Vancouver —
The junior aims to find extensions to the existing resources at the Tulsequah Chief mine. The initial target is the “F” anticline structure; it lies adjacent to the “H” syncline, which hosts most of the current resources. The program will test for additional mineralization downdip of the fold structure.
An underground rehabilitation program is under way, to prepare the 120-metre level for drilling. The surface portion of the program is expected to span about 2,000 metres.
Tulsequah Chief is a past producer of gold, silver, copper and zinc. It hosts a historical measured and indicated resource of 5.9 million tonnes grading 1.42% copper, 1.26% lead and 6.72% zinc, plus 2.59 grams gold and 107.4 grams silver per tonne. Three million additional tonnes grading 1.1% copper, 1.19% lead, 6.38% zinc, 2.42 grams gold and 107.9 grams silver are in the inferred category.
The 150-sq.-km property consists of two past-producing underground mines, Tulsequah Chief and Big Bull, which lie alongside the Tulsequah River, 100 km south of the town of Atlin, B.C., and 65 km northeast of Juneau, Alaska.
Permits
The base and precious metals project has sat idle since June 2000, when the original project approval certificate was rescinded. The certificate provides the company with the authority to apply for and obtain specific operating permits required for construction, development and operation. Tulsequah originally received such a certificate in March 1998, after a 3.5-year environmental assessment review under the former New Democratic Party government. Subsequent litigation by the local Taku River Tlingit First Nation resulted in a decision by the British Columbia Supreme Court to quash the certificate on the basis of deemed procedural errors. The court ruled that the company had failed to consult adequately with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, which maintains that the site is on its historic territory.
The province’s Court of Appeal later determined there had been no procedural errors and ordered the project remitted once again to the government for a decision on a new certificate, including consideration of the potential impact on the asserted rights and title of the First Nation.
The ministries now say the project can be constructed, operated and closed in a manner that minimizes the impact on the environment and accommodates the concerns and asserted rights of the Tlingits.
Based on the previous feasibility study, completed in December 1995 by Rescan Engineering, Redfern envisages a 2,470-tonne-per-day (900,000-tonne-per-year) underground mining and milling operation capable of producing a gold-rich gravity concentrate, as well as zinc, lead and copper concentrates. The study used metal prices of US53 per lb. zinc, US25 per lb. lead, US90 per lb. copper, US$300 per oz. gold, and US$5.80 per oz. silver. These prices projected a 3.6-year payback and annual operating profits of $50 million. Zinc production accounts for half the projected revenue.
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