Omineca, Lightning Creek advance Wingdam underground placer project

Omineca Mining and Metals (TSXV: OMM) and its joint venture partner and mining contractor Lightning Creek Mining (LCM) have begun hydraulic grouting operations at the underground Wingdam gold project. The property is about 45 km east of Quesnel, B.C., in the Cariboo district.

Drilling has begun on the grout holes above the crosscut working space and a grout curtain will be hydraulically placed. When it has hardened and been tested, mining will begin.

The Wingdam project aims to recover gold-bearing placer deposits located in a paleochannel below 40 metres of wet silt and gravel overburden. Test mining using high-pressure water over the first 300 metres of the 17,000-metre-long channel will begin when grouting is complete. The water supply is recyclable and there will be no chemical, leaching, milling or tailings. Bulk sampling in 2012 used ground freezing techniques and 5.4 kg of gold was recovered.

“Work, setup and preparation has gone extremely well, and the B.C. government has been very co-operative and expeditious in assessing our plans, tests, and data especially as it pertains to safety, water management and environmental stewardship. Their support is also evidenced with the recent grant of a two-year extension to Omineca’s existing permit,” said Ken Hamilton, president of LCM. “We look forward to getting mining operations for this unique project underway.”

Gold-bearing gravel is concentrated along the Deep Lead Channel basement and contain native placer particles of 90.9% pure gold. The metal is recoverable using a trommel, which in this case is installed underground. Parts of the Channel were previously explored by drifting in the 1910s, ‘30s and ‘60s. The highest grade enriched zone had grades averaging 33.65 g/cubic metre across a horizon that varies from 1.8 to 2.1 metres thick. Omineca says that grade is equivalent to 13.74 g/t gold. (There is no NI 43-101-compliant estimate.)

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