The Northern Miner December 12 2016 Issue 44

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IVANHOE MINES: FRIEDLAND HIGHLIGHTS ‘PIVOTAL’ KAMOA-KAKULA DEAL / 3 Geotech_Earlug_2016_Alt2.pdf 1 2016-06-24 4:27:20 PM

SPECIAL FOCUS

OUTLOOK 2017

Hot commodities and trends in the New Year / 7–11

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DECEMBER 12–18, 2016 / VOL. 102 ISSUE 44 / GLOBAL MINING NEWS · SINCE 1915 / $3.99 / WWW.NORTHERNMINER.COM

Skeena hunts for Snip’s forgotten gold SITE VISIT

| Ron Netolitzky-led junior uncovers ‘intriguing’ new targets

Wesdome’s biggest-ever exploration campaign pays off GOLD

| Junior mined Kiena for seven years, producing 199,000 oz. gold BY TRISH SAYWELL tsaywell@northernminer.com

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esdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO) is spending more money on exploration this year than at any other time in its 29-year history. “This has been an aggressive exploration program for Wesdome, and we have certainly seen the dividends,” George Mannard, the company’s vice-president of exploration, says of this year’s $11.3-million budget. The company is spending $6.3 million at its Eagle River gold mine, See WESDOME / 3 PM40069240

Looking west towards the Craig River at the Twin West and Jim claims at Skeena Resources’ Snip gold property in northwest British Columbia.   PHOTO BY RON NICHOLS BY LESLEY STOKES lstokes@northernminer.com TERRACE, B.C.

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here’s more than meets the eye when flying over the panoramic landscape of northwest British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. Nestled within the myriad of rocks is a treasure trove of worldclass mineral deposits, and Skeena Resources (TSXV: SKE; US-OTC: SKREF) has spent the past few months drilling one of them.

The company has wrapped up a 7,200-metre drill program at its new Snip gold property, 110 km northwest of Stewart, B.C., a historic underground gold mine that saw 1 million oz. production at grades of 25 grams gold per tonne. The drill campaign is the first activity at Snip since low gold prices forced Homestake Canada to shut down the fly-in, fly-out operation in 1999, after nine years of production. Skeena optioned the 19.3 sq. km property and mine in March from Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE:

ABX), whereby the junior can earn 100% by spending $2 million on exploration and issuing 3.3 million shares. With drill results by Skeena such of 24.44 grams gold per tonne over 3.2 metres and 30.99 grams gold over 4.5 metres, the program looks to be off to a good start. “I’ve been chasing Snip for the past decade,” Ronald Netolitzky, Skeena chairman and Canadian Mining Hall of Fame inductee, told The Northern Miner at the Terrace airport en route to the

Snip property. “Snip started off with 85% mechanized mining because the vein was over 15 metres thick, but even then the cut-off grade was 18 grams per tonne gold. By the end, it was 80% manual, which is a lot more expensive, and the cost of gold was dropping. Even at a 20-gram-gold cut-off they could’ve mined it for a few more years, but it wouldn’t have been profitable, and big companies don’t like little mines. Today, 18 See SKEENA / 2

January 23-26, 2017 | amebc.ca/roundup

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