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The exploration on the property began in 1928 with trenches
and drilling. In 1931, a shaft was sunk to a level of -38 metres
, and 457 metres of development were completed at this level. In
1936, Kewagama Gold Mines Ltd. was created and it
extended the shaft to a level of –160 m and performed
development at four levels. A secondary shaft (“winze”) was sunk
from the 4th level ( -152 m ), and 3 sublevels were developed to
213 m. The development work was stopped during the Second World
War. The ore produced by the development (2,062 mt) was
processed in 1940 and produced 790.7 ounces of gold (Glover,
1988).
In 1964, 300 m of drilling was completed to check the
extension of the “Winze” zone towards the surface. In 1976, A
. N. Ferris acquired control of the property. The mine site
was cleaned, surface infrastructures were erected, and the
underground structures were dewatered. This work was completed
in 1979. In 1980, St-Joseph Exploration Ltd. took control
of the property. The shaft was enlarged to three compartments
down to the 2nd level. In 1981, Sulpetro Minerals Ltd.
(formerly St-Joseph Exploration Ltd.) extended the shaft
to 353 m , and completed the preparation of ore and waste passes
between the 7th and the 4th level. Thirty-one surface drill
holes totaling 4,818 m were completed. Developments were done on
the 6th and 7th levels, and in 1982, the “Winze” zone was mined,
producing 11,340 metric tons @ 13.0 g/mt of gold. Production
continued on veins Q, R and S until 1983, when the operations
were suspended (Glover, 1988).
In 1988, Breakwater Resources Ltd. (Breakwater)
executed four drill holes totaling 986 m in the western part of
the property (East extension of the O’Brien mine).
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