Digging for gold

Rambler Metals and Mining may have stumbled onto a buried treasure.

Since acquiring the Nugget Pond gold processing facility for $3.5 million on the Baie Verte Peninsula in the fall, the company's geologists have been sifting through old documents related to potential resources at the adjacent mine site.

"It's still early yet, whether the underground resource could still be mined and profitable," said George Ogilvie, president and CEO.

Mr. Ogilvie said it's estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 ounces of gold is potentially there.

"If you use the gold price of $1,000 an ounce, there's $10 to $15 million in revenue," he said.

He said if the numbers are right, and Rambler's margin of profit was $300 an ounce, the company could make $3 to $5 million in profit.

"What's good about that is that Rambler bought the mill for $3.5 million, so there might be enough ounces there to pay for the purchase of the mill," he said.

He said when Rambler purchased the facility they were unaware of the resources left behind by the previous company which departed in the 1990s. Because of the low prices of gold during that time, he said the company probably didn't see the operation as profitable.

Now that it's known that gold is in the ground, Mr. Ogilvie said geologists are entering the data into a computer software program, which allows mining engineers to see their findings in a three-dimensional diagram.

And from there they will decide whether or not the operation is economically feasible.

Mining Engineers

Rambler isn't only exploring for gold, but they have also hired two key mining engineers to oversee the Ming Mine site and the Nugget Pond operations.

Tim Sanford will be the chief mine engineer. He has over 17 years experience. His latest position was chief engineer with Goldcorp Canada Limited's Musselwhite Mine.

The other addition to Rambler is Shaun Gage. He will be the senior mine engineer. Mr. Gage has over 22 years experience. His most recent position was senior production engineer at Barrick Gold's Plutonic Gold Mine in western Australia.

"We're very fortunate," said Mr. Ogilvie. "The fact that we've been able to attract two people of that caliber with those professional designations and experiences, I think really sends out a strong endorsement for the project."

Mr. Ogilvie said getting experienced mining engineers is a difficult task, because of the few mining schools in Canada that offer the program.

Because of the recent developments, Mr. Ogilvie said Rambler is in a position to move full steam ahead.

"It means that we can start undertaking work that in the past we outsourced," he said. "We're moving from a junior exploration company to a mid-tier mining company. Slowly but surely we're starting to put the pieces of the jig saw into place."

The duo will be joining Rambler on March 8. Mr. Ogilvie said once the copper flotation circuit is installed at the Nugget Pond facility, the company will be a mine producer by 2011.