Resource World Magazine

Resource World - Aug-Sept 2015 - Vol 13 Iss 5

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42 www.resourceworld.com a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 which has remained idle since 2001, will be refurbished and reused. northcliff Resources [NCF-TSX] is pursuing development of the Sisson tungsten-molybdenum project in New Brunswick. The Sisson deposit was ini- tially defined by drilling undertaken by Kidd Creek Mines from 1979-1982, and subsequent delineation drilling by Geodex Minerals from 2005-2009. The prop- erty hosts a large tungsten-molybdenum deposit believed amenable to open pit mining. In January 2013, Northcliff announced positive feasibility results for a 30,000 tpd open pit mining and milling operation with an ammonium paratungstate (APT) plant at the Sisson Project. The study forecasts that a total of 281 million tonnes of ore would be processed over a 27-year mine life. The company has completed a Feasibility Study and has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment report to federal and provincial agencies for regulatory and public review. Northcliff is advancing the environmental assess- ment process and stakeholder engagement programs. Aldridge Minerals [AGM-TSXV] has completed a feasibility study for its Yenipazar polymetallic VMS deposit in central Turkey. The deposit has a known strike length of at least 1,700 metres, averages 200 metres in width and approxi- mately 20 metres in thickness at depths ranging from 30 to 190 metres. Following the completion of the Feasibility Study in April 2013, Aldridge undertook an extensive optimization study which was completed in April 2014. Gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc will ensure revenue diversification with a base case study showing a revenue split of 55% for precious metals and 45% for base met- als. The company is currently advancing the project on key aspects including land acquisition and project financing. western Copper and Gold Corp. [WRN-TSX, NYSE MKT] has a 100% interest in the Casino gold-copper-molyde- num-silver project 300 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon. The company is work- ing with stakeholders and assessment bodies to advance the project through the permitting process and is currently addressing matters contained in the most recent information request received from the Yukon Environmental and Socio- economic Assessment Board. The Casino Project hosts proven and probable reserves of 4.5 billion lbs copper and 8.9 million oz gold. Inferred resources stand at 5.4 billion lbs copper and 9.0 mil- lion oz gold. The open pit operation, with both milling and heap leach (for gold) pro- cessing, would have a 22-year mine life and possibly another 25 years more count- ing the inferred resources. Casino has an after-tax NPV of US $1.83 billion with a 20.1% after-tax IRR. Capex is US $2.46 billion. Lead-zinc-silver mineralization was first discovered in 1928 at what is now Canadian Zinc's [CZN-TSX; CZICF- OTCQB] Prairie Creek Mine in the NWT. Nelson and Bunker Hunt, the two broth- ers who tried and almost cornered the silver market in the early 1980s, financed the assembly of plant and related infra- structure at the mine at the time. The Hunt brothers went broke and control of the project was acquired by Canadian Zinc in 1991. Canadian Zinc completed a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) in 2012 which con- sidered a mining rate of 1,400 tpd, with mill throughput after dense media separa- tion of 1,000 tpd. At that production rate, annual average output is expected to be approximately 76 million lbs zinc, 90 mil- lion lbs lead and 2.2 million oz silver per year in concentrate form over an 11-year mine life. Canadian Zinc has been pursu- ing a series of optimization projects since 2013 which continued throughout 2014 and into 2015. According to Canadian Zinc: "The main objectives have been to improve the proj- ect economics by increasing the mine life; defining, with feasibility level accuracy, the capital cost required to place the mine into production; refining the projected costs to operate the mine; and developing a detailed transportation plan and mar- keting strategy for all of the Prairie Creek concentrate production." The company recently made the preser- vation of its $5 million in working capital a priority for the balance of the year, citing poor market conditions and its depressed stock price which effectively precludes any public financing at present. What could become the world's first underwater mining operation is moving forward in the Bismarck Sea within the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea. nautilus Minerals [NUS-TSX] is a seafloor resource exploration and development company and the first publicly-listed com-

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