m-pin, one year later - ontario prospector's · 2019. 12. 10. · 4 ontario prospector fall 2019...
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OntariOP rFall 2019
The new goldenage of theSuperior East Region
Mining inNorthwestern
Ontario
M-PIN,one year later
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 3
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PrinteD in canaDa 09/2019
in this issueMessage from the Ontario Prospectors association executive director, Garry Clark .................................................................4
Message from the president of the northwestern Ontario Prospectors association, Mike Grant .................................. 6
Mining in northwestern Ontario ..............................................................8
Generation Mining: Marathon property updates ..........................10
M-Pin, one year later ..................................................................................12
argo Gold: reviving an old gold mining camp .............................14
the new golden age of the Superior East region .......................20
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4 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
executive directorGarry Clark
Message froMthe ontario ProsPectors
associationOntariO prOspectOrs
assOciatiOn941 cobalt crescent
thunder Bay, on P7B 5Z4t: (807) 622-3284 tf: 1 (866) 259-3727
The past summer has seen exploration on a roller coaster.
There has been an increase in the price of gold due to the
instability of trade around the world and the conflicts be-
tween various nations. The other side of the pricing has seen
copper stagnant and cobalt dropping. The positive effects on
exploration in the province really haven’t been seen. There
is less exploration off mine sites this year than has been seen
in many years.
Speaking with prospectors and juniors, they are putting
interesting projects together and are ready for the investors
coming back from the summer break. There is a noticeable
change in the prospector and junior acquisitions on the new
computerized claim system. It is seen that prospectors that
usually work within a short distance from their residence
are acquiring ground across Ontario.
In a limited exploration environment, there are still some
great success stories across the province. Gatling Explora-
tion in the Larder Lake area, Great Bear Resources in Red
Lake, North American Palladium (great palladium prices)
near Lac Des Iles and Manitou Gold in the Wawa area have
all been making headlines with their exploration. It would
be great to see more of this when the markets turn and the
investors realize exploration is the best game in town.
The Ontario Prospectors Association continues to be ac-
tively engaged in:
• providing direction to MNDM on the Mining Land Ad-
ministration System (MLAS) to create a more user-friendly
interface;
• reviewing the plans and permits process focused on
streamlining the system and providing a more effective
consultation process;
• providing input on protected areas and land use issues
across the province;
• interacting with other stakeholders on the issues effecting
access to mining lands;
• providing the Ontario Exploration Corporation (the Pros-
pectors Funding vehicle). The fund has been in place since
2002 assisting prospectors across the province; and
• operating and delivering the Ontario Prospectors Explo-
ration Showcase to bring explorers, government and con-
tractors together from April 6 to 8, 2020 at the Valhalla
Inn in Thunder Bay.
The OPA would like to wish all explorers extreme success
this fall and winter with their exploration projects and hope
to see the results of your projects presented in Thunder
Bay at the Ontario Prospectors Exploration Showcase from
April 6 to 8, 2020.
The 2019 NEOMMS will be held in Timmons, Ont. at the
Ramada Inn from Oct. 1 to 2. The theme is “To 2020 and
Beyond”. The keynote speaker for the dinner will be Robert
McEwen, executive chairman of McEwen Mining. l
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 5
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6 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
On April 2, 2019, during the Ontario Prospectors
Exploration Showcase (OPES), the Northwestern
Ontario Prospectors Association (NWOPA) held its
annual general meeting (AGM) and annual awards dinner.
Elections at NWOPA’s AGM brought one new face to the
board of directors. Jessica Bjorkman departed after seven
years, her latter two years spent as vice-president and pres-
ident. Her sister, Ruth Huber, is our newest board member.
NWOPA extends its sincerest thanks to Jessica for her
years of service and inspiring leadership. The 2019-2020
board can be viewed at NWOPA’s website (nwopa.net).
The 2019 NWOPA Awards Dinner was once again well-at-
tended. Recipients of the Dave Christianson Lifetime
Achievement Award, the Dan Calvert Distinguished Ser-
vice Award, the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year
Award and the Developer of the Year Award were hon-
oured together with the winner of Lakehead University’s
Bernie Schnieders Memorial Award. All award winners
can be viewed on NWOPA’s website. As a departing gift
to the membership, Jessica presented a very diplomatic
challenge to the Hon. Greg Rickford, Minister of Ener-
gy, Northern Development and Mines (MENDM), who
was in attendance, to have the massive inefficiencies of
Ontario’s new digital Mining Lands Administration Sys-
tem (MLAS) resolved in short order. Jessica’s open letter
can be read in the most recent edition of the Claim Post at
nwopa.net/claim-post.html.
The NWOPA board’s top priority will continue to be
its efforts to see MLAS improved. In mid-August, a board
representative met with the senior manager of Mining
Lands to present and discuss a prioritized list of features
that are a relentless source of frustration to prospectors
trying to obtain and administer mining rights in Ontario.
