Conroy Diamonds and Gold, Coeur d’Alene Mines, FNX Mining, Mindoro Resources
Conroy Diamonds and Gold has contracted Wardrop Engineering to conduct a JORC-compliant scoping study at its Clontibert gold project in County Monaghan, Ireland. The project currently has an indicated resource of 11 million mt grading 1.24 g/mt gold for 440,000 oz of contained gold and an inferred resource of 14 million mt grading 1.32 g/mt for 590,000 oz of contained gold. The scoping study will primarily be related to the Clontibert project. However, Conroy has also reported gold discoveries at Clay Lake in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 3.5 miles north-east of Clontibert, and at Glenish in County Monaghan, 3.5 miles south-west of Clontibert. The scoping study will take place against the background of these and other discoveries and their possible implications to overall development at Clontibert.
(www.conroydiamondsandgold.com)
Coeur d’Alene Mines has discovered a new high-grade vein system at its Kensington gold mine 45 km northwest of Juneau, Alaska. The new structure, named the Kimberly, is a gold-bearing vein system exposed in the decline from the mill to the mine. In a drilling program initiated in 2009, eight phase-one core holes intersected very significant gold mineralization, with assays ranging from 0.144 oz/ton to more than 1.29 oz/ton. Fourteen core holes, totaling 4,080 ft, were completed in the fourth quarter.The Kimberly mineralization is typical of major gold systems at Kensington and occurs in at least two structures that are open at depth and on strike. Phase-one drilling has defined mineralization over a north-south strike length of 600 ft and nearly 600 ft down dip to the southwest. Future exploration will focus on expanding and defining the Kimberly system, testing other targets, and exploring for other similar blind veins nearby.Kensington is scheduled to begin production in the third quarter of 2010 at a rate of 120,000 oz/y of gold. At December 31, 2009, Kensington held 1.5 million oz of proven and probable gold reserves, with initial mine life planned at 12.5 years.
(www.coeur.com)
FNX Mining reported in mid-January 2010 that recent drilling at its Victoria property in the Sudbury Basin, Ontario has discovered three distinct zones of mineralization 2,500 to 5,500 vertical ft below surface. The limited amount of drilling completed to date is insufficient to determine the size and orientation of the mineralized zones, the true widths of the borehole intersections, and if or how the multiple mineralized zones may be associated with each other, FNX said; however, early results are promising.Zone 1 has nickel mineralization consistent with the central portion of an Offset Dyke environment (1% to 2% nickel), with associated copper (0.5% to 1% copper) and precious metals (0.5 to 1.5 g/mt platinum plus palladium and gold).Zone 2 appears to occur in a typical Sudbury Basin Offset Dyke pinch environment, where the quartz diorite intrudes a package of well-developed Sudbury Breccia, with one hole intersecting 82.3 ft of 2% copper, 1.7% nickel, and 4.5 g/mt total precious metals. Zone 3 occurs in Sudbury Breccia within the wallrock of the Offset Dyke. Typical of this type of environment, the precious metals content of the sulphides can be significantly high grade, and one hole intersected 17.2 ft of 20 g/mt total precious metals, 1.2% nickel, and 2.1% copper.FNX currently has five surface drill rigs on the Victoria property and plans to spend about $7.2 million exploring the property during 2010.
(www.fnxmining.com)
Mindoro Resources has reported results from six wide-spaced drill holes completed by Gold Fields Ltd. under an earn-in agreement at Mindoro’s El Paso project in Batangas province, south-western Luzon Island, Philippines. Significant results include an intersection of 42.2 m of 0.5% copper in mineralization related to a highly altered diorite porphyry dike, with disseminated bornite and chalocopyrite, quartz veinlets, magnetite, and anomalous molybdenum. The dike may be derived from a proximal porphyry copper-gold system. An adjacent hole intersected 19.85 m of 0.29% copper. Gold Fields is planning a detailed follow-up drill program. El Paso is one of three projects in Batangas province covered by Mindoro’s agreement with Gold Fields, the others being the Lobo project and the Talahib project. The projects are being evaluated for their porphyry copper-gold potential. Gold Fields expected to begin drilling on the Lobo project in March 2010 upon arrival of a large drill rig capable of drilling to a depth of 1,000 m.
(www.mindoro.com)
