Properties Engineer Mine, B.C.
BCGold Corp.'s 100% owned Engineer Mine property is situated 32 km west of Atlin, B.C. The Company has spent in excess of $4M to date in exploration and acquisition expenditures and is focused on increasing the mineral resource and taking the property to near-term, sustainable small-scale production. Together with the adjoining Gold Hill and recently acquired Blind Creek properties, BCGold Corp.'s Engineer Mine property land package comprises 3,537 ha.
Click an item below to go to the summary section of your choice or scroll to view all.- Exploration & Development Strategy
- Location & Access
- Mine History
- Ownership
- Resource Estimate
- High-Grade Gold Mineralization & Exploration Potential
- Bulk-Tonnage Gold Exploration Potential
- Near Term Production Potential
- BCGold Corp. Exploration & Development Programs
- Mine Condition
- Infrastructure
Exploration & Development Strategy
- focus on exploration, test mining, bulk sampling and mineral resource development, with an emphasis on Shear Zone "A" bulk-tonnage-style gold mineralization
- methodically advance the property towards sustainable, near-term, small scale high-grade gold production
- enlarge and consolidate the land package
Location & Access
- located 32 km west of Atlin, B.C., 140 km south of Whitehorse, Yukon
- situated on east shore of south arm of Tagish Lake
- easily accessed year-round by boat / barge / float plane (summer) or ice road / ski plane (winter)
Mine History
- historic high-grade gold producer (peak production mid-1920s, ceased operation early 1930s)
- >18,000 oz gold and 9,000 oz silver officially produced at realized grades exceeding 39 g/t Au and 20 g/t Ag
- narrow, high-grade epithermal quartz-carbonate veins (Boulder, Double Decker, Engineer) mined on 6 of 8 mine levels
Ownership
- Company has a 100% interest in property
- Company has option to acquire 100% interest in adjacent Gold Hill and Blind Creek properties
Resource Estimate
- Inferred Mineral Resource of 41,000 t grading 19.0 g/t gold for 25,000 oz contained gold, or 14,000 t grading 52.5 g/t gold for 23,600 oz contained gold, calculated by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Ltd. and described within their 2011 NI 43-C 101 compliant Technical Report
- view Tabled Mineral Resource Estimate
- view Technical Report
High-Grade Gold Mineralization & Exploration Potential
- high-grade, bonanza-style, low-sulphidation epithermal quartz-carbonate +/- roscoelite +/-Au +/- Ag veins (historic gold target) occur adjacent to a second-order semi-brittle and brittle shear zone splay of the crustal-scale Llewellyn fault
- gold mineralization occurs primarily as electrum, in association with roscoelite, in discrete, vertical, high-grade ore shoots
- >25 known veins on property
- only 4 veins (Engineer, Double Decker, Boulder, Shaft) have seen limited production / exploration
- essentially unexplored below 200 m from surface; all veins remain open at depth
Bulk-Tonnage Gold Exploration Potential
- Shear Zone "A" (broad, second-order structure, hosts earlier phase of low-grade gold mineralization) defined over 400 m strike length with near-surface drill intercepts up to 0.45 g/t Au over 34 m (2008)
- Shear Zone "A" remains open along strike and at depth
- +50 m thick gold-bearing hydrothermal breccia zone traced within Shear Zone "A"
- adjacent Gold Hill property includes 2.2 km segment of similar, highly prospective Shear Zone "B" structure and Happy Sullivan high-grade gold epithermal prospect
- potential for low-grade (2 - 7 g/t Au) 0.5 - 2M oz. gold deposit in mine area of Shear Zone "A":
- predicated on historical reference to chip sample series averaging 5.1 g/t Au taken from 45 m crosscut on mine's deepest level (8 Level)
- sampling conducted in early 1930s, not followed up
- potential quantity conceptual in nature
- insufficient exploration completed to define a mineral resource on Shear Zone "A"
- uncertain that further exploration will result in target being delineated as a mineral resource
Near-Term Production Potential
- own permitted 30 tpd gravity separation mill on the property
- no underlying royalties
- access and production drifts in place for 6 veins
- excellent potential for resource development and near-term small scale production from existing underground headings on Boulder, Governor, Jersey Lilly, Shaft, Double Decker and Engineer Veins
- excellent potential for additional bonanza-grade vein mineralization at depth and laterally within the current workings
- Company permitted to dewater 3 lowest mine levels at any time
- minimal development required for near-term, sustainable small scale gold production (30tpd)
