New Ore Zone Discovered At Nixon Fork Mine
VANCOUVER - Fire River Gold Corp. and Mystery Creek Resources Inc. reported the discovery of the new 3550 Zone at the Nixon Fork Mine Project. It is actually the down dip extension of previously mined ore body called the Hi Grade Recreation Zone, which was mined to a depth of 50 m from surface (to 330 mASL) in the 1920s. The zone was found to bottom out in the original mining program, and diamond drilling performed by the company and prior operators could not establish the existence of a down-dip extension.
Applying a horizontal offset evident in the 3300 Zone to the 3550 Zone, the geologists deduced that it was possible that the down-dip extension existed, but that all drill holes intended to test the extension were drilled too short. Accordingly three longer holes were planned and drilled to test the theory, which yielded very positive initial results in the form of mineralized zones with visible gold, usually an indicator of high grade mineralization. The 3000 and 3300 zones extend continuously from surface at approximately 400 mASL to 90 mASL and neither has been "bottomed out". Approximately 185,000 ounces of gold has been extracted in the modern era (from 1993 to present), almost all of which has been from the 3000 and 3300 zones. Both have been mined from the main ramp to a depth of 160 mASL. Current mining activities are also concentrated on these two zones. The 3550 Zone could represent a "triplet" to these two significant zones, and provide the opportunity to significantly increase our resources and mine life. If the 3550 zone demonstrates the same vertical continuity as the two other zones, its location is ideal for minimizing the capital cost and time requirement to establish access for mining, as the entire vertical extent will be close to existing development. Fire River Gold Corp.'s Nixon Fork Mine is operated by Mystery Creek Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fire River Gold, which is based in Anchorage , Alaska. Operations started in July of 2011, with plans to ramp up to full production by late fall 2011. This year-round mining program will be producing both concentrate and dorbars. Fire River Gold will be replenishing what is mined on an annual basis by further drilling exploration targets on surface and underground thereby extending the life of the operation and receiving further benefit from the strong metals market.