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Midas Gold Corp. (MAX: TSX) today reported that the 2011 exploration program at its Golden Meadows Project, Valley County, Idaho, has commenced. The work planned by Midas Gold aims to further evaluate the mineral potential of the consolidated Golden Meadows property, unconstrained by historic property boundaries that impeded prior explorers in the area. The 2011 exploration program will use a combination of exploration methods, including airborne and ground geophysics and drilling. The program has four key objectives:
In addition to its exploration program, Midas Gold plans to audit the existing environmental database and collect and supplement that extensive collection of scientific information with additional environmental baseline data that will facilitate future programs. Priority baseline studies requiring additional studies or data will be initiated in 2011 and the Company will continue to monitor the local environmental conditions. This information will also assist Midas Gold in developing effective mitigation strategies and best management practices to meet all applicable state and federal environmental standards related to its work. Midas Gold is also planning to undertake certain voluntary remediation and monitoring activities in cooperation with regulatory agencies, including water quality and stream flow measurements.
“Midas Gold’s 2011 exploration at the Golden Meadows Project will, for the first time, begin the evaluation of the potential of this important gold district unconstrained by historic property boundaries,” commented Stephen Quin, President & CEO of Midas Gold Corp. “All three known gold deposits at Golden Meadows are open to expansion along strike and to depth and there is excellent potential to discover entirely new deposits, based on information contained within an extensive exploration database collected and collated by Midas Gold. The 2011 exploration program aims to increase the confidence level of the known mineral resources, to expand the known deposits and to test for potential new deposits, while working to improve the local environmental conditions and our understanding thereof.”
2011 Exploration Program
During 2011, Midas Gold plans to complete approximately 30,000 metres of drilling in approximately 80 drill holes, using a combination of core and reverse circulation (“RC”) drilling. Three track-mounted and heli-portable core drills are being provided by Major Drilling and one RC drill has been provided by TJ Enterprises. Drill mobilization commenced at the end of June, once a base camp was established at Golden Meadows. Drilling is expected to continue through the end of October 2011 and updated NI43-101 mineral resource estimates are planned for completion in the first half of 2012.
The drilling will primarily target extensions and expansions to the Hangar Flats and Yellow Pine gold deposits, which contain significant sulphide gold mineral resources, as reported in news releases dated February 22 and April 20, 2011, as well as looking to better define the potential for by-product antimony, silver and tungsten, all of which were produced historically from these deposits. Additional drilling will evaluate the potential for expansion of the West End mineral resources (also reported on February 22, 2011), and on testing some of the numerous exploration targets identified through the compilation of more than 80 years of exploration and production data recovered from numerous historic operators.
In addition to drilling, an airborne EM and resistivity survey has been flown over the entire property to assist with exploration targeting, and metallurgical studies will be undertaken aimed at further characterizing the nature of the gold in the various deposits and optimizing the recovery thereof, as well as evaluating the potential recoveries of antimony, silver and tungsten.
In parallel with the exploration focused studies, Midas Gold will be conducting environmental base line studies, continuing its voluntary site remediation activities, and working with regulators to better understand the water balances in the district. This work will be designed to develop best management practices that will be utilized and monitored to measure their real efficiencies for the site-specific applications at Golden Meadows. Overall water management will be the key to considering future exploration alternatives.
Total exploration expenditures are anticipated at approximately US$10.5 million, with an additional approximately US$1.25 million to be incurred on environmental, metallurgical and other studies. Additional capital expenditures of approximately US$1.7 million will be incurred in maintaining the property interests held by Midas and establishing a base camp for up to 23 people on the Golden Meadows property, for total project expenditures of approximately US$13.4 million in 2011.