Also, director Breanne Beh arranged for her company’s
lands manager to participate in a working group of Min-
ing Lands and industry representatives that is addressing
these problems.
On a more upbeat note, Thunder Bay Mining Day 2019
was a booming success with record numbers of exhibitors,
attendees and sponsors. The organizing committee esti-
mated that some 3,000 people came out in the spectacular
weather to enjoy the activities and learn about our indus-
Mike Grant
MESSaGE FrOM thE PrESidEnt OF thEnOrthwEStErn OntariO PrOSPECtOrS aSSOCiatiOn
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 7
try. I invite you to visit thunderbay-
miningday.com for more details and
some great pictures. Congratulations
to all who participated and support-
ed this seventh annual event – and
please remember the sponsors.
In support of Mining Day, the
Thunder Bay chapter of Women in
Mining (WIM) hosted a barbecue.
The proceeds, $1,500 in sales and
corporate donations, will support
WIM’s scholarship fund for students
in a mining-related field, ideally at
an institution in northwestern On-
tario. More information is available
at wimnwo.com/copy-of-sponsors or
email Pam Coles at pcoles@lakeheadu.
ca.
NWOPA is seeking members to
serve as mineral sector representa-
tives on the Local Citizens Commit-
tees (LCC) that advise the Ministry
of Natural Resources and Forestry
(MNRF) regarding land use and for-
estry activities. If you are interested,
there are further details at nwopa.net/
land-use-issues.html or you can con-
tact me directly at lcc.lakeheadfor-
Providing Quality Analyses, Excellent Turnaround Time and
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the nwOPa
board’s top priority
will continue to be
its efforts to see
MLaS improved.
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On behalf of the members of the
NWOPA board, I hope that you are
having a safe and enjoyable season
on the land and that in the review of
your data you find at least an option-
able property, if not the beginnings
of a new mine. We hope to see you at
our Christmas party on Friday, Dec.
6 at the DaVinci Centre in Thunder
Bay to talk about your success. l
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8 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
Precious metal prices strengthened in 2019,
therefore providing direct benefit to New
Gold Inc., Harte Gold Corporation, Barrick
Gold Corporation, Newmont Goldcorp Inc. and
North American Palladium Ltd., and their mines in
Northwestern Ontario. As of Aug. 28, the price of
gold was $1,542.00 per ounce (U.S.) and palladium
was $1,441.00 per ounce (U.S.).
Robust gold prices provide a level of confidence
with respect to future mine development including:
Greenstone Gold’s Hardrock Mine, Treasury Metal’s
Goliath Project, Pure Gold’s Madsen Mine, Rubicon’s
Phoenix Project and First Mining Gold’s Springpole
Lake Project.
Greenstone Gold (Centerra Gold and Premier
Gold) have $54 million budgeted for 2019 expendi-
tures at the Hardrock Mine, including detailed engi-
neering, infill drilling, indigenous consultation, per-
mitting, project support and property acquisition. If
all timelines are met, Greenstone Gold states that a
production decision could be made in late 2019, with
construction leading to production by 2021. Open-
pit mine life is 15 years, with underground resources
(future shaft) significant as well.
Treasury Metals received Federal EA approval
in August for the Goliath Deposit, located east of
Dryden. Detailed engineering, community consul-
tation and permit(s) acquisitions are in progress.
A business decision on construction could then be
made by the end of 2019; if that decision is positive,
mine and mill construction could begin in 2020.
Mine life (open-pit and underground) is 13 years.
Down hole IP and fieldwork east of the deposit are
underway as well.
Pure Gold completed their Feasibility Study for
the Madsen Mine project (located west of Red Lake)
in early 2019. A decision to proceed to construction
was made following financing (August). Current
gold resources suggest a 14-year mine line. In Q3,
Wabauskang First Nation and Lac Seul First Nation
signed a Project Agreement with Pure Gold. Madsen
will be Northwestern Ontario’s next gold producer.
Rubicon Minerals Corporation released a positive
Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the
Phoenix Gold Project, Red Lake. Life of Mine would
be 6.2 years with approximately 500,000 ounces of
gold produced.
Mining inNorthwestern
Ontario
By John Mason, P. Geo., D. Sc.,Project Manager, Mining Services,
thunder Bay Community EconomicDevelopment Commission
-
OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 9
First Mining Gold continues work with the federal govern-
ment on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Spring-
pole Lake Gold Deposit, located east of Red Lake. The request
to Ontario for all weather road access started in 2018.
