New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal

By Reid Southwick

An Alberta-based junior mining firm reported Tuesday favourable gold exploration results that show there is potential for an open-pit mine at its property near Bathurst.

Stratabound Minerals Corp. reported its Elmtree deposit contains tonnage and grade that is comparable to many low-grade, open-pit gold operations in southwestern United States. Average grades range from 1.37 grams per tonne to 2. 45 grams per tonne.

A large portion of the gold resource is within 100 metres of the surface, a favourable condition for an open-pit mine.

"The proportions there are very similar to properties along the Carlin and Cortez [deposits] in Nevada and many of these have started out as open-pit operations," company president Stan Stricker said Tuesday.

"Once these deposits are drilled down to 400 or 500 metres, there is a tendency to show much higher grades, sometimes by an order of magnitude."

The results, which show higher grades than previous exploration efforts, represent less than nine per cent of the roughly 1,500 hectare property, said Stricker.

Stratabound now plans to continue drilling throughout the property and, in some cases, at greater depths to determine whether the deposit is more widespread and if the grade increases deeper in the ground. The company said it's possible the near-surface deposit represents leakages of higher grades, located much deeper.

"We're very happy with the numbers we have now, and we think we have a very good chance of turning it into a mine," said Stricker. "On the other hand, we could be looking at just the tail of an elephant."

The Calgary firm plans to conduct early metallurgical studies to assess the economic potential of recovering the known grades from the ground.

That study will be complemented by another that will assess mine design and site engineering as part of an investigation into the potential for small, near- surface mines.

"We definitely have a couple of years ahead of us before we get through this entire process," said Stricker, referring to regulatory approvals necessary to open a mine.

"But we will start the metallurgy work very soon, and that will give us a much better idea as to the kinds of recoveries we can expect and the kinds of grades that would represent a profit margin."

The Elmtree property was previously owned by Canadian mining firm International Corona Corporation, which abandoned its New Brunswick exploration operations in the late 1980s after finding large gold deposits in British Columbia and Ontario.

There are currently 5,000 mineral claims staked with a primary interest in gold in New Brunswick.

© 2008 Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick)