The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The North Star Gold Project has come a long way; from some minor trench work done in the 1930s to the now completed portal that will allow contractors to ramp down to the first mining level. The claim that the North Star sits on is an old one, and up until the mid-1990s it had been essentially forgotten. However, an inquiring glimpse through a bag of his grandfather's old belongings started Al Bassham on his quest to see this local gold property developed. While looking through some of his grandfather's belongings, Bassham came across a Manitoba Securities Commission stock certificate, issued in 1938, for a property known as the North Star Gold Mine. He checked the certificate out, and found that it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, but as he was involved in prospecting at the time, it grabbed his interest. He spoke to his uncle, Bart Kobar, about the property and found that HBMS held claim to it. He kept an eye on it, and when they dropped their claim, he picked it up and set about finding a way to develop the site. The property itself sits 36 km west of Snow Lake; about two kilometers off the old Dickstone Mine access road Ð five kilometers southwest of the Dickstone mine site. In an interview back in February 2001, Bassham noted that there was some trench work done back in the 1930s, which showed visible gold, and also three diamond drill holes, which confirmed its existence. A small surface bulk sample that was taken at that time further confirmed it. There was one false start on developing the property back in 2000; however, when Foran Mining Corporation took over option and eventual ownership of the property, progress proved to be steady and continually escalated. Once they complete an extensive environmental permitting process, the corporation is set to work at developing the property. On January 12, 2004, a contract was awarded to Alex MacIntyre and Associates Ltd. to develop the portal and ramp for the North Star. Once completed, the ramp will not only give access to the 725 foot long North Star Vein, but also give access to a parallel gold bearing vein located 20 to 30 yards west of the North Star Vein. Foran has stated that (with a production decision) the ramp will provide a jump-start on full mine development and would form the main entrance into the potential mine. See 'Portal' P.# Con't from P.# With the portal already blasted out, a 20-25-man camp has been set up and the mechanic's shop, generators and mine heaters have been set up near the portal. The company states that once down to the first mining level, the assay results from sampling the face and back excavation of the 10,000 ton bulk sample (that will be taken along an underground horizontal tunnel in the North Star vein) will determine if Foran will proceed with the next stage of development, which will be building a mill and mine complex. Additionally, in a February 3, 2004 release, the corporation advised that they would begin a 5,000-foot diamond drill program on the property by mid-February. This program is being undertaken to determine if the orebody's continuity and depth extends down to the 1000-foot level, as well as confirming its continuation along strike (direction of the host rock).
