Dec 8 2010
Brigus Gold Corp. (TSX:BRD)(NYSE Amex:BRD) has completed the review of historical information from the past producing underground Stock gold mine located on Brigus' 100% owned 24 square kilometre Stock Mine property in the Timmins Mining District, Ontario.
The review has confirmed the potential for further gold mineralization below the historical Stock Mine workings, as well as, for discovering new gold mineralized zones along strike. Brigus will launch an exploration drill program and plans to have two drill rigs active on the property beginning in the first quarter of 2011.
The Stock Mine is located directly adjacent to Brigus' 2000 tonne per day gold mill which processes ore from the Company's Black Fox gold mine. Brigus has recently received the results of a review completed by Mackie and Associates and EHA Engineering providing short and long-term recommendations including the identification of opportunities for increased future throughput at the mill. The recommendations are under review and demonstrate the potential for processing additional sources of ore.
The Stock Mine is hosted by the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone ("DPFZ"). The Stock Mine comprises a 3-compartment shaft developed to a depth of 275 metres below surface. A production ramp extends from the 140 metre level to approximately 330 metres below surface. Between 1988 and December 2000, the Stock Mine operated intermittently and produced 131,000 ounces of gold from 824,000 tonnes of ore at an average of 5.5 grams of gold per tonne mined from the N2, West and East Zones.
The exploration potential of the Stock Mine property are highlighted by historic surface drill hole results at the Stock Mine include hole S96-02 which returned 6.5 gram per tonne gold over 5.2 metres ("m") at an approximate depth of 150 m below mine workings, and drill hole S98-14 which intersected 14.5 gram per tonne gold over 3.0 m and 10.7 gram per tonne gold over 1.0 m and hole S03-11 (drilled 50 metres east of S98-14) which intersected 1.1 gram per tonne gold over 12.0 m including 6.1 gram per tonne gold over 2.0 m on the Discovery West zone, located 150 m west of existing mine workings.
Howard Bird, Brigus Gold's Vice President of Exploration, said, "We will be commencing an aggressive drill program on the Stock Mine Property, which covers approximately five kilometres of the DPFZ and is host to the past producing Stock Mine. Our objective is to identify new gold resources with the obvious advantage of having an operating mill and permitted tailings facility on site. The program will commence in January 2011 to test below and along strike of the historic underground Stock mine workings and to test gold targets expected to be generated from a Titan deep IP geophysical survey which is underway and will be completed towards the end of December".
Senior Exploration Project Manager John A. Dixon P. Geo reviewed the technical exploration information in this release as the Qualified Person for the Company.