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Pure Gold looks to add ounces at Red Lake

Northwestern Ontario mine developer drilling off satellite deposits
Madsen Mine head frame
Madsen Mine headframe (Pure Gold photo)

Pure Gold Mining has launched a 12,000-metre drilling program of its three satellite gold finds at the Madsen Mine project, southwest of Red Lake.

Its Wedge discovery is the prime focus of the year-long exploration program for the Vancouver mine developer with some work being devoted to its outlying Fork and Russet South deposits.

The Vancouver company’s 47-square-kilometre property is host to two former mines, the Madsen and the Starratt.

One drill rig has been deployed to upgrade the inferred resources at the Wedge deposit, just west of the former Starratt shaft, while testing along its strike and down-plunge extensions.

Pure Gold’s exploration team discovered the Wedge deposit a year ago. The drilling program wraps up in December.

The company released a preliminary economic assessment last February forecasting that the three deposits could potentially add almost four years to the projected 12 years of mine life at the main Madsen deposit, which goes into production in 2020.

Madsen contains more than 2 million ounces of gold at 8.9 grams per tonne in the indicated category and 467,000 ounces at 7.7 grams per tonne in the inferred column. The satellite deposits could bring an additional 210,000 ounces of production.

“The rapid progression of Wedge, and other near surface discoveries, from discovery to engineering and economics is testament to the strength of our team’s geologic model, and the tremendous exploration upside evident at Madsen,” said Pure Gold president-CEO Darin Labrenz in a May 31 news release.

“With this new program our exploration team is focused on growth of the current resource and providing the framework for a second phase of development with the goal of not only extending, but potentially expanding the base case production scenario at Madsen.”