GOLD: Wesdome expands Mishi pit

ONTARIO – Toronto's Wesdome Gold Mines has received initial results from its 2015 shallow definition drilling program, and they confirm that the pit can be extended at the Mishi gold mine 50 km west of Wawa. The program included 89 holes totalling 9,915 metres.

The best holes were:

• MW15-65A: 10.38 g/t Au over 18.44 metres true width;
• MW15-66: 2.60 g/t Au over 13.96 metres true width; and
• MW15-74: 6.41 g/t Au over 7.35 metres true width.

The Mishi gold deposit strikes east-west and dips 40° north. It is situated within a broad regional deformation zone which follows a volcanic-sedimentary contact within the Mishibishu Greenstone Belt, part of the Archean Wawa-Abitibi Subprovince.

This year's drilling program is providing confidence with which to direct future production expansion. Wesdome is considering boosting mill capacity to 1,500 t/d from 1,200 t/d. In that instance, Mishi output would be doubled to 900 t/d and the current rate of the underground Eagle River mine would be maintained at 450 t/d. The advantage of expanding the mill would be in lower operating costs.

Additional details and results are posted at Wesdome.com.