3 minute read
Expanding Eagle River while moving Kiena towards restart
By Kevin Vincent
Emerging mid-tier producer Wesdome Gold Mines has both hands full these days. The company is enjoying successful exploration results on two fronts, their Eagle River Mine near Wawa and the brownfield Kiena project near Val D’Or. If all goes according to plan, the company will know sometime in 2021 whether they will be producing from both locations.
In late summer, Wesdome revealed some spectacular drill numbers from Eagle River, including; 49.9 g/t over 4.9m; 314.4 g/t Au over 6.0m core length; and 68.4 g/t Au over 2.3m.
That exploration suggests the Falcon Zone goes a kilometre deeper. “Intersecting the down plunge extension of the Falcon Zone with underground drilling really shows the potential of the Falcon Zone extending to the Mine 7 Zone, which is in excess of 1,000 m down plunge. This is significant, as the extension of this zone is proximal to mine infrastructure and has the potential to be included in future mine production and ultimately augment production rates in the medium term.”
Middlemiss says the company continues to stringently monitor the health and safety recommendations and measures of the CO- VID-19 pandemic. The health and safety of the community, employees and contractors are the company’s
first priority. The CEO says Wesdome is committed to supporting all health recommendations and orders as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there have been no suspected COVID-19 cases at the company’s operations or corporate offices.
At Kiena meanwhile, Wesdome is aggressively building a case to reopen the Quebec-based gold mine. Drill results there are just as impressive as the company inches toward a pre-feasibility study and production decision.
“We are pleased with the ongoing drilling program that continues to focus on definition drilling of the high grade A Zone, in order to convert inferred resources to indicated resources, in advance of an updated resource estimate later in the year and subsequent incorporation into the PFS,” said Middlemiss.
“The PFS will be used to determine the viability of mining the existing resources in the immediate reach of the Kiena Mine to justify a mine restart. Longer term, our focus will turn to the remaining resources on the Kiena property and the exploration potential.”
Drilling productivity was initially challenged upon the return to work May 11th due to manpower issues arising from the COVID-19 regional quarantines in Quebec; however, the company now has a full complement of drillers and the drilling program is back on track.
“In addition, we are excited about advancing the access development towards the upper levels of the A Zone mineralization that will position the company to take a bulk sample, which will validate the geological block model and assess the geo-mechanical conditions in order to complement the quality of the work being done in the PFS.”
In addition to ongoing drilling, access development is currently being completed so as to position the company to take a bulk sample. Future bulk sampling will provide an opportunity to assess the geological block model and rock quality characteristics and will provide the necessary information to complete the ongoing Prefeasibility Study, expected to be completed by H1 2021.
The Kiena Complex is a fully permitted former mine with a 930-metre shaft and 2,000 tonne-per-day mill.
Wesdome has had over 30+ years of continuous gold mining operations in Canada. The Company is 100% Canadian focused with a pipeline of projects in various stages of development. The Company has further upside at its Moss Lake gold deposit, 100 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
This article was originally published in the recent Mining Life & Exploration News. To stay current with all of the latest in mining news and in-depth articles, subscribe now for your free copy delivered right to your door. Email info@canadiantradex.com your request to be added to the distribution list today! Or call us directly at 705-264-2251. For a limited time, subscription is free. International locations will receive digital copies.
