Alberta Stock Exchange Tusk to produce gold

In a week when lack of rainfall may have put a damper on the speculative activities of Alberta investors, the Tusk Minerals issue was one of a small group which managed to post gains in their share prices.

Tusk was up 7 cents to close at 20 cents on news that gold production is scheduled to begin next year from a tailings pond on a former producer called the Anglo-Rouyn property near La Ronge, Sask.

Tusk has the option to acquire a 50% working interest in an agreement with a private Saskatoon, Sask.-based company called Kristo Gold Inc.

With an initial production rate of 8,000 oz annually for three years, Tusk says the potential exists for a much higher output of 30,000 oz silver and 1.5 million lb copper.

Monte Carlo Gold Mines posted a 6 cents increase in its share price after announcing what it called “an exciting gold prospect” at the Aruba Island project in the Dutch Antilles.

“The prospect has a strike length of 1,180 ft, a width of 28 ft and an average gold grade of 0.0691 oz gold per ton. Under an open pit scenario, waste to ore ratio would be low due to the zone’s explosure along the side of a hill,” said President Gordon Leliever.

According to Leliever, Monte Carlo will spend $600,000 on a 15,000-ft percussion drilling program designed to evaluate the gold zone.

Perrex Resources remained steady at $1 despite some encouraging results at the Iris gold property where the Edmonton company is joint venturing with Alberta Gold Exploration.

Located in the Harker-Holloway gold camp in northeastern Ontario, the Iris property carries the projected extension of the of the Golden Harker or e deposit and the partners are gearing up for a 30,000-ft drill program.

According to Perrex President Alexander Perron, a drill hole intersection in the B zone assayed 0.220 oz gold per ton over 13.5 ft. The intersection included a 7-ft intersection grading 0.34 oz.

While it dropped 9 cents to close at 50 cents , Varna Gold is sending exploration crews to follow up on new discoveries made last year at Wood Lake, Man., and Mings Bight, Nfld.

Varna President Gordon Barron said exploration efforts at Wood Lake will focus on the Stewart zone which yielded values of 1.65 oz gold on surface. Preliminary drilling of the zone produced a 2.7-m intersection which assayed at 0.147 oz.

Varna will also continue to explore the 7,000-acre Mings Bight property where rock and soil samples assyed up to 0.822 oz.

An application by Little Abitibi River Resources to have its shares listed for trading was accepted by the Alberta Stock Exchange recently, according to the company. Little Abitibi is involved in gold exploration near Cochrane and Pickle Lake, Ont.