Lithium remains a sought after commodity globally for
high temperature glass and electric vehicle battery applica-
tions: Exploration projects by Avalon Advanced Materials
(north of Kenora), Frontier Lithium (north of Red Lake), Ar-
diden (northeast of Armstrong) and Rock Tech Lithium (south
of Beardmore) have lithium deposits totalling approximately
25 million tonnes that potentially can assist to address EV de-
mand five years out. The global lithium industry is shifting
toward hard rock deposits, as opposed to brines, making the
Northwestern Ontario deposits extremely attractive.
Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (Zen Graphene Solutions) complet-
ed a bulk sampling program on the Albany Graphite Deposit
located proximal to Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst.
Nine-hundred ninety tonnes of ore was drill extracted by re-
verse circulation drilling, which was then refined by SGS Lab-
oratories to 99.8 per cent pure “graphene pre-cursor material”.
The final product will then be available for customer testing,
with the graphene market being the priority.
Superior Lake Resources will reopen the Winston Lake-
Pick Lake Mine Zinc Mine located north of Schreiber. Po-
tential production is forecast, by the company, to commence
within three years. Two million tonnes of 15 per cent zinc ore
will feed a 1,000-tonne-per-day mill, for eight years.
North American Palladium is investing over $20 million in
mineral exploration at the Lac des Iles Mine and Sunday Lake
for 2019. Workforce growth is forecast at 19 per cent over the
next three years as Lac des Iles expands to become one of Can-
ada’s largest underground mines.
Newmont Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Mine production has
been severely impacted by an underground fire in March. Ag-
gressive exploration continues. Underground mine rebuild is
well underway.
Generation Mining has acquired the Sibanye-Stillwater
Marathon palladium-copper deposit.
Benton Resources has acquired the Thunder Bay North
and Escape Lake palladium deposits, located north of Thun-
der Bay.
New Gold Inc.-Rainy River produced 66,000 ounces of gold
in Q2 and launched an exploration program on the Intrepid
North area.
Mineral exploration dollars are elusive on many fronts.
Bucking that trend is Great Bear Resources, 2019 NWOPA
recipient of the Bernie Schneiders Discovery of the Year
Award, who have embarked on a 90,000-metre drill pro-
gram on the Dixie Lake gold project, located southeast of Red
Lake. l
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10 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
Generation Mining may be a relatively new company,
but its roots go far deeper than what meets the eye.
Generation Mining, incorporated in January
2018, is a mineral exploration and development company
which focuses on palladium, copper, zinc and molybdenum
projects in Canada (more details can be found on its website at
genmining.com). Generation Mining holds majority interest
in an advanced project called the Marathon Palladium deposit
in Northern Ontario, as well as four promising explorations in
British Columbia, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories.
Jamie Levy, president and CEO of Generation Mining, says
the company is actualy a spinout of a company called Pine
Point Mining, which was taken over by Osisko Metals Inc. in
February of 2018.
GEnEratiOn MininG:Marathon property updatesBy Cindy Chan
“The expiration assets out of Pine Point were put into
Generation Mining,” Levy explains, adding that Pine Point had
been around since the 1990s.
Discovered in the 1940s to 1950s, the Marathon property
was developed from 1985 to 2010 by various companies with
over 203,000 metres of drilling in 1,094 holes. Marathon
PGM Corporation eventually owned the property, and
completed a feasibility study in 2008 and another in 2010.
Stillwater Mining, which operates out of Montana, took over
the property in 2010 for US$118 million.
“Stillwater had worked on this asset for a few years,” Levy
says. Eventually, after extensive permitting and additional
studies, Stillwater placed the property on care of maintenance
as palladium hovered near $500 per ounce. In 2016, South
African miner Sibanye purchased Stillwater, becoming
Sibanye-Stillwater.
“We approached Sibanye-Stillwater in early 2019 that we
were interested in the Marathon property,” Levy says. “We
closed the deal on July 10.”
Generation Mining acquired the Marathon Palladium
Project by purchasing the initial 51 per cent interest for $6
million, with an option to increase that holding to 80 per cent.
According to Levy, below is what Generation Mining has as
historic resources from the Marathon deposit in the southern
property:
• 3,591,000 ounces of palladium
• 908,000 ounces of platinum
• 365,000 ounces of gold
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 11
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Serving the mining industry for over 40 years.
• 881,000,000 pounds of copper
• 6,515,000 ounces PD EQ
• 1.45 g/t PD EQ grade into the Main Zone
Eighty-five per cent of palladium is used for autocatalysts.
A typical automobile uses three to seven grams of palladium.
A worldwide deficit in palladium pushed the price to a record
high of $1,600 per ounce earlier this year.
The Marathon property is a three-hour drive from Thunder
Bay, Ont. It is located on the Trans-Canada Highway – next to
the Marathon airport – served by the CPR main rail line and
will have abundant power available from grid when a major
new power line being built from Wawa to Thunder Bay is
completed (it will cross directly over the Marathon property).
