Putting the pieces together

The likelihood of not finding something between the Kiena headframe and the Wesdome headframe is akin to the likelihood of driving across Montreal without hitting a red light!” boasts Wesdome Gold Mines Inc. chairman and visionary Murray Pollitt. Located only 10 km from Val d’Or, Que., the company’s Kiena gold mine, in production on and off for over 60 years, has proven again to be an exciting play that is regenerating the area.

Pollitt put the land package together over a period of 30 years. It encompasses eight former underground operations that together have produced over 2.5 million ounces of gold. Wesdome’s activities mark the first time these past producers have all been managed by one company.

The heart of Wesdome Gold Mines’ properties is the Kiena mine complex. The Wesdome, Siscoe and McKenzie Break properties are north of the Kiena mine, and the Shawkey property is southeast of the mine. The properties are contiguous and are about 55% covered by the water of Lac DeMontigny.

Gold was first discovered in the area on Parker Island, the site of the Kiena mine, in the early 1900s. In 1936, Kiena Gold Mines sunk a four-level shaft and identified the North and VC zones prior to closure in 1940 due to wartime issues. (‘VC’ stands for Venture Capitalists, a Thayer Lindsley company.) Falconbridge operated the property in the 1960s and ’70s, started production in 1981 and built the mill in 1984. Falconbridge sold its interest to Campbell Red Lake Mines Ltd. in 1986; with the merger of Placer Development, Dome Mines and Campbell Red Lake, Placer Dome Canada assumed ownership in 1994. In 1997, Les Mines McWatters Inc. purchased the Kiena mine and became operator. Wesdome Gold Mines, which already owned the Wesdome and Siscoe properties, purchased the Kiena mine complex and the Shawkey and McKenzie Break properties in late 2003.

Wesdome Gold Mines’ properties lie within a northeast-dipping, overturned sequence of mafic and ultramafic rocks of the Malartic Group in the southeastern portion of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The volcanic rocks are intruded by diorite, granodiorite, and younger feldspar porphyry dikes. Mineralization occurs in carbonate-quartz sulphide stockworks, veins, breccia filling, and as disseminated sulphides with associated carbonatization and albitization in the diorite and surrounding rocks.

Exploring and developing zones

On the Kiena mine property, there are three main mineralized zones termed VC, North and 388. When mining operations were suspended in 2003, total mineral resources on the Kiena mine property stood at 3.01 million tonnes grading 4.25 grams of gold per tonne (g/t), or 410,000 ounces of contained gold. To the north, on the Wesdome property, the A zone has an indicated resource of 145,000 tonnes grading 5.36 g/t Au and an inferred resource of 615,000 tonnes grading 5.13 g/t Au. There are several other gold-bearing vein systems on the Wesdome property. In the mid- to late 1990s a shaft was collared and a hoist installed on Island 3 on the Wesdome property.

On the Shawkey property, southeast of the Kiena mine, Shawkey Gold Mines produced 149,000 tonnes of ore grading 8 g/t Au from the Martin zone in the late 1930s. The property also hosts the 22 zone–an extensively mineralized area that has been traced for over 700 m and to depths of 300 m.

The Siscoe mine property northeast of the Kiena mine, produced 883,000 ounces of gold between 1929 and 1949. This was Val d’Or’s first and richest mine. At its close, Siscoe had only been mined to a depth of 600 m. Deep drilling in 1997 returned high gold grades as deep as 800 m below surface suggesting more mineralization at depth.

To further add to this package, the McKenzie Break property, northeast of Kiena, has indicated reserves of 186,000 tonnes grading 10 g/t Au at shallow depths.

Wesdome plans to develop the VC, North and 388 zones and begin production from them in mid-2006. The company’s recent activities have included drifting north from the Kiena mine on the 520-m level towards the mineralized zones on the Wesdome property; developing the VC, North and 388 zones at the Kiena mine; and drifting southeast toward the Shawkey property to allow primary development and underground evaluation of the Martin and 22 zones.

Underground drilling of the VC zone has returned better-than-expected results. It is now recognized to be an en echelon series of at least three gold-bearing systems that have been traced down-dip for over 500 m and along-strike for 60 m. The results have so impressed Wesdome management that drifting toward the Wesdome property has been stopped, to better focus on drilling and developing the VC zone. Miners have completed an access drift south of the VC zone to facilitate drilling its west end. The zone is open to the west and to depth. Drilling of the 388 zone has also returned positive results. Drifting toward the Shawkey property is 75% completed.

Western Quebec Mines owns 45% of Wesdome Gold Mines and 35% of River Gold Mines, owner of the producing Eagle River gold mine near Wawa, Ont. Plans are currently underway for a merger of Wesdome and River Gold, a move that would enhance the production profile and increase equity-raising ability as well as simplify company procedures. Recommendations are pending from independent directors committees established by both companies.