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Fenelon

Historic Bulk Sampling and Pre-Feasibility Programs


n 2001, then operator International Taurus Resources Inc. conducted an open-pit bulk-sampling program on a portion of the Discovery Zone. The goals of this program were to confirm, through open-pit mining methods, the presence of significant high-grade gold at Fenelon; and to provide details of the geology, mining engineering and metallurgy of the deposit. The program results were very positive with the exposures in the open pit revealing additional mineralization structures which had not been fully evaluated by previous drilling. The gold-bearing structures were found to be oriented somewhat differently than initially thought resulting in an increase in estimated true widths and potential resources.

A bulk sample collected from the open-pit bulk resulted in test milling of a 14,000 tonne sample at Richmont's Camflo mill which produced 4,339 ounces of gold. The metallurgical response of the bulk-sample mineralization to a conventional cyanidation mill flow-sheet was as predicted in previous tests, with an excellent gold recovery of over 97 percent were achieved.

Gold Bar from Fenelon Test Milling

Underground development was started in October 2003. Site facilities and a full camp were constructed at that time and remain on site. More than 250 metres of ramp, 550 metres of access workings and several stopes were developed in 2003-2004. The ramp has advanced to the 5195 elevation (55 metres below surface). An 8,300-tonne bulk sample was mined from the stopes, which produced 2,596 ounces of gold again via custom milling at the Camflo facility in Malartic, Quebec.

Underground drilling as part of the underground development program was highly successful as well with every drill hole within intersecting a combination of strong gold-related rock alteration and/or gold mineralization. The underground exploration program supported a simpler mineralization model than originally interpreted at Fenelon with the high-grade gold mineralization being controlled by several through-going parallel shear zones, which can be traced with drilling in the main Discovery Area for at least 300 metres along strike and to depths of at least 150 metres, below which they remain open for expansion.

The 2003-2004 underground test mining program mined approximately 8,300 tonnes of mineralized material, consisting of half stoped and half development rock. This material was milled on a toll milling basis at the Camflo mill near Val-d'Or, Quebec. A total of 3,428 ounces of gold doré was shipped to the refinery. This produced approximately 2,596 ounces of gold, which correlates very well with pre-test mining resource estimates.

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Fenelon

Bulk Sampling - Fenelon

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