Resource World Magazine

f e b r u a r y / m a r c h 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 29 Pasinex ResouRCes: producer and explorer in Turkey by Laura Barker pasinex resources ltd. [PSE-CSE; PNX-FSE], a base and pre- cious metal exploration and mining company focusing on zinc and copper has survived the current economy using resource- ful exploration and production strategies. The Vancouver-based company has taken to the pro-mining arena of Turkey, with its well-developed infrastructure and its newly viable exploration potential. Here they have been exploring for and producing zinc at the Pinargozu Mine. Exploration in Turkey has opened up since amendments to Turkish mining law in 2010. Regulations were changed to require that stakeholders prove a minimum financial investment in explo- ration of their projects – resulting in claims being released back to the government, and opening up to private investors such as Pasinex, which began exploring in Turkey in 2012. According to President and CEO, Steve Williams, "Turkey is young with respect to mining laws, but countries like Turkey, which are evolving to build a mining economy, look at estab- lished countries like Canada and Australia as a guide. It is a work in progress, but I am very comfortable with the laws that are emerging for proving resource, safety and environmental regula- tions, managing community relations, etc." "One of the major advantages of the Pinargozu property, and properties in Turkey in general, compared to those in Canada, is location and infrastructure: its close proximity to a workforce, a major highway (3 km from the deposit), high voltage power lines and a large commercial port on the Mediterranean." Pasinex Resources entered into a JV with Turkish mining com- pany Akmetal in 2012 – forming Horzum AS JV. Akmetal is owner and former operator of the Horzum Mine, operating from 1974 to 1996 in the Adana region in south-central Turkey. Pasinex con- tributes technical expertise, exploration management, metallurgy and conceptual project development, while Akmetal provides community relations, equipment, labour and skills, amongst other things. This symbiosis has allowed for mining at the Pinargozu property, located ~6 km north of the Horzum Mine, with virtu- ally zero capital costs. Williams explains, "We, the JV, pay a commercial-based rental price to Akmetal for the use of pretty much all the equipment we need, including drills. That has been one of the keys to doing what we've done, we've done it on the back of our tremendous partner who has all the equipment that we can rent. We have had virtually zero capital expenditure to date." Total production in 2015 at the Pinargozu property totaled approximately 14,000 wet tonnes of ore, containing 9,000,000 lb zinc. Mining expanded historical (artisnally mined) adits with grades ranging from 30% to 38% zinc, and production of 40 tpd on average, to as much as 60 tpd. The Pinargozu property is about 100 km south of the city of Adana. Ore is shipped to Adana, where it is crushed, stored, and then sold at the Port of Mersin, Turkey's largest port, 80 km west of Adana. Regarding sales, Williams said, "Greater than 25% zinc can be directly sold [into the global market]. At this stage we have been selling a lot to traders, mostly Turkish-based who sell into the global market. There are many end uses and a competitive market for zinc. Selling has been pleasantly easy." In addition to mine production, Horzum AS ran three drills, year round, at Pinargozu, incrementally 'stepping out' from min- eralization, and drilling over 12,000 metres total. The JV claims in this area include Pinargozu and Akkaya, both within 10 km of the Horzum Mine. Mineralization is hosted in carbonate replacement deposits, in which intrusion-related metal-bearing fluids were structurally focused within carbonate host-rocks resulting in deposition of 'chimney like' (vertical) or 'manto-like' (horizontal) base metal mineralization. Pasinex also owns 40 km 2 of claims in Sivas Province in central north-east Turkey that features porphyry-associated copper min- eralization. They drilled here at the beginning of 2015, and plan on targeting Golcuk South in 2016, the target area nearest sur- face, to potentially define an open pit resource. The best grades intercepted yield 13.5 metres averaging 2.6% copper and 41.9 g/t silver. According to Williams, "The property presents a lot of opportunity, but it also means time and money." The Horzum AS JV will continue their small scale mining opera- tion at Pinargozu in 2016, with hopes of increased production from exploration developments, potentially allowing Pasinex to fund their exploration at Golcuk. As Steve Williams puts it, "These are tough times (requiring) you to focus…You have to do the best you can to fund yourself, and that's why we've been focused on our Pinargozu property, because we can mine there." n One of the adits at the Pinagargozu property, a joint venture between Pasinex Resources and Akmetal. Photo courtesy Pasinex Resources Ltd. mINING

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