First Metals (FMA-T) has just received permission to develop an underground access ramp to extract a 50,000 tonne bulk sample from its Magusi River zinc-copper-gold-silver deposit near Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
The clock started ticking to get Magusi ready for production last November when First Metals began production at its Fabie Bay copper mine just 1.2 km east of Magusi.
It’s been the company’s goal since it first purchased both deposits in 2006, to bring the larger Magusi online just as it scrapes that last of the 41 million-lb. Fabie Bay copper deposit — likely sometime in 2009.
Ore is custom milled at the Horne mill run by Xstrata (XSRAF-O, XTA-L) subsidiary, Xstrata Copper.
Over the last year, the company has drilled 25,000 metres at Magusi to upgrade the inferred resource and has just 2,000 metres (six holes) to go.
Magusi, a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, consists of two lenses a copper-rich one and a zinc-rich one.
The zinc-rich lens as an inferred resource of 1.23 million tonnes grading 7.1% zinc, 0.4% copper, 1.89 grams gold per tonne and 29 grams silver.
The copper-rich lens stands at 839,000 tonnes grading 0.3% zinc, 3.3% copper, 0.2 gram gold per tonne and 39.1 grams silver.
Together the lenses total 71 million lbs. copper, 197 million lbs. zinc, 80,000 oz. gold and 2.2 million oz. silver.
First Metals plans to have completed surface drilling, metallurgical test work and crown pillar rock mechanics by the end of July, which will be used in a scoping study.
The next development phase will consist of designing and developing a decline from surface to 700 metres depth.
First Metals shares were down 6% today, or 7, to $1.03 on a trading volume of 1 million shares.
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