Marathon’s main deposit dips moderately west, providing
optimal open-pit mining conditions. Mineralization ranges
from four metres to a maximum thickness of 185 metres,
averaging 35 metres. The deposit is open at depth with
potential for UG expansion from the bottom of the pit.
On July 25, 2019, Generation Mining announced its passive
seismic program on the Sally area of the Marathon property.
The Sally area is located 20 kilometres from the Town of
Marathon and 15 kilometres northwest along strike from the
main Marathon PGM-Cu deposit. The survey is designed to
identify the potential for higher-grade PGM deposits at depth.
“Seismic has been used for a long time. Passive seismic is a
relatively new tool for mining although it has been used in oil
exploration for some years,” Levy says.
The 200-sensor passive seismic survey commenced on
July 19, with results slated to come out mid-September.
Passive seismic detects the earth’s natural low frequency
signals, which differs from active seismic since it doesn’t
require a strong source to induce seismic waves, therefore
environmentally benign and cost-effective.
“Our overall goal is to find a higher-grade deposit while at
the same time examining the economics of the current deposit
at these near-record palladium prices,” Levy says. l
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12 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
Canada’s mining industry is vast and full of opportu-
nity, which makes it a very attractive place to start a
career for people of many backgrounds and skillsets.
Unfortunately, internationally trained professionals coming
to Canada have historically had to face many challenges be-
fore being able to work in the industry: language barriers,
unfamiliar climates and unrecognized talent are just a few of
the major roadblocks that newcomers have faced. The repre-
sentation of immigrants and visible minorities in the Cana-
dian economy was 23 per cent and 21 per cent, respective-
ly; however, the representation of these under-represented
groups in mining was only 13 per cent and nine per cent,
respectively. Clearly, the sector still has some work to do in
attracting this growing source of labour. While the mining
industry continues to face challenges from a tight labour
market, companies and human resource organizations have
created programs to help immigrants acclimate to Canada
and enter its mining industry, and one of the latest projects
is celebrating its landmark first year.
The Mining Professional Immigrant Network (M-PIN) is a
joint effort between the Mining Industry Human Resources
Council (MiHR), The Toronto Regional Immigrant Employ-
ment Council (TRIEC) and Professions North/Nord (PNN),
with funding provided by the Government of Ontario. Since
September 2018, M-PIN has helped internationally trained
professionals become aware of opportunities and secure
good jobs in the Ontario mining sector, and helped the sector
itself by filling labour market shortages and increasing new-
comer representation in mining.
“Only one year in, we have been astounded by the inter-
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 13
est and community that has developed around the project,”
says Jennifer Wright, senior director of diversity and em-
ployment initiatives at MiHR. “M-PIN has had a big impact on
many internationally trained professionals looking to get into
the mining industry, as well as the industry itself, and it has
only just begun.”
Functioning as both an online and in-person networking
group, the free program has already accomplished its goals
to adapt, test and evaluate innovative engagement methods
to better integrate immigrant talent into the Ontario mining
industry, and continues to innovate. Over 150 internationally
trained professionals and employers have connected at in-per-
son networking events held at venues across Ontario, and over
170 have connected online through ENSEMBLE, The Mining
Diversity Network. Some industry human resource members
have also participated in inclusion and diversity training to
better recognize, address and prevent potential barriers to em-
ploying newcomers.
The program has already seen a wealth of success. For Lisa
Demmer, Rock-Tech’s former marketing and relationships
manager, this success came in the form of a shifted perception
after attending an M-PIN networking meetup in January.
“We have a much greater appreciation for the challenges
that newcomers face, even when they’re highly skilled,” she
says. “For an engineer with such excellent education and ex-
perience to take well over a decade to receive a professional
designation in Ontario, that certainly still means that there is
a lot of work to do.”
Despite the several challenges that lie ahead, other compa-
nies have already started warming up to the benefits of hiring
highly skilled, internationally trained talent. Shivan Singh, an
engineer from South Africa who had only moved to Canada a
month prior, found the meeting he attended in February to be
more helpful than he had imagined – he met his future em-
ployer there.
“I struggled to see opportunities in Northern Ontario in my
field,” Singh says. “However, when I reached Canada, attending
an M-PIN event and going to job fairs that Professions North/
Nord put me in contact with, I saw there are opportunities
here.”
Networking with other newcomers at the M-PIN event also
helped Singh learn how to get an engineering license in Ontar-
io, something that had been causing him a great deal of stress
overseas.
Singh is only one of hundreds whose professional lives
have been enhanced by the network. Even for those unable
to attend physical meetups, M-PIN’s online presence has also
grown dramatically since its inception, and continues to grow
strong still.
“The Mining Professional Immigrant Network was a great
opportunity that I think we really turned into something spe-
cial,” says Ryan Montpellier, executive director of MiHR. “2019
saw a real difference in our efforts to strengthen and diversify
the talent pool for the Ontario mining industry.”
