining as anticipated. This is very encouraging as gold is associated with silica on the Mallery property,” said Uranium North President and CEO Mark Kolebaba. The Eastern, Northwest and Stockwork zones were drilled. A broad resistivity anomaly associated with the Stockwork Zone also was tested and confirmed to be caused by intensive silica alteration and quartz veining. Laboratory results for the drill core are pending. Surface sampling of mineralized zones at Mallery has yielded gold values as high as 54 grams per metric ton and 272 g/t silver. This is the first drill program on the property.
