Alexis sizes up West Ansil, makes the grade at Lac Herbin

Partners Falconbridge (FAL.LV-T, FAL-N) and Alexis Minerals (AMC-V, AXSMF-O) are looking at the potential economics of the West Ansil base metal deposit, after pinning down a preliminary resource estimate.

In the indicated category are 530,000 tonnes grading 3.4% copper, 1.4 grams gold per tonne, 9.2 grams silver, and 0.4% zinc. Another 600,000 tonnes of inferred material grades 3.3% copper, 0.3 gram gold, 5.9 grams silver, and 0.2% zinc.

The deposit comprises the Upper, Middle and Lower massive sulphide lenses, two alteration-magnetite and sulphide stringer pipes (one joining the Upper and Middle lenses, with a second underneath the main Lower zone). Another pair of smaller satellite lenses is situated above the Lower zone.

The deposit represents a stacked system of massive sulphide lenses formed at a seafloor interface, with the deeper parts of the system being progressively replaced with chalcopyrite. Zinc and gold grades are zoned.

Drilling on the deposit late last year continued to yield good results including massive sulphide and copper-rich stringer mineralization, such as: 14.34% copper and 0.16% zinc over 6.3 metres in hole 5-10; 18.05% copper over 0.65 metre in hole 5-11; and 21.1% copper over 1.15 metres in hole 5-12; 3.76% copper over 7.7 metres in hole 5-15.

The massive sulphide zone is said to be at a basalt/andesite contact within the Rusty Ridge formation and lies in a discordant trend between the Lewis exhalite and the Beecham breccia horizons.

Alexis says that increasing copper grades at depth and down-plunge of the deposit’s mineralized envelope provide an excellent vector for additional massive sulphide mineralization at the Lewis Exhalite.

The partners are evaluating the economics of West Ansil in order to design the next exploration phase.

The West Ansil deposit is located in the Rouyn-Noranda mining camp, 15 km northwest of Falco’s Horne smelter, and just 8 km southwest of the historic Ansil mine. Ansil produced some 1.6 million tonnes grading 7% copper, 4% zinc, 2 grams gold and 26 grams silver between 1989 and 1992.

Alexis is earning a 50% interest in Falconbridge’s Rouyn-Noranda area properties by spending $16.5 million over three years. The deal also saw Alexis issue 1 million shares and 500,000 warrants to the major.

Included in the deal are the past producing Horne and Quemont deposits, the Amulet, Gallen, Ansil, Newbec, East Waite and Old Waite mines and numerous base metal occurrences and showings.

Lac Herbin

Meanwhile, underground drilling some 10 km from Val d’Or, Que., has encountered some high gold grades on the Lac Herbin project.

Highlights from the first 14 holes include:

• Hole 13 — 7 metres grading 25.9 grams gold per tonne, including a 1.5-metre interval of 107 grams;
• Hole 12 — 1.6 metres 20.7 grams gold;
• Hole 10 — 8.14 g/t Au over 2.7 metres, and
• Hole 14 — 6.92 g/t Au over 0.5 metres.

The results are from the steeply dipping S1 quartz-tourmaline, pyrite vein within the S1 shear zone. Alexis says the drilling has defined the apparent eastern limit of the S1 East zone.

Drilling on the adjacent West E shear yielded 8.7 grams gold (cut to 5.3 grams) over 7.7 metres in hole 016 including, 63.2 grams over 0.9 metre. The West E zone remains open to the west and at depth; additional drilling is planned.

So far, Alexis has completed 1,046 metres worth of a planned 8,000-metre underground drill program designed to test three of five known gold zones. Underground development continues to advance towards the Hangingwall (HW) and Lac Herbin zones; so far the ramp has advanced 1,140 metres. A second drill is on the way to test the HW zone.

A scoping study in early 2005 concluded that Lac Herbin could support a 500-tonne-per-day underground operation to produce around 35,000 oz. of gold annually at a cash cost of US$224 per oz. over 5.3 years. The study assumed a gold price of US$400 per oz.

Lac Herbin is home to inferred resources totalling just shy of 1.1 million tonnes running 7.3 grams gold per tonne.