14 www.resourceworld.com
j u n e / j u l y 2 0 1 5
It's a common story, many junior explo-
ration companies acquire a prospective
mineral property and raise funds, only to
be disappointed when exploration results
turn out to be sub-economic. Even pro-
fessional junior mining investors know
that the life span of a junior is often only
a few years before they disappear without
achieving exploration and stock market
success – it's not easy to find an economi-
cally viable mineral deposit.
However, sometimes the opposite
occurs. Occasionally, the combination of a
good project, talented management, fund
raising ability and maybe a bit of luck can
come together to create real wealth for the
company and its shareholders. Although
there are a number of other explora-
tion success stories, we have summarized
some companies with mineral projects in
Canada.
Stornoway Diamond Corp. [SWY-TSX;
SWYDF-OTC] is building Québec's first
diamond mine. The 100%-owned Renard
Diamond Project is located about 350 km
north of Chibougamau in the James Bay
region of north-central Québec. In July
2014, the company completed a $946 mil-
lion financing that will see the project to
completion. The fully permitted, road-
accessible mine also has an airport and
passenger terminal. Agreements have been
signed with the Cree First Nation.
Mine life is estimated at 11 years at
production of 1.6 million carats/year with
an average diamond price of $180/carat.
Operating costs will be $58/tonne, or $76/
carat for an operating margin of 67%.
Payback is 4.8 years. IRR is 16.3%.
The first ore is scheduled to be deliv-
ered to the plant in the second half of 2016
Nick Capps, part of the Marathon Gold exploration team, conducting a survey at the
Valentine Gold Camp, west-central Newfoundland. Photo courtesy Marathon Gold Corp.
Successful Canadian
exploration projects
by Ellsworth Dickson
