Noranda’s Black Pine looks heap leachable

Some encouraging results at Noranda Exploration’s recently obtained Black Pine property in Cassia Cty., Idaho, means that the company could be on the verge of beginning a heap leach operation there. According to district geologist Bob Page, grades so far could make heap leaching a possibility but the company is also looking at conventional milling as an alternative.

“Since a 500-ton-per-day mill is currently available at Noranda’s Grey Eagle mine site in northern California, conventional milling is the logical alternative,” said Mr Page.

Noranda obtained the 4,280-acre Black Pine property from New York-based Permian Exploration Account late in 1986.

Under the terms of a straight lease agreement, Noranda is paying advanced royalties on a monthly bases to Permian until 1989 when the former company will pay a $200,000(US) minimum royalty. To maintain a 100% interest in the property, Noranda has also agreed to spend $100,000 per quarter on exploration and development.

Permian and other related optionors retain various net smelter royalties from future production revenues.

Located 60-miles southeast of Burley, the property contains the old Tallman open pit mine which produced approximately 15,000 oz of gold from vat leaching in the early 1950s.

Noranda’s recent work including geotechnical surveys and 37,000 ft of reverse circulation drilling has resulted in the discovery of two additional oxidized shallow, flat-lying gold deposits designated the A and B zones within one mile of the Tallman deposit.

All three zones remain open along strike and several other anomalous areas remain to be tested on the property. All the zones which average 50 to 100 ft in thickness have a close spatial relationship to high angle northeast and northwest-striking normal faults cross-cutting late Paleozoic limy sediments similar to other gold deposits in the Great Basin of the western U.S.

Using a cutoff grade of 0.02 oz gold per ton, reserves currently stand at 5.6 million tons averaging 0.049 oz * Anomaly A has 3.6 million tons grading 0.035 oz gold per ton. Anomaly contains B 1.5 million tons grading 0.80 oz while the Tallman Pit has 0.5 million tons grading 0.055 oz.

In addition to further deposit delineation on the Black Pine property, pre-feasibility studies including metallurgical testing, environmental and mining studies have started to ascertain the project’s potential viability.