BREAKING NEW GROUND ANSIL

Sloping and oval-shaped, the rich Ansil deposit is deeper than the other three in the area. A 5.5-m-diameter main shaft, sunk to 1,500 m, supports five working levels. Probable diluted reserves stand at 1.52 million tonnes grading 7.2% copper, 0.8% zinc, 1.7 g gold per tonne and 25.9 g silver per tonne.

Underground mining equipment will be trackless. Minnova plans a mining method of blasthole stopes with delayed backfill. At a production rate of 1,350 tonnes per day, the mine will have a 4- to 5-year lifespan. The projected operating cost is $50 per tonne.

Capital cost of the Ansil mine will total about $75 million, some $14 million of which is covered by a loan from the Quebec government; Watkins says the loan is forgivable once Minnova places the mine into production. To help pay for the mine, Minnova issued $65 million worth of debentures in 1987. The notes are convertible into company common shares until Sept 30, 2007, at $34.25 per share.

The company’s Norbec mill, about 5 km west of the mine site, will dress Ansil’s ore. Built in 1961, the mill was expected to operate for only five years. Until recently, it was processing ore from the Mobrun polymetallic project, in which Minnova has a 30% interest.

“We spent a few million dollars rehabilitating it,” Watkins says of the mill, which has been structurally reinforced and newly equipped. He said the mill is now expected to outlast the Ansil mine.

Copper concentrates from the mill will be shipped to the Horne smelter, owned by Noranda Inc., at Rouyn- Noranda; the zinc concentrates will be shipped to Noranda’s Valleyfield, Que., zinc reduction plant, near Montreal. Minnova is controlled by Kerr Addison Mines which, in turn, is controlled by Noranda.

Discovered in 1981, the Ansil project underwent some exploration activity in 1982, but it wasn’t until 1984 that work began in earnest. Minnova optioned the property from Ansil Resources, which has retained a royalty payout equal to 20% of the first $2 million of the net proceeds and 7.5% of the balance of the net proceeds. Ansil Fact Sheet Location: ……… Rouyn/Noranda, Que. Major owners: ……… Minnova Inc. Operator: ……… Minnova Inc. Reserves and category: ……… 1,517,000 tonnes of probable diluted ore grading 7.2% copper, 0.8% zinc, 1.7 g per tonne gold, and 25.9 g per tonne silver Metal(s) to be produced: ……… Copper, zinc, gold, silver Discovery date: ……… Jan 9, 1981 Production decision: ……… N/A Start-up date: ……… late first quarter, 1989 (commercial production) Budgeted capital costs: ……… $75 million Actual capital costs: ……… $61 million for Minnova, $14 million for Quebec government Cash operating costs: ……… $50 per tonne (projected) Means of access: ……… Main shaft 1,500 m deep and 5.5 m in diameter (circular) Extent of horizontal workings: .Five working levels Mining method: ……… Blasthole stopes with delayed backfill Mining equipment: ……… Trackless, 5- and 6 cu-yd LHDs, 2-boom electric/hydraulic jumbos, scissor lifts, downhole drills, electric/hydraulic ring drilling Production rate: ……… 1,350 tonnes per (mill) day Milling: ……… On-site rehabilitated Norbec mill. Rod mill, unitary cells, ball mills, two banks of unitary cells, and large flotation cells Major contractors: ……… Dynatec (mine development) Current status: ……… Pre-production

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