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a u g u s t / s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 35 a u s t r a l i a n u p d at e G r e g B a r n s * Resource World does not sell your information to third parties 709-700 W pender st., Vancouver bc V6c 1g8 canada Name aDDreSS CitY prov. poStal CoDe pHoNe e-mail online at www.resourceworld.com or phone 1.877.484.3800 SAVE 50% up to resource World (print and Digital edition) 1 Year ($19.95) resource World (Digital edition) 1 Year ($9.95) resource World (Digital edition) 2 Years ($14.95) resource World (print and Digital edition) 2 Years ($24.95) international resource World (print) 1 Year ($89.00) renew my subscription Canadian subscribers please add applicable sales tax I n an otherwise difficult market for resource companies in Australia, one stand-out performer has been sandfire Resources [SFR-ASX]. The copper-gold producer, which went from drilling to production in three years at its Western Australian mine, has a 38% interest in wCB Resources [WCB-TSXV] that is pursuing an advanced stage exploration play on the mineral rich island of Misima 200 km east of Papua New Guinea. Having Sandfire as a major investor should be welcomed by investors in WCB Resources. Many readers will remember the Misima Mine, a joint venture between Placer Dome (80%) and state-owned Orogen Minerals (20%) that closed in 2004 after produc- ing 3.7 million oz gold averaging 1.46 g/t gold and 15.6 g/t silver in 14 years with an average realized price of below US $300/oz. WCB has a farm-in agreement with Pan Pacific Copper, a Japanese company jointly owned by JX Nippon Mining and Metals and Mitsui Mining and Smelting. Currently, WCB has a 49% stake in the Misima Project and can obtain up to 70% by spending CDN $9 million. WCB is focused on two prospects that comprise the Misima Project – the Umuna prospect and the Ewatinona prospect. An updated mineral resource for the project was announced on May 7 this year. The Misima Project has an indicated resource of 1.3 million oz gold grading grade of 1.1 g/t and 6 million oz silver grading 5.1 g/t. Inferred resources are 0.38 million oz gold grading 1.1 g/t and 3.3 million oz silver at 9.2 g/t. The company describes the Umuna prospect as having "two highly significant systems." The first is the Umuna prospect, which comprises existing extensions of the historic gold-silver mineralization that produced 4 million oz gold and 20 million oz silver. WCB says this prospect includes depth extensions and strike extensions. The second is the Sis Rupture where pre- vious drilling and exploration identified a large porphyry-style footprint. The Umuna prospect is a very large system. Previous mining was over a 3.2-km strike but WCB Resources inter- prets a strike length of over 6 km. The company's plan includes an exploration target of 250,000-770,000 oz gold, plus silver. Drilling by WCB since 2012 has been confirming the increased strike length interpretation. Results included 54 metres of 2.63 g/t gold and 5.4 g/t silver and 70 metres of 2.33 g/t gold and 3.5 g/t silver. The Ewatinona prospect is in the Quartz Mountain district west of Umina. Production of 240,000 oz gold from three small pits was generated in recent years. The company believes this prospect is underexplored and it is actively mapping and sampling with the aim of prioritizing drill targets. Sandfire CEO, Karl Simich, is comfort- able with his company's exposure to WCB Resources. In a January 2015 interview with Mining Technology, Simich said WCB Resources "is a high risk but potentially high reward opportunity. While the poten- tial for it to become a mine scenario might be at a much higher risk, the flipside is the potential reward in that transaction if it is successful is phenomenal. n WCB Resources exploring past-producing Misima Mine