Bethlehem re-examines Giant Copper property

This time round, however, the study will pay special attention to the project’s gold potential. Last year Bethlehem assayed numerous sections of drill core for gold which had not been previously assayed for the yellow metal by former operators and these will be incorporated into the updated study. With results such as 35 ft of 0.054 oz gold, 11 ft of 0.096 oz, 45 ft of 0.058 oz, 15 ft of 0.064 oz, 10 ft of 0.089 oz and 57 ft of 0.038 oz, the company is predicting that the grade of 0.017 oz gold per ton estimated for the AM Breccia zone could be “significantly upgraded.”

(An impressive gold assay of 3.926 oz gold over 10 ft was also obtained in the re-assaying of the core from a shear zone outside the main mineralized zone.)

The updated feasibility study will also include revision of the process flowsheet to include modern technology and a review of the underground mining methods as well as updating capital and operating costs in 1989 dollars. The updated feasibility study is expected to be completed by mid-March.

Henry Ewanchuk, president, said the company is confident the study will show that the AM Breccia deposit is economic at today’s metal prices, taking into account the extensive underground development work carried out by previous operators. But he stressed that considerable work still needs to be done before a production decision can be considered. The property is accessible problems and is close to a power and water source.

Last year Bethlehem carried out an exploration drill program to more fully examine the gold potential of the property and to investigate the extent of lower grade disseminated copper mineralization around the previously outlined higher grade zone. Selected results from 1988 drill program include: 45 ft of 1.63% copper, 0.010 oz gold and 1.07 oz silver; 27.5 ft of 1.06% copper, 0.013 oz gold and 0.67 oz silver; 109 ft of 1.56% copper, 0.064 oz gold and 1.65 oz silver; 77.5 ft of 1.26% copper, 0.015 oz gold and 0.93 oz silver; and 23.5 ft of 1.28% copper, 0.043 oz gold and 1.15 oz silver. Molybdenum values were reported separately, as many of the better intersections (eg. 41 ft of 0.075%, 65 ft of 0.058% and 35 ft of 0.166%) were not concurrent with copper-gold-silver intercepts.

Ewanchuk said the results of the 1988 program showed that previous operators had concentrated on just a small portion of the AM Breccia zone. “We drilled some wide- spaced holes across the breccia and found there is definitely more material than the reserves indicate, although we don’t have enough holes to classify them.

“We’re going to try to expand the reserves from surface and then from underground in our 1989 program,” Ewanchuk said, adding that the property has other breccias that remain to be tested. The 1989 exploration program and a $400,000- budget have been approved, and extensive rotary and diamond drilling is planned to begin in late spring.

Bethlehem also has a 20% interest in the Bannack property near Butte, Mont. where Cyprus Metals Co. recently completed a drill program. In addition to numerous other projects already in its portfolio, the company recently entered into a joint venture with Arapahoe Mining Corp. to earn a 55% interest in the Horn Silver property in southwestern Utah.

As operator, Bethlehem will continue exploration of the property which is reported to contain several silver, copper, zinc, gold, lead, molybdenum and tungsten occurrences, including two significant former producers. Ewanchuk said the Horn Silver deposit is the primary exploration target on the property, and consists of masses of metal-bearing minerals replacing and filling a silicified breccia along the northerly-trending and steeply- dipping Horn Silver fault. Secondary lead ore was mined in the past, while secondary zinc mineralization was left behind because of its low value at the time.

More recently, the company says a zone of siliceous breccia, possibly a breccia pipe, was located in the limestone footwall of the Horn Silver fault that carried good values in gold, silver and zinc (1,387 tons shipped, 0.45 oz gold, 8.2 oz silver, 9.4% zinc). The company said that both these mineralized bodies — the secondary zinc and the gold- bearing breccia — are advanced exploration targets. A first phase program, including data compilation, surface and underground mapping, sampling and geophysical surveying is planned to start immediately.

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