QR Mine & Mill
Overview
The QR deposit is a propylite gold skarn formed in the contact metamorphic aureole around the dioritic QR stock. The QR claims have been drilled almost continuously from 1977 to 2008. Kinross took over what was to be its first mine in 1994 since when 352 holes have been drilled in various areas of the property for a total of 30,857 m.
In February 2010, the Company closed the acquisition of the QR Mine & Mill. The QR Mill is a permitted, 900 tonne per day gold mill, originally built by Kinross Gold Corp. in 1994 for an estimated $40 million capital cost and was their first operating gold mine, which operated for three years and subsequently closed due to low gold prices. Cross Lake Minerals Ltd. acquired the project in 2005 and incurred an estimated $34.5 million on mill upgrades, mine development and a new three-phase power line, which substantially offset initial start-up costs for our company.
In March 2010, Barkerville's mining contractor Procon Mining and Tunnelling Limited advised that mining at QR began as scheduled, with ore from the West Zone being mined, hauled and stock piled at the QR Mill ahead of the recommencement of gold production at the facility.
Detailed planning is underway for a development drilling program at the North Zone, 300 meters below the permitted West Zone, which is anticipated to be the next zone developed for mining at the QR property. The North Zone is largest zone of gold mineralization found to date at the QR Mine, with a drill indicated strike length of over 1000 meters. Previous work includes a large scale, 5 meter by 4 meter, 710-meter long decline (tunnel), which will be used to access the zone to complete further drilling and development. To date, 23 diamond drill holes totalling 3,443 meters have been completed by the previous operator which will be expanded upon by the Company.
