Kerr Mines Inc. (OTCMKTS:KERMF) has begun the underground exploration and development drilling process for the 2017 Copperstone Mine pre-feasibility assessment and exploration program. Around 4,600 meters of drilling is planned for the first phase with the objective of enhancing the confidence levels and ounces of the current resource in the Copperstone Zone, and additionally outlining the parallel Footwall Zone.
The details
The Copperstone Zone recorded gold production of more than 500,000 ounces between 1987 and 1993 when gold prices were under $400 per troy ounce on an average and when the pit had hit economic limits at the time. The down-dip addition of the Copperstone Zone, positioned primarily east of and underneath the bottom of the open pit, boasts a mineral resource of 313,000 ounces at 0.302 ounce/ton, projected in 2010. The initial phase of the underground drilling plan will test targets along around 520 meters of this resource which shows a total strike length of 4,100 feet.
Kerr Mines reported that the company intend to complete the drilling of total 4,600 meters in the first phase in the Copperstone Zone. The target is to enhance the current resource and add more to it. The exploration drilling plan comprises assessment of the down-dip extensions of the resource as well as untested regions within the resource, along strike.
Numerous untested areas are expected to be made accessible by the new exploration drift. This new underground drift of 365 meter will be accessed from current underground workings and will increase the overall area of mine access by around 365 meters to the South East, close to the strike of the Copperstone Zone. The mine access is positioned in between the parallel Footwall Zone and the Copperstone Zone, providing concurrent exploration drilling access to both zones. This new drift is also strategically positioned to offer access to the Copperstone Zone for prospective future mining purposes.