Wesdome Gold Mines (TSX: WDO) says drill results expanded three underground zones at its Eagle River mine in northern Ontario as it considers extending its production life.
In the Six Central zone, drilling extended the high-grade zone 150 metres to the east near infrastructure, the company said on Wednesday. Drill hole 758-E-456 cut 3.3 metres grading 71.7 grams gold per tonne from 278.2 metres depth. Hole 758-E-463 returned 3 metres at 93.7 grams gold from 270.5 metres downhole.
At the Falcon 311 zone, exploration and delineation drilling confirmed continuity of high grades and expanded this recently discovered zone in the volcanic rocks west of the mine diorite, Wesdome said in a release. Hole 857-E-52 cut 5 metres grading 33 grams gold from 248.1 metres depth.
In the 300 zone, infill and delineation drilling confirmed mineralization within the resource shapes, the company said. Hole 1153-E-01 returned 8.7 metres grading 39.7 grams gold from 25.3 metres downhole.
“This year’s exploration program at Eagle River is expanding the existing resource base of known zones and identifying targets near existing infrastructure,” president and CEO Anthea Bath said in the release. “In the coming months, our objective is to integrate results from this drill program with recently initiated asset optimization studies to potentially extend mine life.”
The mine, near Wawa northeast of Lake Superior, produced 87,799 oz. gold last year, 71% of the company’s total output. Eagle River has a 1,200-tonne per day mill. Wesdome bought nearly 11% of Angus Gold (TSXV: GUS) in January. Angus holds the Golden Sky project next to Eagle. Wesdome also has the Kiena mine near Val-d’Or, Quebec. which produced 35,536 oz. last year.
Wesdome lowered costs during the first quarter by tapping higher grades at Eagle River and Kiena, a trend that was expected to continue in the following three months. Management in May repeated their full-year guidance at 160,000 to 180,000 oz. and said the year’s second half would be driven by planned higher grades from Kiena.
Shares in Wesdome Gold Mines gained 5.3% by early-afternoon Wednesday in Toronto to C$11.74 apiece, valuing the company at C$1.8 billion. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of C$6.51 to C$11.96.
The company says it’s spending nearly C$10 million this year on underground exploration at Eagle River, including expansion, infill and delineation drilling.
The Six Central Zone, discovered last year, is located close to existing infrastructure and at relatively shallow depths of 600 to 750 metres. About 10,280 metres over 39 holes were drilled in this year’s first half with an additional 28 holes planned for the rest of the year, the company said.
Crews have measured the zone’s plunge at 180 metres and its strike at 145 metres based on a 3-D model completed last year. Drill results show its potential for growth and converting its resource to a reserve at year end, Wesdome said.
The company drilled 8,140 metres in the year’s first half at the Falcon 311 zone across 44 holes. An additional 20 holes are planned this year, mostly focused on extending the zone to surface and infill drilling for resource conversion.
The zone extends at least 250 metres along plunge and nearly 115 metres along strike. There’s potential for the zone to expand down plunge and extend to surface, similar to the adjacent Falcon 7 zone discovered in 2019, Wesdome said.
Drilling this year at the 300 Zone has reached 8,050 metres over 28 holes and 25 more holes are planned through December. They are to be roughly split testing the zone to depth, and infill drilling for resource conversion. New platforms on the 1201 level allow drilling to previously inaccessible areas, the company said.
