Richmont Mines (TSX: RIC, Stock Forum) hoped to upgrade some of the inferred resources into measured and indicated resources at its Island Lake Gold Mine located near Wawa Ontario, Canada, when the company announced today that it had commenced an additional drill campaign from surface to test part of the down plunge projection of the Island Gold deposit.
According to the news release, the new program will be made up of four diamond drill holes for approximately 4,800 metres for an estimated cost of $0.5 million.
The deposit is still open along strike and at depth, presenting excellent potential for expanding the resource with the company's new drill program.
Company Interim CEO, Elaine Ellingham, commented, “This new 1.1 million ounce resource under our operating Island Gold Mine came together very quickly. It remains open at depth and along strike, presenting some compelling potential for expanding this resource. These additional exploration drill holes will enable us to test the down plunge potential to the east of our existing resource base at depths of between 800 and 1,000 metres.”
She went on to illustrate, “The Island Gold Mine lies within a highly prospective regional gold-rich structure that also hosts Argonaut's 5.2 million ounce low-grade Magino resource, located less than 2 km along strike to the west. We expect to continue our exploration through 2015 and likely into 2016, in order to test the full upside potential of the deposit, as this information will be important to determine the optimal longer term development for the mine.”
Then added, “At the same time, as previously reported, we have already extended the ramp into the upper portion of this new zone and commenced development. We expect to be mining from the first stope in this lower zone later this year.”
Richmont Mines was in the news recently when the Montreal Quebec-based company announced closing the transaction giving it 100% ownership of the Island Gold Mine back in the beginning of August.
Currently there are 47.9m outstanding shares with a market cap of $117.0 million.