International Precious Metals (IPMC-C) has announced that a study by consulting firm Bateman Engineering has “confirmed the presence of gold and platinum” on the company’s Black Rock property in western Arizona.
Nine samples, which IPM says were selected at random by Bateman, were reported to contain gold in concentrations between 0.02 and 0.08 oz. per ton (0.6 to 2.7 grams per tonne). IPM says the samples had been taken under chain-of-custody security and analyzed using a “modified fire assay procedure” by a laboratory registered in Arizona.
Bateman “confirmed the presence of gold and platinum” at Black Rock, but also stated that the testing should not be used to calculate a resource.
The company said “all of the values fall within the previously announced ranges of grade for the Black Rock area,” citing results released in March 1996 with grades ranging from 0.01 to 0.09 oz. gold per ton (0.34 to 3.1 grams per tonne).
Similar average grades of 0.046 oz. gold and 0.09 oz. platinum per ton were published in April 1996. (The metric equivalents, calculated from the ounce-per-ton figures, are 1.58 grams gold and 3.09 grams platinum per tonne; IPM gave metric grades of 1.46 grams gold and 2.88 grams platinum.) IPM previously reported much higher gold grades; late in June, 1997, the company said it had recovered gold grades of 0.26 to 0.38 oz. per ton (8.9 to 13 grams per tonne) in bulk samples from the same area. The company also reported platinum grades of 0.2 to 0.37 oz. per ton (1.2 to 5.1 grams per tonne) and palladium grades of 0.08 to 0.39 oz. per ton (0.5 to 5.6 grams per tonne) in the same bulk samples.
The new numbers appear to have come as a disappointment to the market, with IPM shares falling $2.75 on Nov. 17 to close at $4.25. Shares on the CDN network last traded on Nov. 18 at $4, and trading on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (Nasdaq) closed at US$2.31 ($3.27 Canadian) at presstime on Nov. 19.
Consulting firm Behre Dolbear had undertaken to verify IPM’s earlier results, but reported in August that it would require more time to complete its study. IPM retained Bateman Engineering in September, then announced that both Behre Dolbear and Bateman Engineering had completed their verification programs on Sept. 29. Behre Dolbear’s results have not yet been released.
Eli Constantine, speaking for IPM, declined to comment on whether Behre Dolbear would be reporting its results in the near future, saying IPM “believes the press release speaks for itself.”
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