Vancouver — The once-grand Pine Point mine, on the southern shore of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, is getting a test drive by
Tamerlane plans to re-evaluate previously calculated resources, expand the mineral base in under-explored areas, and move forward with development upon completion of a positive feasibility study.
The company is headed by Ross Burns and Margaret “Peggy” Kent (formerly Witte), both of whom have experience in tackling problematic mines in northerly and remote locations. The pair was involved in Royal Oak Mines throughout the 1990s and had constructed and operated the Kemess copper-gold mine in north-central British Columbia and the Colomac gold mine in the Northwest Territories. They also operated the Giant gold mine in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
The name Pine Point is well-known in the mining industry worldwide, and rightfully so: it operated prolifically for more than two decades and was among the richest, most profitable mines in Canadian history. From 1965 to 1986, Pine Point produced 64 million tonnes of ore averaging 3.1% lead and 7% zinc (almost 4.4 billion lbs. lead and 10 billion lbs. zinc) from some 50 separate orebodies.
The project’s history dates back to the late 1800s, when a fur trader staked eight claims in the area. Exploration was sporadic over the first half of the 20th century, when a consortium of explorers, including Cominco, combined, forming the Northern Lead Zinc Co.
Pine Point Mines was formed in 1951, controlled by 78%-owner Cominco. A development decision was made in the early 1960s, when, under the Roads to Resources program, the federal government and the Canadian National Railway undertook the commitment to construct a rail line to the site. Cominco committed to putting the mine into production.
Total costs, including railroad, mill and hydroelectric plant, were in excess of $130 million. A 21-MW hydro plant, underwritten by Pine Point Mines, was constructed on the Taltson River as a power source for Pine Point, Fort Smith and possible future developments.
During initial operations, mining had commenced before construction of the concentrator had been completed, so the mine began direct shipping of high-grade ore (averaging 50% combined lead-zinc) to Cominco’s Trail smelter in southeastern British Columbia.
In 1975, Westmin, now
Cominco’s Pine Point subsidiary ran the mine for more than 20 years until 1987, when it was closed following the processing of stockpiled material. The town of Pine Point, constructed by the operating company, was removed in the early 1990s along with the mill facilities.
By 2000-2001, all of the claims and mining leases that had been held by Cominco and Westmin had lapsed or were allowed to expire. The lead-zinc project area was in the crosshairs of Ross Burns, now president of Tamerlane Ventures, who acquired all the ground through staking, including the undeveloped deposits.
Mineralization at Pine Point is characteristic of Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) carbonate-hosted lead-zinc sulphides. Indeed, Pine Point is typically used as a “text-book” example of this type of deposit. Two other MVT deposits in Canada are the recently closed Nanisivik and Polaris mines. These types of deposits are the source of much of the world’s lead and zinc. They tend to be of medium-to-high grade with relatively simple metallurgy and processing requirements.
Lead-zinc mineralization at Pine Point is hosted in Devonian dolomites (a barrier reef structure), where karstification, creation of caves/cavities through dissolution, and collapse breccias allow for the accumulation of mineralizing brines in the cavities with deposition of the metal sulphides. The typical metal-sulphides deposited as replacement minerals are galena, sphalerite, marcasite and pyrite. Evidence of minor hydrocarbon accumulation exists in the karst cavities.
High-grade components
Tamerlane Ventures is evaluating the project with one eye on the existing historic resources and the other on potential new zones of mineralization. Historical, unexploited resources (which are not compliant with National Instrument 43-101) are outlined at 70.8 million tonnes grading 1.59% lead and 4.19% zinc, in several blocks or separate zones of mineralization. There are higher-grade components within this historic resource, such as 3.6% lead and 7.6% zinc.
The company is looking at applying modern geophysics to hunt for the replacement mineralization in the Pine Point belt, specifically three-dimensional seismic and induced-polarization surveys. Overburden drilling in the extensive swamp-cover of the region allows for geochemical analysis of any leakage of mineralized solutions from buried lead-zinc zones.
Upon completion of a positive feasibility study, Tamerlane is examining the possible usage of an underwater mining device with a cutter-head assemblage. Previous mining had run into significant aquifer-ground water issues and had to utilize extensive deep well pumps to keep the pits dewatered. The type of underwater miner being considered is similar to that being utilized by DeBeers in its Namibian marine diamond operations.
Tamerlane stands to benefit from the excellent infrastructure remaining at the project, including electrical power, paved roads and a nearby railhead at Hay River, 40 km to the west.
Exploration is expected to include geophysics and confirmation drilling to bring the historic resource up to NI43-101 standards. Metallurgical tests are also planned.
Tamerlane Ventures can acquire a 60% stake in the Pine Point project. The company has issued 1.2 million shares and must pay $150,000 as well as incur $1.25 million in exploration expenditures. The remaining 40% can be purchased for $1 million following a feasibility study. The property vendor, Kent Burns Group, would retain a 3% net smelter return royalty on the project should Tamerlane acquire the full interest in Pine Point.
The company has 9.2 million shares outstanding, giving it a market capitalization of $4 million at its recent trading range of 40-50.
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