Brett Resources in the Hammond Reef.

• Author: Smith, Jessica
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: MINING

Brett Resources Inc.'s aggressive year-long exploration program at its Atikokan area Hammond Reef project has significantly expanded a historic low-grade gold deposit.

"We're liking what we're seeing," said president and CEO Thomas Hasek.

This summer's drilling in the property's A zone unearthed the best findings to date: 267 metres of 1.02 gram per tonne (g/t), indicating mineralization is thickening at depth. Drilling has also vastly increased previous historic interceptions of 70 m of one g/t discovered by Falconbridge, who drilled 60 holes in the area in the mid 1980s.

In a year, the Vancouver-based company has completed 77 drill holes totaling 102 metres, and constructed a 20-person mining camp at its northwestern Ontario property, located 22 km north of Atikokan.

The present $5 million program has earned Brett a 60 per cent interest in the project from Kinross Gold Corp., who has the option to buy back another 20 per cent stake in the property and fund the next stage of exploration.

Now approaching negotiations, Brett is hoping to assume 100 per cent ownership of the property said Hasek.

In the meantime, exploration continues with one drill on the property.

"We're quite happy with the results we've seen and with what we're getting. The increase in the resource we anticipate out of the new information is going to be quite substantial," said Hasek.

In fact, a previous N 43-101 non-compliant resource estimate of 2.6 million ounces contained in 86 million tonnes could even increase to 5 million ounces, he said.

This summer's assay results have shown a slight increase from slightly under a gram per tonne to now averaging a more than a gram per tonne.

Highlights in the previously unexplored northeastern portion of the A zone on the western shore area of Mitta Lake include a higher grade interval of 40.5 m of 3.14 g/t within 120 m of 1.59 g/t intercept.

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