Aur says Louvicourt will cost less than $200 million

Aur Resources (TSE) Vice- President Howard Stockford says he expects to have a conceptual plan for mining the company’s 55% owned Louvicourt Twp. copper-zinc deposit in hand by Christmas. With 12 drill rigs on site at the joint venture of Aur and Societe Miniere Louvem (TSE), Stockford and Aur President Jim Gill are currently weighing many of the possibilities relating to the Val d’Or, Que., project. Louvem owns 45% of the project.

An analysis by Loewen, Ondaatje, McCutcheon & Co. of Toronto says the physical shape of the Louvicourt deposit should be able to support a production rate of at least 6,000 ton per day.

“Allowing for a 12-15-month construction period, production could commence in late 1993,” says analyst John Hainey, who expects the capital cost of the project to come in at around $200 million.

At a 1% copper equivalent cutoff grade, estimated reserves on the property now stand at 37.1 million tons grading 3.60% copper, 1.59% zinc, 0.62 oz. silver and 0.026 oz. silver per ton.

However, Stockford believes the project can be brought to full production for a lot less than $200 million and that the joint venture can recoup its investment much faster than analysts are predicting.

“It all depends on the amount of preproduction development you do and the sequence in which the deposit is mined,” Stockford told The Northern Miner recently.

As part of a $4.6-million program to be completed by March, Aur is collaring pilot holes for a 3,300-ft. production shaft that could eventually be extended down to the 4,500-ft. level. Another rig is being used to extract core samples for testing to determine the grinding characteristics of the ore.

Aur is also drilling a 3,500-ft. hole to test for possible extensions of the deposit at depth. While he expects the mine to be operated at 4,000- to 6,000-ton- per-day, Stockford says there is still a lot of homework to be done before any decisions are announced.

To help with the planning process, Aur is expected to name Bob Bryce as vice-president of mining operations. Bryce, currently general manager at the Selbaie copper-zinc mine at Matagami, Que., will step into his new position in January.

Bryce has been hired just as Aur is studying the possibility of integrating Belmoral Mines’ (TSE) Dumont and Ferderber gold mines with its own Kierens zone and Norlartic operations. Having recently acquired a 50% stake in the Belmoral mines, Aur believes throughput from the four Val d’Or operations will be capable of keeping Belmoral’s 1,400-ton-per-day mill running at capacity.