Platinova considers reopening mine

Greenland-based Platinova (pas, pva.s-t) is evaluating the feasibility of mining pillars from the abandoned Black Angel zinc-lead-silver mine on that country’s western coast.

From 1973 until its closure in 1990, the mine was operated by subsidiaries of Cominco (clt-t) and Swedish-based Boliden Mineral. Total production during that period amounted to 11.2 million tonnes grading 12.6% zinc, 4.1% lead and 30 grams silver per tonne. About 18% of the reserves are in pillars consisting of 2 million tonnes grading 11% zinc, 4% lead and 25 grams silver.

Although some pillar recovery was accomplished before the 1990 closure, the process was abandoned owing to unacceptable lead discharges into the ocean and to the need for continuous mill feed, among other reasons.

Platinova hopes to begin shipping crushed ore from the site to a custom concentrator by the summer of 1998.

Elsewhere in western Greenland, Aber Resources (abz-t) has begun drilling potential kimberlite and base metal targets on properties optioned to the company by Platinova. Aber can earn a half interest in three properties north of Nuuk by either bulk-sampling a kimberlite pipe or completing 10,000 metres of drilling.

In April, the company will drill targets situated under lake ice and then conduct sampling and geophysical surveys on other targets, to be drilled later in the year.

Platinova, which owns the diamond exploration rights to 33,000 sq. km of Archean terrain along the island’s southwestern coast, has two similar diamond-property option agreements with Fjordland Minerals (fml-v) and Lexam Explorations (lex-m).

Platinova retains a 100% interest in 4,300 sq. km of its diamond holdings, subject to a 3% diamond production royalty paid to Cominco.