Hawthorne Gold is building British Columbia’s next gold producer

20th Apr 2009, 2:27 pm by Sam Kiri In a market fraught with uncertainties, investors usually favour mining companies with advanced stage, near-production assets. Interest is particularly high for those with gold projects preferably in friendly jurisdictions. Canadian Venture and OTC Bulletin Board listed Hawthorne Gold Corporation (TSX.V: HGC, OTCBB: HWTHF) has two advanced stage gold projects in British Columbia and is expected to be in production by the end of 2009.

The company’s wholly-owned Table Mountain gold mine is a high-grade, underground mining operation located in BC. The project is located in the historic Cassiar Gold Belt, which is a 23 kilometre long greenstone hosted quartz carbonate formation that stretches from Mount McDame in the north to Juniper Mountain in the southeast. The historic mining operations at McDame River have produced close to 500,000 ounces of gold from various mills and placer operations.

Table Mountain is Hawthorne’s flag ship project and was a past producing mine, first as the Erickson gold mine, then the Cusac gold mine. Gold mineralization at Table Mountain is typical of some of Canada's largest gold camps, including Timmins, Kirkland Lake and Val d'Or. During its operational period, mine operators opened 13 portals to access Table Mountain's widespread gold mineralization.

Efforts of past operators have contributed well to Hawthorne’s investment case. In fact, the Table Mountain property came to the company with a 300-ton-per-day gravity flotation mill, power plant, assay laboratory and permitted tailings pond. It is not often that companies take the ownership of assets with a ready-made infrastructure. Table Mountain is indeed ready to roll and is expected to be in production by the end of 2009.

Hawthorne has another advanced stage property in the Taurus project, which is a large-tonnage, low-grade gold deposit. Similar to Table Mountain, Taurus is also a former producer with an exploration history of some 25 years. Taurus has a National Instrument 43-101 compliant inferred mineral resource estimate of 1.055 million ounces of gold consisting 33.1 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 0.99 g/t using a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t.

A former high-grade, small underground gold mine, the Taurus deposit was actively operated in the early 1950s and again in the early 1980s. The high-grade areas were eventually abandoned and attention turned to a large low-grade mineralized zone, where approximately 370 holes have been drilled. The project comprises wholly-owned mineral claims and the wholly-owned Taurus II property, which has been drilled over the last two years. This drilling expanded the mineralization with grade intercepts in a range similar to the known resource of 1.0 g/t gold.

As Hawthorne completes the development of Table Mountain project, the company intends to review the Taurus deposit to potentially define the opportunity to develop small open pits from higher grade zones contained within the resource. These smaller pits would be used to provide supplemental mill feed to Table Mountain. Taurus is expected to complement the operations of Table Mountain and is well within the company’s corporate strategy.

For those who still favour exploration projects with blue sky potential, Hawthorne’s Frasergold property would foot the bill. The property is located in the historic Quesnel Trough area in central BC and has a long history of continued exploration since the 1970's. Hawthorne completed its summer work programme in August 2008, which included a 58 hole drill program (10,405 metres) on the Main Zone and step-out drilling along strike. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the size and potential of the deposit and define a National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 compliant gold resource estimate within the Main Zone. Hawthorne believes there is potential for a gold deposit amenable to a low grade bulk tonnage open pit mining operation.

In other words, Hawthorne has a balanced portfolio of assets; in Table Mountain a project close to production, in Taurus an advanced stage project complementing the former and in Frasergold an exploration endeavour. The project line up at different stages ensures one follows the other as they progresses to their respective next stages.

Hawthorne is a company with a clear strategic vision. The corporate strategy is to explore and develop their current properties and seek to acquire exploration properties that contain significant potential for the discovery of economic mineral deposits. The company also fosters the growth and success of the communities where it operates while maintaining its environmental and social responsibilities.

Companies such as Hawthorne require astute management to implement the corporate strategy and steer its projects. Richard Barclay President and CEO heads Hawthorne and has an impressive track record of advancing projects. Prior to joining Hawthorne, Barclay was the CFO of Adriana Resources Inc. (TSX.V: ADI). He was a co-founder and the President, CEO of Eldorado Gold Corporation, (TSX: ELD) from 1992 to 1998. The CFO, Patrick McGrath is a qualified accountant and was also with ADI and Northern Sun Exploration Company Inc. Michael Petrina and John Dadds manage exploration and development activities and both count several decades of mining experience having worked at companies such as Pan American Silver Corporation, Adanac Molybdenum, Corona Corp and Barrick Gold. The company operations are in good hands and Hawthorne is well on the way to be a producer by the year end.

Unlike many other exploration companies, Hawthorne is not strapped for cash. Following a series of financing rounds the company is well-funded to continue its operations and get the Table Mountain into production. Meanwhile, the company continues its exploration and development endeavours at Taurus and Frasergold projects. Hawthorne is gradually achieving its milestones and is ready to take-off. Watch out for more news as the story unfolds.