Good results from exploration work at Wesdome’s Eagle River mine suggests the operation might remain in production beyond its projected closure date, writes Chronicle Journal.
The writer refers to a Toronto-based company has been sounding bullish about the future of its Wawa-area mine due to last year’s discovery of a 300-metre extension expected to provide new high-grade zones that are available for mining.
Wesdome recently released drilling results that further confirmed the company’s hunch about the new zones.
“These new results are in a very desirable location with respect to existing development,” Wesdome president Duncan Middlemiss said last week in a news release..
About 250 direct employees and contractors combined work at the mine, which went into production in 1996.
Based on current gold reserves, the mine is expected to operate for at least another six years, but the new zones are expected to provide “potential to grow significantly.”
The operation includes underground mining as well as an open pit.
Wesdome had earmarked $4 million this year for exploration work, including 40,000 metres of drilling.
It’s a good time to be in the gold business, with the price of the metal pegged at more than US $1,300 per ounce for several weeks.
Many other Northwestern Ontario gold companies, including Barrick Gold and Greenstone Gold, have been taking advantage of the price surge to move ahead with new mining projects or the expansion of existing ones.