Gold Fields may sell smaller mines after Osisko acquisition
The Johannesburg-based gold miner is shifting focus to advancing its new Salares Norte mine in Chile.
Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO) ongoing surface and underground exploration drilling continues to return high grades from the western extension of the Eagle River gold mine in Wawa, Ontario.
Surface drilling in the diorite returned high-grades within 200 metres from the surface. The first underground hole 750 metres down plunge also interested similar mineralization.
Two holes were drilled from surface. ERS-2023-001 assayed 64.4 g/t over 0.4 metre true width. ERS-2023-005 assay 7.0 g/t over 2.2 metres true width.
The first underground hole returned 33.4 g/t gold over 0.4 metre of core length, within 6.4 g/t over 1.5 metre true width.
This drill program is part of a renewed strategy focused on the upper areas of the mine and will include the assessment of previously mined areas. By developing and optimizing the strategic mine plan from these additional resources, this could add incremental tonnes for processing at the Eagle River mill, which is underused.
“The results of the initial surface and underground drilling suggests the potential of a parallel structure in the volcanic rocks west of the mine diorite, with results consistent with those seen in early drilling at the Falcon 7 zone in 2019,” Wesdome CEO Anthea Bath said in a news release.
“Not only are these results near existing mine infrastructure, but they demonstrate potential for high-grade mineralization in a rock type that has seen limited drilling to date.
“Additionally at Eagle River, drilling continues to confirm the geometry, spatial continuity and high grades of the 300 East zone at depth. This suggests that many other similar parallel zones, namely the 8 and 7 zones, have the same potential to continue at depth,” she said.
Guidance for Eagle River this year is 80,000 to 90,000 oz. of gold. The project has measured and indicated resources of 466,000 tonnes at 12.24 g/t gold (containing 186,000 oz.) plus an inferred resource of 586,000 tonnes at 14.9 g/t gold (containing 281,000 oz.)
Wesdome also operates the high-grade Kiena underground gold mine in Val d’Or, Quebec. Guidance for this mine is 30,000 to 40,000 oz. of gold.
