MacDonald Mines is preparing to start a bulk sampling program on its Wawa-Holdsworth gold-silver project in northeastern Ontario.
The Toronto junior miner plans to use a backhoe to scoop up samples of gold-bearing oxide sands on the 285-hectare property, 20 kilometres north of Wawa.
Last December, MacDonald Mines entered into an option and joint venture agreement with Noble Mineral Exploration to do exploration on the property. To date, MacDonald has not earned any rights on the project.
The property is located in a prolific gold belt with Argonaut Gold’s advanced Magino deposit and Richmont’s Island Gold Mine being their neighbours just to the north.
In a March 21 news release, the company described the oxide sands as a gold and silver-bearing, black-coloured, “oxidized cap” over top of a massive pyrite zone.
Five identified zones have a combined strike length of more than 2,200 metres with the width of the pyrite zone between eight and 10 metres.
In some test spots, the oxide sands reach a depth of more than eight metres. Previous explorers have recognized the gold potential of the sands, but the company said much work needs to be done to evaluate the size and grade of this type of mineralization.
In the release, MacDonald Mines said the soft sands can easily be excavated like an aggregate. And it shouldn’t be an expensive process to delineate a deposit because of the shallow overburden, availability of labour and equipment, and easy access to the site.
The work timelines should be expedited since this property is comprised of fee simple absolute patents of both surface and mineral rights, making it exempt from provincial plan and permit requirements.
The property is also located in an area that it’s not subject to designated licensing requirements under the Aggregate Resources Act.
