Momentum builds in Bathurst for base metals exploration

Since Dec 1 a total of 4,450 new claims were staked in the Bathurst area, according to Steven McCutcheon, regional geologist for the province’s Department of Natural Resources & Energy. That’s more than the 4,350 claims staked during a 2-month period 33 years ago, the last time base metals staking peaked in northern New Brunswick. That rush occurred in 1956 when Brunswick Mining & Smelting’s huge No 12 mine was discovered along with a number of other lead/zinc deposits.

Typically, in recent years there are fewer than 6,000 new claims staked during a 12-month period in the area, McCutcheon says.

Most of the new ground picked up recently was acquired by Falconbridge Ltd. (TSE), a relative new comer to the camp and Acadia Mineral Ventures (TSE), which has only recently jumped onto the base metals bandwagon. That junior is also working on a number of epithermal-type gold properties in the Bathurst area.

The base metals explorers are obviously thinking about zinc. Targets for that metal include a huge felsic volcanic complex that dominates the geology of the area. About 25 volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits have already discovered in the complex. These deposits are at various stages of exploration. Most were found by airborne electromagnetic surveys during the 1954-56 period.

Surplus mill capacity in the area may improve the economics of mining these deposits.

Last week, Brunswick Mining and Smelting and Noranda Inc. announced they will spend $21 million this year to jointly re-open the Heath Steele mill, 65 km northwest of Newcastle, N.B. That decision, the second decision to start-up a base metal mill in the area in past year, will boost the provinces’s zinc, copper and silver production by 20%, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Energy.

The positive production decision was based on an ore reserve, in three separate deposits within 6 km of the mill totalling 4 million tonnes grading 6.3% zinc, 2.5% lead, 0.7% copper and 70 g silver per tonne. There is an additional 8 million tonnes on mineral inventory in the immediate area which was not included in that feasibility study.

At a milling rate of 2,200 tonnes per day the mill is expected to produce 22,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate, 7,000 tonnes of lead concentrate, 4,000 tonnes of copper concentrate and 2,400 tonnes of bulk concentrate in 1989. Full production should be reached in September.

When the mill shut down in 1984 it had a rated capacity of 3,500 tonnes per day. That surplus capacity could potentially be used to treat ores from other deposits in the area.

The Caribou mine, west of Bathurst was brought into production in November, 1988 by East West Minerals of Australia. A new 2,000- tonne-per-day mill was built on that property, but it has no custom milling capacity. The Australian company expects to produce 126,000 tonnes of bulk concentrate this year, grading 34.2% zinc, 15.2% lead, 321 g silver and 2.3 g gold per tonne.

A third new mine/mill in the area has also been given the green light recently. It is an open pit gold and silver operation being built by NovaGold Resources (TSE). The pit will strip the gold- and silver-rich gossan from the top of a low-grade massive sulphide deposit and treat the ore using vat leaching technology.

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