- sustainable production could be ramped up to 100-200 tpd within 2-3 years with nominal capital for exploration, mine and mill upgrades and additional permits
BCGold Corp. Exploration & Development Programs
- 2012 Exploration & Development:
- Completed $550,000 exploration and mine-dewatering program on Engineer Mine and Gold Hill properties
- geologically mapped, prospected and conducted MMI soil surveys over Shear Zone "A" and "B" bulk tonnage gold exploration targets
- MMI surveys detected 3 Shear Zone style, bulk-tonnage gold drill targets on Engineer and Gold Hill properties
- dewatered 6 and 7 Level of underground mine workings to access down-plunge extension of high-grade 505-3 and 505-5 Shoots on Engineer Vein
- installed air and water services to 6 and 7 Level, completed geological mapping and panel sampling
- underground panel sampling confirmed Engineer Vein and high grade gold shoots persist at least to 7 Level
- 2012 grab samples on 6 and 7 Level up to 12,720 g/t Au and 3,180 g/t Au, respectively
- 2012 Metallurgical Work & Concentrate Sales:
- approximately 0.8 dry metric tones gold-rich gravity concentrate produced during 2011 bulk sampling sold to Auramet Trading, LLC at US$1608/oz for $107,000 (see June 26, 2012 news release)
- Gekko Systems of Ballarat, Australia conducting on-going metallurgical studies consisting of bench-scale gravity and leach amenability tests on mill feed and table concentrate from 2011 program
- 2011 Exploration, Bulk Sampling & Test Milling:
- $1.1M program completed based on Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Ltd.'s exploration and development recommendations to increase the mineral resource and take property to small scale production in near term (see May 25, 2011 news release)
- 30 tpd pilot mill circuit refurbished and optimized
- 6 bulk samples (400 tonnes) mined from Engineer and Double Decker veins (see October 6, 2011 news release)
- 246 tonne composite sample milled, returning average mining head grade of 16.9 g/t gold
- wire gold in roscoelite and/or fine gold in quartz observed in all samples (view Bulk Sampling & Milling Presentations)
- 969.2 kg dry concentrates (Table, Sluice and High-Grade Gold Stream) recovered from composite sample returned weighted average grade of 2139.1 g/t gold, containing estimated 68.3 oz gold
- preliminary test milling averaged 51.3 % gold recovery from the on-site gravity separation mill
- 60% of composite sample mined outside of current Inferred Mineral Resource (see February 27, 2012 news release)
- new exploration target defined on high-grade "505-3" shoot discovery, within Engineer vein and outside current Inferred Mineral Resource (see February 29, 2012 news release)
- 600 line km SkyTEM deep penetrating Time-Domain Electromagnetic / Magnetic airborne survey conducted over Engineer Mine and Gold Hill properties; numerous exploration targets defined for follow-up
- 2010 Exploration:
- 1,100 m underground drilling confirmed high-grade depth extensions to Engineer (129.0 g/t Au and 121.63 g/t Ag over 1.00 metre) and Double Decker (22.32 g/t Au and 17.59 g/t Ag over 0.96 metres) Veins
- Snowden commissioned to complete NI 43-101compliant Technical Report and Mineral Resource estimate
- 2008 Exploration:
- 1,850 m diamond drill program defined Shear Zone "A" structure over 400 m strike length with near-surface drill intercepts up to 0.45 g/t Au over 34 m
- 600 m trench excavation completed on Boulder, Shaft, Double Decker and Shear "B" zones, all of which were either exposed or partially developed 120 m vertically below on 5 Level in the 1920s; exposed veins geologically mapped and channel sampled
- 2007 Exploration:
- $500k program entailing surface and underground mapping and sampling on 5 Level, 3D mine modeling (VULCANTM), exploration targeting and resource estimation
Mine Condition
- historic development includes >5,500 m of drifts, shafts, raises and stopes; 8 mine levels developed, main portal on 5 Level (with rail)
- narrow veins and headings, ground in excellent condition
- lowest 3 mine levels flooded (Company permitted to dewater at any time)
Infrastructure
- all-season 20 man trailer camp on property
- fully functional, permitted 30 tpd gravity separation mill on site
- permanent, industrial dock to be utilized for loading and offloading float planes and barges
- main underground access provided by tracked portal on 5 Level
- power, air, water available to most areas of 5 Level and 6 and 7 Levels
- compressors, generators, electric loci and four 1-ton ore cars, as well as a mucking machine on 5 Level (all Company-owned)
- Small bulldozer and gravel truck on property
- vestiges of historic hydro-electric power line from power plant on the Wann River (5 km south) evident