Newcomers and employers alike can look forward to even
more networking events coming in 2020, with enhanced
training classes incoming as well. Blogs, webinars, discus-
sion forums, a shared calendar and more can be found on
ENSEMBLE , and joining is simple and free. Visit MiHR.ca to
learn more, and email [email protected] to join today. l
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14 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
Argo Gold: Reviving anold gold mining campBy delio tortosa and Judy Baker
after a 25-year lag in gold ex-
ploration in the Uchi Gold
Camp, Argo Gold Inc. has
been reviving exploration discovery
interest in the ‘shadow of the head-
frame’ south of the historical Uchi
Gold Mine with its high-grade Uchi
Gold Project in Northwestern Ontar-
io.
During the mid-1930s to the early
1940s, four gold mines were devel-
oped by Uchi Mines Ltd. under the di-
rection of Jack Hammel, a well-known
mine developer in the Red Lake area.
The gold mines are in the southeast
end of the Birch-Uchi Greenstone
Belt, about 100 kilometres east of the
prolific Red Lake Greenstone Belt.
Argo Gold’s Uchi Gold Project of 22
square kilometres of 100-per cent
owned claims is the highly prospec-
tive yet relatively unexplored ground
immediately south and on trend with
the historical mines. In the 1930s, sev-
eral companies were amalgamated
into a large property holding, which
became the Uchi Gold Mine Camp. A
settlement was established near the
main Uchi Mine shaft, which includ-
ed a hotel, school, post office, bank,
curling rink, community hall and 15
dwellings providing housing for min-
ers and their families.
Uchi Gold Mines Ltd. was later tak-
en over by Little Long Lac Gold Mines
Ltd., which became Lac Minerals Ltd.,
which was later purchased by Barrick
Gold Corp. The mines on these patents
underwent mine rehabilitation from
1996 to 1998 and have received limit-
ed exploration since the mines closed
during the Second World War.
Notably, the rocks and geological
structures associated with the Uchi
Mines extend to the south onto Argo
Gold’s Uchi Gold Property. During the
early days of exploration in the 1930s,
prospectors were able to identify sig-
nificant prospects on the Barrick Gold
patents to the north due to much bet-
ter rock exposure, whereas companies
exploring to the south had thicker
overburden cover (one to three me-
tres) and thus few outcrop prospects
Uchi Gold Mine ca. 1940.(Source: Red Lake Heritage Centre)
-
OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 15
were identified. Argo’s exploration
approach is using modern tools and
techniques to offset this limitation
(geophysics, geochemistry including
biochemistry, surface stripping, map-
ping and sampling).
In the early 1990s, exploration on
Argo Gold’s Uchi Gold Project was
initiated by St. Jude Resources, and
by persistent prospecting and utiliz-
ing various exploration methods, the
Woco Vein was discovered near sur-
face. The narrow vein was stripped
and sampled returning modest but
good gold grades. With this informa-
tion in hand, St. Jude initiated a drill
program on the Woco Vein in 1993,
which was designed to test the vein
at shallow depths. Chester Kuryliw,
a well-known geologist, logged and
sampled the core, and to his surprise
noted that the vein increased in width
up to two metres at greater depth and
carried visible gold with assays of up
Woco Gold Project location and regional geology(after GSC OF 4256; OGS Map P3460).
Argo Gold’s Uchi Gold projecton trend property withhistoric gold mines and recent prospects.
-
16 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
to one to three ounces per ton gold. A
year later, a second drill program was
completed which outlined a steeply
plunging quartz lense or shoot with
high-grade gold down to 150 metres.
Argo Gold’s winter drill program in
2019 confirmed the historical discov-
ery with drill intercepts including 132
grams per tonne gold over 1.8 metres.
In 2016, Argo Gold was founded
to acquire high-grade gold projects in
Northwestern Ontario and an exten-
Gold outcrop. Given the evidence of
widespread gold mineralization at all
known outcrop defining a material-
ly mineralized gold corridor from the
past-producing Uchi Mine to Woco
and further southwest to Northgate,
Argo Gold staked another 8.4 square
kilometres along the mineralized Uchi
corridor in 2018. Argo Gold’s Uchi Gold
Project now covers five kilometres of
multiple mineralized trends made up
of materially mineralized outcrop and
confirmed high-grade gold mineral-
ization to the current drilling depth of
200 metres.
In the spring of 2017, Argo Gold
sive effort was made to look for suit-
able gold prospects. When we dug into
the assessment files on Woco Gold, it
became obvious that this was an excel-
lent acquisition, and so with some per-
sistence a deal with the private compa-
ny and owner of the property (former
president of St. Jude Resources). Sim-
ilarly, a separate deal was reached on
the adjoining Northgate Gold situated
several kilometres southwest of Woco
and following a similar regional trend.
