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Past Work Program
The Gold Bar property has no record of historic production prior to exploration by Atlas in 1983. Production began at the Gold Bar pit in 1987 and continued until the mine closed in 1994. A total of 7,514,600 tons grading 0.074 opt gold were produced. Recoveries averaged 87 percent, resulting in production of 485,000 ounces of gold.
During their work in 1983 to 1994, Atlas completed mapping, geochemistry, geophysics and drilling. These programs resulted in the discovery or optioning of mineralization at Gold Bar, Gold Pick, Goldstone, Gold Canyon, Gold Ridge, Cabin Creek, Pot Canyon and Hunter. Open pit mining was carried out at all but Pot Canyon and Hunter. The Gold Bar and Gold Canyon areas currently comprise the Corporation's Gold Bar Properties.
In late 1994, Atlas entered into an agreement with Homestake on the southern and northern claims areas. Homestake drilled 26 holes totalling approximately 7,282 metres (23,890 feet) and completed geological mapping, geochemistry and geophysics.
In 1995, Atlas signed an agreement with Granges who completed mapping, geochemistry, geophysics and the drilling of 33 holes totalling 7,314 metres (24,980 feet).
In 1997, Barrick optioned most of the Atlas claims. They completed a program of mapping, geochemistry and geophysics. Fifty holes were drilled in 1997 and a further 33 holes in 1998 totalling 10,796 metres (35,420 feet).
Historic in situ resources remaining at the Gold Bar property as calculated by Atlas are as follows:
- 3.6 million tons (3.3 million tonnes) grading 0.100 ounce per ton (3.4 g/t) gold in the Gold Bar Deposit;
- 2.5 million tons (2.3 million tonnes) grading 0.056 ounce per ton (1.9 g/t) gold in the Gold Canyon deposit.
Granges calculated a geological resource in 1996 for the newly discovered Millsite Deposit of 1.626 million tons (1.475 million tonnes) grading 0.091 opt (3.1 g/t) gold containing approximately 150,000 ounces of gold. These resources were calculated using 30.48 x 30.48 x 4.6 meters (100 x 100 x 15 foot) blocks with a 0.025 opt (0.86 g/t) gold cutoff and a 30.48 meter (100 foot) search radius.
These historic resource estimates are viewed by the Corporation as mineralized zones representing three-dimensional gold geochemical anomalies. These anomalies are used to focus the Corporation's exploration efforts onto high-grade underground mineable targets, versus the previous emphasis of exploration which targeted low-grade bulk mineable mineralization.
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