Junior nickel miner FNX Mining (FNX-T, FNX-X) has tabled a resource estimate for the 2000 and North polymetallic deposits on its Podolsky property, situated in the northeastern portion of Ontario’s Sudbury basin.
FNX is in the second year of a 3-year, $42-million exploration program of the 2000 deposit at the wholly owned property. Work has included the sinking of a 2,690-ft. shaft from surface (now at 2,470 ft. depth), which will be followed up with an excavation of a 1,700-ft. exploration drift to facilitate underground drilling, mapping and bulk sampling of the 2000 deposit.
The work is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2007, after which a feasibility study will be undertaken. If all goes well, FNX reckons that commercial production from the 2000 deposit could begin as soon as early 2008.
FNX describes the Podolsky mineralization as occurring within the Whistle offset dyke. Surface drilling has outlined two polymetallic deposits: 2000, situated 2,000 ft. below surface; and the near-surface North deposit.
The 2000 deposit is further subdivided by FNX into a lower Breccia zone that is hosted within geologically well-defined, clast-rich quartz diorite and metabreccia, and an upper Grey Gabbro zone that is hosted within a less-defined large metagabbro block.
As things now stand, indicated resources in the Breccia zone of the 2000 deposit amount to 3.1 million tons grading 3.24% copper, 0.29% nickel, 0.05 oz. platinum per ton, 0.04 oz. palladium per ton and 0.02 oz. gold per ton.
A further indicated resource of 130,000 tons of 6.56% copper, 0.66% nickel, 0.09 oz. platinum, 0.07 oz. palladium and 0.04 oz. gold lie in the North deposit.
The Grey Gabbro zone hosts an inferred 4.9 million tons 1.16% copper and 0.15% nickel, plus lesser amounts of platinum, palladium and gold.
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