Nov 1 2010
Claude Resources Inc. today announced that it has successfully de-watered past the 16th level of the Madsen Mine shaft in Red Lake, Ontario.
Rehabilitation of the 16th level has started and two drill chambers are expected to be developed by the end of the first quarter of 2011. De-watering past the 16th level is necessary for the Company to target and drill extensions to the high grade 8 Zone and to test associated sub-parallel systems.
Phase I of the 8 Zone drill program, which was completed in 2009, targeted extensions to the 8 Zone with five successful holes. Phase I tested and demonstrated down plunge continuity, with multiple high grade intercepts and visible gold. Inclusive of three historic holes, the five holes contributed 185,000 inferred ounces of gold towards the National Instrument 43-101 resource calculation the Company announced in December of 2009. Highlights from the Phase I drill program are listed below.?
"The 8 Zone Trend shows strong similarities to Goldcorp's High Grade Zone and has seen limited historic exploration at depth or along strike," stated Brian Skanderbeg, Vice President of Exploration. "Results from Phase I of the underground drill program demonstrated the multi-ounce nature of the system and potential for multiple sub-parallel lenses. Based on these results, an extensive Phase II exploration program has been designed to expand the 8 Zone resource to depth and further explore the trend."
Phase II of the program will include two underground drills targeting the 8 Zone Trend. The program will focus on testing western strike, down plunge and up-plunge extensions as well as footwall targets sub-parallel to the 8 Zone. If successful, this program will could add significantly to the Company's current 1.23 million ounce National Instrument 43-101 resource estimate.
For the remainder of 2010, the Company will continue to rehabilitate the 16th level. Underground drilling is expected to begin near the end of the first quarter in 2011 and run throughout the year. Claude will also continue to drill surface targets, such as the Austin East extension and Starratt-Olsen. Both projects are within close proximity to the Madsen mill. Historic drill results from both the Austin and Starratt-Olsen targets demonstrate the potential to extend known mineralization.
The 10,000 acre, Madsen project is 100 percent owned by Claude Resources Inc and encompasses four past-producing mines. This advanced exploration property contains extensive infrastructure including a 500 ton per day mill with expansion capacity, a permitted tailings management facility and a five compartment 4,000 foot operating shaft. Total recorded historic production for the Madsen Mine is 2.4 million ounces at an average recovered grade of 0.283 oz/ton (9.7 g/t).
Brian Skanderbeg, P.Geo. and M.Sc., Claude's Vice-President Exploration, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved this news release. Drill core was halved and samples averaging 1.0 to 1.5 meters were submitted to Accurassay Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario, an ISO approved facility. Rigorous quality assurance and quality control procedures have been implemented including the use of blanks, standards and duplicates (1 in 20 samples). Core samples were analyzed by a 30 gram gold fire assay with an atomic absorption, conventional gravimetric and/or screen fire techniques. Intercepts are reported as drilled widths and interpreted to vary between 70 percent to 85 percent of true widths. Composites were calculated using a 3 g/tonne cut-off and may include internal dilution.