Noranda boosts Caber resource

With a production decision imminent, Noranda (NOR-T) has tallied a new resource for the Caber massive sulphide deposit, 35 km west of Matagami, Que.

The major, which is earning a 70% interest in the property from Southern Africa Minerals (SAF-T), is studying the feasibility of mining the deposit’s high-grade core via a decline. Ore would be trucked to the mill at Matagami and possibly mixed with material from Noranda’s nearly completed Bell-Allard copper-zinc mine.

Indicated resources are now pegged at 484,000 tonnes grading 11.7% zinc and 1% copper, as well as 14.4 grams silver per tonne and 0.23 gram gold. This is 17% higher in volume than the company’s previous estimate; in terms of zinc and silver grades, however, the estimate is slightly lower, owing to the inclusion of a low-grade feeder zone discovered in the stratigraphic footwall (T.N.M., April 19/99).

Two smaller, separate areas were blocked out as well. One averaged 10.8% zinc, 0.4% copper, 6.8 grams silver and 0.09 gram gold in 31,000 tonnes, whereas the other graded 1.3% zinc, 2.6% copper, 7.4 grams silver and 0.21 gram gold in 41,700 tonnes. Both resources are classified as inferred.

Noranda used the cross-sectional method, applying a cutoff net smelter return (NSR) of $40 per tonne and a true mining width of 4.5 metres. Narrower intersections were included in the separate, higher-grading copper resource.

Concurrently, Roscoe Postle Associates (RPA) has finished an independent study for Southern Africa, assessing both the known mineralization and exploration potential. The company used the contour method for each metal and lens, applying a cutoff grade of 5% zinc-equivalent and a minimum horizontal width of 4.5 metres.

“We wanted a measure of the more global resource, whereas Noranda sought reserves that they considered feasible today,” Southern Africa President Denis Francoeur told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Toronto.

Total resources stand at 800,000 tonnes averaging 10.1% zinc, 0.6% copper, 11.3 grams silver and 0.14 gram gold. Of this, 515,000 tonnes grading 11% zinc, 0.5% copper, 11.1 grams silver and 0.14 gram gold are classified as indicated, with the remaining 285,000 tonnes grading 8.5% copper, 0.8% copper, 11.6 grams silver and 0.14 gram gold falling into the inferred category.

Each company calculated separate NSRs, though both used equivalent metal prices and exchange and metal-recovery rates. Noranda obtained $96.38 per tonne for its indicated resource, whereas RPA’s estimate rang in at $84.35 for its indicated resource and $71.22 for its inferred resource, giving a weighted average of $79.67 per tonne.

Meanwhile, drilling continues, with three rigs now active. Francoeur noted that the property covers 5 km of the favourable Key Tuffite horizon, which hosts all the known massive sulphide mines in the Matagami camp. In particular, the Caber deposit remains open downdip and the nearby Caber North area remains virtually untested, especially along the Lower Tuffite horizon, which lies below the known lenses but is stratigraphically equivalent to the Key Tuffite.

Francoeur added that the company is seeking a joint-venture partner at its Mosomane diamond property in Botswana, saying the project requires $1-3 million in follow-up exploration: “We still strongly believe this project can deliver . . . and our claims remain in good standing.”

In 1998, drilling at Mosomane intersected two diamondiferous kimberlite bodies in a 500-sq.-km area anomalous in indicator minerals. The company has since cut by nearly half its entire land holdings in the country, to 930,764 ha.

As of March 31, Southern Africa had $500,000 in its till. In mid-June, as part of its earn-in requirements at Caber, Noranda is required to buy $400,000 worth of the company’s shares in a private placement.