A large part of this season’s exploration effort is in-fill work designed to improve the confidence levels of the reserves. According to Mike Koziol, Cameco’s project geologist, the drilling has met with success.
What might be one of the best holes yet completed on the property was viewed by The Northern Miner. Not yet split, the 27.6-m (90.5 ft) section of core from hole 41 carried considerable stringer and disseminated chalcopyrite, pyrite and fine-grained sphalerite sulphide mineralization throughout its entire length.
According to a Cameco site geologist, the long section of core is visually similar to other sections from lens two which yielded ore- grade assays.
The hole comes from a thick section of the lens which averages about 49.2 ft. Other holes previously completed in this part of the zone returned 48.2 ft grading 7.5% zinc and 0.1% copper and 48 ft grading 7.25% zinc and 0.31% copper in hole 39. The latter hole is about 197 ft west of hole 41.
Since its discovery in 1988, lens two has been delineated along strike for 1,641 ft and to a depth of 2,953 ft. The zone remains open at depth. A Flin Flon-type volcanogenic zinc-copper sulphide deposit, the mineralization is hosted in an altered dacitic cherty tuff sequence which is overlain by a Paleozoic limestone cap. This cap of much younger limestone effectively precludes traditional surface prospecting in the area.
The drilling has intersected two other lens which are higher in the stratigraphy. Lens one hosts reserves of 440,000 tons grading 2.5% zinc and 1.7% copper whereas lens three hosts 44,000 tons of 8.1% zinc and 1.6% copper, Koziol explained. Neither reserve is included in the 7.7-million ton estimate which is restricted to lens two. Although lens one and three a re sub-economic, Koziol feels both warrant additional exploration, especially at depth.
Precious metal values, which can represent important cash credits per ton in such deposits, are below the average found in the Flin Flon camp. Hanson’s average grade is less than 0.02 oz gold per ton — less than half the 0.04 oz grade found in such Flin Flon mines as Trout Lake. Associated with copper mineralization, gold is most prevalent in the copper stringer horizon which immediately underlies the massive sulphide mineralization in lens two.
Access to the site is via a gravel road which terminates at the old Hanson Lake zinc mine, five miles north of the Trimin-Cameco project site. From there the partners can transport supplies along a bush trail. Heavy equipment requires helicopter support. “If everything is positive, the road (extension) should be in by this time next year,” Koziol said. The Hanson Lake mine, which operated for less than one year, mined zinc from a mineralized zone that is north of the Paleozoic limestones.
Once overlain by limestones, only geophysical methods are available for drill target definition. The original discovery was made by drilling a moderate electromagnetic conductor.
The partners control more than 9.3 miles of strike along the favorable felsic volcanic horizon which remains to be tested. “There are several weak untested conductors which years ago would not have interested anyone,” Koziol explained. With significant tonnages building in lens two, these conductors have become legitimate targets, he added. “We’ve got the horizon identified,” Kozial said. “As these deposits tend to occur in clusters, the chance of finding additional deposits is good.”
A prefeasibility study completed by Cameco envisages a 3,000-ton- per-day mining and milling operation at a capital cost of $89 million, President Randy Turner of Trimin told The Northern Miner. Mining and milling cash costs are estimated at $38 per ton. Although optimum mining rates and detailed capital and mining costs will be addressed by the upcoming feasibility study, the preliminary figures mentioned by Turner provide some feeling as to the scale of mining operation both companies anticipate at Hanson Lake.
Power is among the expensive items that must be considered. The nearest hydro line is about 62 miles away at the town of Creighton. Also, thought will have to be given as to smelter agreements. Although Flin Flon appears to be the most logical facility, Hudson Bay Mining has noted that one metal its smelter does not need is zinc. Other alternatives are Trail in British Columbia and Noranda in Quebec.
Despite these long-term concerns, which the management of both companies say can be adequately addressed, investors in Trimin are finally getting some satisfaction. Immediately following the field trip, the stock zoomed 80 cents to high of $2.70. Tightly held with five million shares issued on a fully diluted basis, the issue has been overshadowed by the Aur-Louvem play in Quebec and the lack of any staking rush in the area surrounding its find.
That appears to be changing as the size and scope of the discovery becomes better known by the investment community. In fact, the reserves at Hanson Lake are the largest defined by surface drilling since the Flin Flon mine was discovered more than 50 years ago. The Trout Lake mine, the jewel in the Flin Flon camp, began production in 1982 with a reserve base of 2.4 million tons.
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