Focus extends Coolgardie exploration push

Western Australian gold and nickel company, Focus Minerals has moved to further....

  Western Australian gold and nickel company, Focus Minerals has moved to further expand the production potential of its Coolgardie Gold Project, held in the Redemption Joint Venture (RJV) with Canadian-based Committee Bay Resources, yesterday announcing the commencement of exploration drilling at Bayleys and CNX.According to Focus, drilling programs at the priority Bayleys and CNX targets have been designed to test near-surface gold targets identified in geoscientific, data compilation and validation programs recently completed by the Redemption Joint Venture. The programs, comprising 2,500m of reverse circulation and diamond drill core drilling, cover historically mined areas, un-mined high-grade intersections within historic drill holes, untested extensions and potential new areas of mineralisation.A 950m reverse circulation program scheduled to be completed by the RJV at Bayleys in the near future will test a high priority area comprising the up-dip extension of the western margin of the previously identified, but untested, Prices lode.Commenting on the new program, Focus Minerals’ Managing Director, Peter Williams said Bayleys constituted a new priority exploration target for the delineation of high-grade ounces.“We are keen to test the high-grade potential of Bayleys, due to both the size of the system and the comparative high grades achieved in historical production,” Mr Williams said. “The existing infrastructure throughout Bayleys is an additional bonus and might enable near-term development of any resource we identify.”Comprising 1,050m of reverse circulation and 500m of diamond core drilling, Foccus will conduct the CNX exploration program immediately west of, and along the same geological trend as, the Three Mile Hill open pit. Focus said this program was designed to test for potential mineralised areas in close proximity to the pit and to explore the northwest extension of known mineralisation over a 400m strike length.While the RJV is in advanced discussions regarding the toll treatment of near-term production from the Coolgardie Gold Project, any newly identified resource at CNX or other key project areas during 2007 will enhance options to advance the re-commissioning of the RJV’s Three Mile Hill processing facility.“We have been considering several options, including a start-up based on treating only Coolgardie Gold Project ore or a combination of Coolgardie Gold Project and toll treating ore,” Mr Williams said.“The second half of 2007 represents a period of substantial activity for Focus Minerals as we move towards production,” he said.