A feasibility study on the Williams Creek copper oxide project is expected by year-end.
The project, 25 miles northwest of Carmacks, Y.T., and accessible by road, is owned equally by Western Copper Holdings (TSE) and Thermal Exploration (ASE). The partners commissioned Kilborn Engineering Pacific to prepare the study for banking and permitting requirements.
Drill-indicated reserves for the No. 1 zone are reported to be 22.05 million tons of 1.06% copper and 0.013 oz. gold per ton. Of this amount, 12.5 million tons grading 1.15% copper and 0.015 oz. gold are considered minable by open pit.
Proposed is an open-pit mine which would produce cathode copper using solvent extraction-electrowinning.
About 250 tons of material from the No. 1 zone have been crushed, to be used in a pilot-plant test this fall. It was excavated from three trenches (at a depth of 15 ft.) at the north end of the zone.
Sampling of this material returned an average grade of 1.57% copper and 0.024 oz. gold per ton. The partners say this suggests the near-surface material contains more copper than previously calculated. For example, one of the trenches previously returned 110 ft. grading 1.01% copper and 0.01 oz. gold. The new assays for this trench were 105 ft. grading 1.5% copper and 0.017 oz. gold.
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