Global Minerals defines Slovakian silver

VANCOUVER — Global Minerals (CTG-V, GMLFF-O) is hoping a resource estimate showing strong silver mineralization will give the company the support it needs to dewater and explore the flooded Strieborna mine in Slovakia.

The silver-copper-antimony project is in east-central Slovakia, near the Hungarian border. A new National Instrument (NI) 43-101- compliant resource estimate, based on historical data, concludes the past-producing mine still holds 215,000 measured tonnes grading 468 grams silver per tonne, 2.2% copper, 1.4% antimony and 20.6% iron plus 1.7 million indicated tonnes grading 202 grams silver, 1% copper, 0.6% antimony and 33.2% iron. Inferred resources add 1.5 million tonnes grading 180 grams silver, 0.9% copper, 0.6% antimony and 33.6% iron.

The Strieborna deposit was discovered in 1981. For the next 12 years, the Slovak Geological Survey explored the deposit on four levels, completing a total of 3,000 metres in underground development. The underground workings include drives directly into the vein and into the footwall with regularly spaced sampling crosscuts to intersect the entire width of the vein. Workings also exposed the vein along strike on two sublevels.

In 1994 London-based CMX Resources spent one year mapping the project and confirmed the Geological Survey’s interpretations. The project has since sat dormant, with the working flooded between 1998 and 2000.

Global acquired a 60% interest in the project in March 2007 and immediately commissioned a technical report and resource estimate based on historical data. The new report recommends Global proceed to prefeasibility studies, which would cost roughly US$3.5 million, including US$1 million for dewatering and rehabilitationn of the underground workings

The deposit strikes northeast in a propeller share, with subvertical dips in the centre changing to southeastern dips to the southwest and to northwestern dips to the northeast. The width of the vein ranges from less than a metre to eight metres, with a 2.5-metre average. It covers a 500-metre vertical extent.

Mineralization is primarily tetrahedrite, which was emplaced in a complicated system of fractures along the margins of quartz ladder veins. The highest silver-copper-antimony grades are in those parts of the vein hosted by relatively ductile quartz-sericite phyllites on levels 8 and 9.

Metallurgical test work indicates that flotation recovers 90-95% of the tetrahedrite-contained silver and gold. The flotation concentrate can then be treated for selective removal of antimony, arsenic, and mercury using alkaline sulphide hydrometallurgy.

Global has a 60% interest in the project; its 40% partner is Slovakian PIDECO. Global has the option to earn an additional 10% by spending US$2 million over two years.

News of the resource estimate did little for Global’s share price, which lost 2 to close at 18 on about 1 million shares traded. The company has a 52-week trading range of 15-58 and has 87.2 million shares issued.