As part of an advanced exploration project to investigate the Montcalm nickel-copper deposit, Outokumpu Mines will drive a 2.5-km decline to confirm reserves and provide information for a possible production decision.
The deposit, in Montcalm Township, 60 km west of Timmins, Ont., has reserves of 7.4 million tonnes grading 1.5% nickel and 0.7% copper.
The decline will be driven to 300 metres below surface to permit 20,000 to 25,000 metres of underground drilling. Outokumpu may also take a bulk sample for metallurgical testing, if the results appear to justify further work.
If feasibility studies on the deposit are positive, the current vision for mining at Montcalm has a production rate of 650,000 tonnes per year from an underground mine developed from the decline. The estimated capital cost of a mine and mill at the property has been estimated at $100 million. Mine life would be 10-12 years.
Work on the decline started this month and is expected to be finished by mid-1997. Outokumpu, the Canadian unit of large Finnish base metal producer Outokumpu O/Y, is earning a 100% interest in the deposit from a syndicate that includes Teck (TSE).
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