First Metals (FMA-T, FSTMF-O) has received permission to develop an underground access ramp to extract a 50,000-tonne bulk sample from its Magusi River zinc-coppergold-silver deposit near Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
While production began last November at its Fabie Bay copper mine, just 1.2 km east of Magusi, First Metals has also been in high gear getting Magusi ready for production in 2009.
Since it purchased both deposits in 2006, the company has planned to bring the larger Magusi online just as it scrapes the last of the ore out of the much smaller 41-millionlb. Fabie Bay deposit.
Ore is custom milled atthe 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 — one rich in copper and the other in zinc. The zinc-rich lens has 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.
Inferred resources at the copperrich lens stand at 839,000 tonnes grading 0.3% zinc, 3.3% copper, 0.2 gram gold and 39.1 grams silver.
Together, the lenses host 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 at Magusi by the end of July. The results of the work 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.
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