U.S. REPORT Fairbanks boosts Fort Knox reserves

The preliminary “resource” estimate at the Fort Knox gold deposit at Fairbanks, Alaska, has jumped 50% from what was indicated at the end of 1989, Fairbanks Gold (VSE) reports. At a cutoff grade of 0.02 oz. gold per ton, 98.7 million tons grading 0.048 oz. are estimated; at a cutoff grade of 0.01 oz., 194.9 million tons averaging 0.031 oz. are estimated.

The company says the deposit remains open in two directions and at depth, with mineralization extending to a vertical depth of at least 1,200 ft. The latest resource estimates were calculated using the results of more than 184,000 ft. of drilling, to an average depth of 600 ft. The work program involved drill spacing of 100-ft. intervals. A prefeasibility study for the project, to include the results of a bulk sample, is expected to be completed by the end of January, 1991.