In 2018, Argo Gold continued to ac-
quire ground in the camp with the
acquisition of the Geisler Patents con-
taining the known mineralized Rain-
Bill Kerr, lead exploration geologist on the UchiWoco Gold Project.
Photo of the Woco Gold Vein looking south.
Photo of helicopter transferring the drill rig February 2019.
-
OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 17
raised financing to initiate explora-
tion at all of its 100-per cent owned
gold projects including several gold
project peripheral to Wesdome’s Ea-
gle Mine in the Wawa area and in
Northwestern Ontario, the Uchi Gold
Project and the McVicar Lake Gold
Project. Exploration was carried out
at the Uchi Gold Project by Argo Gold
Team Geologist William Kerr. Early
in the season, the Woco Vein was
cleared and sampled and the 1993
drill holes were located and probed.
Later in the season – after acquisition
of additional ground – Northgate
Gold – to the southwest along the
mineralized corridor – was cleared
and sampled. Northgate Gold has
wider shear-hosted gold mineralized
quartz veins at surface.
The probe work at Woco was pos-
sible as most of the 1993-94 drill cas-
ing was still in place on the Woco and
a Reflex crew was able to do a down-
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■ Assaying and Geochemical Analysis■ Metallurgy and Mineralogy■ Spectral Services■ Mine Site Laboratories
Bureau Veritas MineralsAnalytical Laboratory Services for the Exploration & Mining Industries
+1 800 990 2263 | [email protected]/um
■ Assaying and Geochemical Analysis■ Metallurgy and Mineralogy■ Spectral Services■ Mine Site Laboratories
Bureau Veritas MineralsAnalytical Laboratory Services for the Exploration & Mining Industries
+1 800 990 2263 | [email protected]/um
■ Assaying and Geochemical Analysis■ Metallurgy and Mineralogy■ Spectral Services■ Mine Site Laboratories
Bureau Veritas MineralsAnalytical Laboratory Services for the Exploration & Mining Industries
Bureau Veritas Minerals Analytical Laboratory Services for the Exploration & Mining Industries
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Drill rig on the first hole of the Woco Gold Vein.
-
18 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
hole orientation survey. Although
the core racks had collapsed and the
writing on the plastic tags had faded
after 25 years, the historical drill logs,
assays and downhole surveys were
then incorporated into 3D modelling
software. From the 3D model, plans
and sections, we could see that the
strike extension had not been tested
and the Woco Vein was still open at
depth. After some data compilation,
a drilling plan was designed to test
the core of the high-grade vein, the
strike extensions and depth extent
to 200 metres. With funding for a
2,500-metre drill program, Argo Gold
carried out a helicopter supported
drill program in the winter of 2019 at
the Uchi Gold Project focused on the
Woco Gold Vein, Northgate Gold and
the Uchi Break – a zone 300 metres
east of Woco consisting of fracturing,
mineralization, veining and shearing
extending south/southwest from the
historic mines to the north.
The initial drill hole at the Woco
Vein targeted the historic high-grade
Uchi Break, a structure closely associ-
ated with the historic Uchi Mines to
the north. Several holes intersected
the Uchi Break, which varied from
a zone of massive sulphide (mostly
pyrrhotite and pyrite with anoma-
lous gold 0.5 gm/t and manganese
0.6 per cent) in the north, to a zone of
metasediments with quartz veining
and containing ductile shear zones, in
the south.
Argo Gold also drilled the North-
gate Gold intersecting a shear-hosted
quartz vein system that was drilled by
Northgate Exploration in 1959 after
visible gold was identified in outcrop
the 1930s and later. Argo Gold veri-
fied the presence of a gold mineralized
shear-hosted vein system at North-
gate Gold where all three drill holes
intersected the vein system including
intersecting 34 grams per tonne gold
over half a metre. In addition, the min-
eralized zone was extended 50 metres
to the east-northeast for a total strike
length of 250 metres. There are sever-
al historical drill hole intersections on
this gold prospect from the late 1950s
(0.37 opt/3.3 ft, 0.27 opt/12.1 ft, 0.19
opt/ 4.8 ft), but little information is
available from drilling the mid-1930s.
Additional drilling is required to con-
tinue to determine the strike length,
depth extent and high-grade controls
of Northgate Gold and potential for a
deep-seated feeder system.
Current exploration work involves
a detailed biogeochemical sampling
survey at the Uchi Gold Project. The
program is designed to follow up on a
spring 2019 geochemical orientation
survey, which successfully identified
known gold mineralization. The de-
tailed geochemical survey will sample
a 600-metre wide swath along five ki-
lometres of the Uchi mineralized cor-
ridor. Approximately 1,100 samples
mineralized zone and intersected
a quartz vein almost two metres in
length with well-disseminated, fine-
grained, visible gold containing 132
grams per tonne gold over 1.8 metres.
