Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd. has announced that it has initiated a drill program on its Soledad Mountain property.
The drill program will test targets within the areas of the planned North-West and East open pits. A total of 15 holes are proposed within the North-West open pit area with a total length of 1,500m. The North-West open pit is the planned location of the first phase of mining. A total of 9 holes are proposed within the East open pit area with a total length of 1,200m.
The program will consist primarily of infill drilling with the objective of upgrading inferred resources to reserves. In addition the drilling will test continuity of mineralization, which typically has been excellent in most areas previously tested.
The drill program is expected to have only limited impact on the stripping ratio or waste to ore ratio in the planned mining operation but will nevertheless provide important information for the feasibility study update that is currently being done by Norwest Corporation of Vancouver.
The company is in the process of upgrading access roads and preparing drill pads for the program. The drill is currently being mobilized and it is expected that drilling will start within the next ten days. It is expected that the drill program will take 45 days to complete.
Source: Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd.