Acadia pulls another good hole at Mooseland, extends Hecla bid

Toronto-based Acadia Mineral Ventures has pulled another good hole on its Mooseland property in Nova Scotia, this one from a depth of 1,300 ft.

Speaking at the annual meeting in Toronto last week, geologist Avard Hudgins says, “we’ve just pulled an 8-ft intersection that graded 2 oz gold per ton from the L’estrange shoot.”

About 600,000 tons of gold mineralization has been identified in this shoot, located on the west side of the property. Grades average 0.25 oz.

Results so far on the east side of the property suggest there is potential for as many tons at a grade of 0.75 oz, according to Hudgins.

“To the east we are finding three or four more shoots,” Hudgins says. “They appear to be three staggered saddle reefs and are starting to rake off to the east steeper than what we had anticipated, so we’ll have to drill deeper.” The deepest hole drilled so far on the east side of the property is 800 ft.

“Geophysical evidence suggests the zone goes further, but we have no drill holes into it yet up to our boundary.”

Acadia is one of the most active exploration companies in the Maritimes. It has five drills active in Nova Scotia and three in New Brunswick with three more coming — two for N.B. and one more for N.S.

The company’s board of directors agreed to give Hecla Mining of the U.S. additional time to access the latest drilling results before deciding to advance with plans to earn a 60% interest in the ground. President Donald Smith told shareholders should Hecla decide to earn such an interest, it could involve capital expenditures in the order of $50 million.

“We do not foresee Hecla backing out of this deal,” Smith says, “But we can do it ourself if we have to.”

The company recently completed financings totalling $3.5 million. This included a flow-through financing through the facilities of nim at $4.97 a share.

The company’s shares traded on the tse this week at about $2.90.