This was the verification we need-
ed for the historical drill holes with
high-grade gold values. Drilling along
strike confirmed that the mineraliza-
tion occurs in shoots. A fan of two
drill holes targeted the Woco Vein at
150-metre depth with some visible
gold in the quartz, and the deeper hole
intersected a wider altered zone in the
hanging wall of the Woco vein. A fan
of three drill holes was positioned to
intersect the plunging shoot down to
200-metre depth. All of the three drill
holes intersected the Woco vein with
two drill holes showing visible gold.
Additional drilling is required to con-
tinue to determine the strike length,
depth extent and high-grade controls
of the Woco Vein and potential for a
deep-seated feeder system.
Argo Gold also drill tested a geo-
physics anomaly associated with the
Longitudinal section on the plane of the Woco Gold Vein, trending at 020o and dipping – 85O W with gold assays.
-
OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 19
will be collected on a 60-by-60-metre
diamond pattern.
There is minimal outcrop at the
Uchi Gold Project, which now con-
sists of 22 square kilometres of min-
eral claims and identifying areas of
anomalous gold mineralization under
overburden will provide important in-
formation. Argo Gold does have very
high-quality AEM/AMAG geophysics
coverage for the Uchi Gold Project,
which defines the mineralized Uchi
Corridor and is useful in identifying
crosscutting structures and lithologies
that are potentially gold bearing. The
combination of geological and struc-
tural mapping at known outcrops,
geophysics and pending geochemical
gold anomalies will be a powerful com-
bination of information to advance ex-
ploration activities at Argo Gold’s Uchi
Gold Project, which covers five kilome-
tres of multiple mineralized trends in
the Uchi mineralization corridor.
Future exploration at the Uchi Gold
Project will also focus on extending the
depth of the high-grade Woco Vein,
additional drilling along strike and at
depth at Northgate Gold which also
hosts up to one ounce per ton gold in-
tercepts. Digital GIS and oriented opti-
cal borehole structural mapping tools
are being evaluated to better under-
stand high-grade structural controls.
The current Woco drilling along
with the historical drill holes from
the mid-1990s has identified a steeply
plunging lense (-70o NNE) of high-
grade gold mineralization on a NNE
trending, steeply west-dipping struc-
ture, which is still open at depth. Close-
ly spaced plunging shoots character-
ized the Uchi Gold Mine to the north is
an encouraging trend that could assist
with understanding the periodicity of
high-grade shoots and lode vein sys-
tems at Argo Gold’s Uchi Gold Project.
Lake gold discovery and First Mining
Gold’s continuing feasibility study on
the Springpole Gold Deposit by New
Mining Gold in the northern part of
the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt. Argo
Gold’s exploration activity at the Uchi
Gold Project in the south end of the
Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt has poten-
tial to lead the next wave of high-grade
gold discoveries in the area. l
Several successful examples of mines
in these types of high-grade gold set-
tings are the Island Gold Mine, Ala-
mos Gold and the Eagle River Mine,
Wesdome Mines, Wawa.
Exploration activity and staking
has increased in the Red Lake and
the Birch-Uchi Lake areas driven in
part by Great Bear Resources’ Dixie
-
20 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
the Superior East Region of Ontario has seen ex-
ploration and mining activity since the turn of
the century. However, compared to other mining
camps in Canada, it’s generally underexplored. But there
are three companies set to make the most of their respec-
tive properties in the area.
trillium Mining corp.This early-stage, Toronto-based exploration company
headed by CEO Mike Timmins is focused on its high-
grade gold assets in the Wawa Gold Camp. The property
covers about 6,000 hectares of the Goudreau Lake Defor-
mation Zone and is contiguous to east of Alamos’ Island
Gold Mine. Their activities cover over eight kilometres of
mineralized horizons. Trillium is private and a relatively
young company, having been established in 2017.
“We have three principal assets – the past-producing
Edwards and Cline Mines and our regional land position,
which has been named Highland,” Timmins explains,
adding that all three mines comprise the Trillium Gold
Project.
The Edwards Mines, acquired by Trillium in 2017, op-
erated in two different eras. It first operated in the late
1930s and was closed just before the Second World War.
River Gold then operated the mine from 1996 to 2001.
“It produced around 144,000 ounces at 13 to 15 grams
per tonne,” Timmins says. “Key features at Edwards are
the relatively 4.5-by-4.5-metre mine portal and decline
down to about 300 metres vertical. Also, all of the elec-
trical infrastructure is in place and in great shape.”
