Reserves rise at Noble Peak zinc project

Ore reserves at Noble Peak Resources’ (ASE) Crypto zinc property near Salt Lake City, Utah, are nearing the 10-million-ton threshold needed for commercial production, shareholders were recently told at the company’s annual meeting in Toronto.

Recent exploration carried out by Cyprus Minerals (NYSE) has outlined reserves totalling six million tons of sulphide ore at 8.6% zinc and 3.5 million tons of oxide ore at 8% zinc.

Noble Peak President Maureen Jensen hopes that once proven reserves reach 10 million tons Cyprus will make a production decision. Under the current agreement, Cyprus must spend $2.7 million on exploration and deliver a favorable production feasibility study by April 30, 1994, to earn a 100% interest. Noble Peak retains a sliding scale net smelter return royalty of 2-5%

for sulphide ores and 3-6% for oxide ores.

The skarn-hosted zinc mineralization occurs in a series of stacked zones within strongly altered limestones. The deposit, which also contains copper, lead, silver and gold credits, is open along strike and at depth. In the Northwest Territories, Noble Peak has two gold properties optioned to Placer Dome (TSE), the Southwin and Turquetil projects.

Placer is earning a 65% interest in the Southwin project where two significant gold occurrences, the Cache and Mac zones, have been identified. At the Cache zone, gold mineralization occurs in altered pyrite-bearing felsic volcanic rocks. The zone has been drilled along 700 ft. of strike and to a depth of 600 ft. and hosts preliminary reserves of 400,000 tons grading 0.27 oz. gold per ton.

At the Mac zone, eight miles southwest of the Cache zone, mineralization occurs in altered mafic volcanics. Surface sampling of this zone has yielded values up to 0.43 oz. gold over 23 ft.

In 1992, Placer concentrated its efforts on the Cache and Mac zones where the company outlined several targets to be drill-tested in 1993. On the Turquetil project, Placer is earning a 60% interest from MH Resources, a private company in which Noble Peak holds a 40% interest.

The property contains a 7.2-mile-long carbonatized shear zone. Drilling along one mile of this zone has outlined preliminary reserves of 500,000 tons grading 0.18 oz. gold. Placer conducted mapping and geophysical surveys on the Turquetil property in 1992.

In the same year, Noble Peak also carried out a small prospecting program on its 100% owned Happy Lake project where several gold occurrences were discovered in 1989.