The Cline Mine was acquired by Trillium in 2016 and
was a small mine producing about 60,000 ounces at six to
seven grams per tonne. Like Edwards, it operated in the
late 1930s and shut down in 1939. Over the years, Cline
has been the focus of many exploration companies and,
most notably, Noranda, which made the Lake Zone dis-
covery.
The newgolden ageof the SuperiorEast Region
Mike Timmins.
-
OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 21
Filling out the development pipeline at Trillium is High-
land, their regional land position.
“There are over 18 historical gold targets regionally and
the two most advanced have had large bulk samples taken.
The Markes and Vega Zones will be the focus of our inves-
tigations in the next several months,” Timmins says. “These
satellites give some sense that we are seeing the scale re-
quired for a modern, tier-one mining operation.
“We are excited because this is the first time one company
has had the opportunity to advance all three of these assets
with a strategy and supportive shareholders.”
Timmins adds the company’s goals are to 1) establish
themselves in the community, 2) compile all of the histori-
cal and new 2019 data and information and 3) begin to plan
how to approach the project and expand its current a gold
resource.
“The key to success here is to build a significant, high-qual-
ity resource in an area of the country where communities
support our activities, this is what our team works on every-
day,” Timmins explains.
Wesdome Gold MinesProduction is also coming from Wesdome Gold Mines,
says Michael Michaud, vice-president of exploration. Wes-
dome is a junior gold producer with one producing mine
called the Eagle River Mine in northwest Ontario, outside
of Wawa as well.
“Our goal with this mine is incremental increases in gold
production year over year,” Michaud says. “The goal is to in-
crease the underground mining rate where reserves stand
at just over 12 grams per tonne; however, our average head
grade for the first half of 2019 has been 20.9 grams per
tonne, due to a new high-grade zone called the 303. The
increased production rate from the higher-grade under-
ground mine would replace the lower grade Mishi open pit,
which is only 2.0 grams per tonne, both feeding a central
mill. In order to ramp that production up, we need to ex-
plore around the Eagle River Mine, and that’s really what
we’ve been doing over the last several years.”
Michaud says Wesdome has ramped up its diamond-drill-
ing program from somewhere around 25,000 metres per
year to over 100,000 metres per year.
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22 OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019
“We’re aggressively exploring and increasing the
production rate from underground,” he adds.
red pine explorationRed Pine Exploration’s flagship project is the
Wawa Gold Project located in Wawa, Ont. The prop-
erty comprises 6,500 hectares, just two kilometres
southeast of the town of Wawa. It encompasses eight
past producing mines from the late 1800s to the early
1900s.
“When we started working on this property in late
2014, there was already an identified resource called
the Surluga Deposit,” Mia Boiridy, head of investor
relations and corporate development, says. “This area
was the site of the first gold rush in Ontario and the
region was known for its high-grade gold mines.”
For the past four years, the Surluga Deposit has
been the company’s focus. They reissued a resource
for Surluga in June of 2019, bringing it up to over
500,000 ounces at a grade of over five grams per
tonne.
“We made another discovery, the Minto Mine
South Deposit. We issued resource for it in Novem-
ber of last year,” Boiridy says. “That’s 100,000 ounces
at 6.8 grams per tonne on average.
“We recently started drilling the Cooper Struc-
ture, one kilometre northeast of Surluga, and we
think Cooper is similar to Minto,” she adds.
Red Pine Exploration’s overall goals with the
Wawa Gold Project is to prove up over one million
ounces of gold near-surface on the property package,
and show that Surluga extends at depth in terms of
mineralization.
“What’s interesting is there is historical infra-
structure there with these old mines. We could have
access by using existing infrastructure, if it’s in good
standing,” Boiridy says. “We have two identified re-
sources, but there are six additional exploration tar-
gets. We could have potentially eight deposits on our
land package.
“We’ve worked, for the past four years, on proving
that there was high-grade mineralization at Surluga
and Minto. Now it’s going to be proving that there’s
more than just the two. We feel confident that there
will eventually be an operating mine on our land
package.” l
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OntariO Prospector FaLL 2019 23
index to advertisersactLabs / activation Laboratories ........................7
aLS Global .........................................................................5
Bureau Veritas Commodities Canada Ltd. ........17
Corriveau J.L. & associates inc. ..............................11
Custom helicopters ......................................................11
discovery international Geophysics ...............OBC
Forest helicopters .........................................................5
Gdd .................................................................................... 13
Geosig inc. ....................................................................... 13
haveman Brothers Forestry Services inc. .........21
Korex .................................................................................. 10
Major drilling ....................................................................9
Morgan Fuels ....................................................................7
norske drilling ............................................................... 10
Signal weather Services ............................................12
SiMS Group ..................................................................... 13
Sling Choker.....................................................................12
tech directional Services ......................................... 15
the Gear Centre............................................................ 19
tSL Laboratories ............................................................7
Xplor ................................................................................ iFC
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