Restigouche may be next base metal mine in N.B.

Toronto-based Marshall has a number of precious and base metal properties under its wing while East West is a public Australian company not yet listed in Canada.

The two companies are fine tuning an arrangement in which Marshall would mine and deliver ore from the Restigouche property to East West’s mill 20 km further east in Bathurst.

In return for costs and a percentage of the profits, East West plans to custom mill ore from the Restigouche project, which Marshall acquired last March from Placer Dome Inc. (TSE) for about $800,000. After securing all of the minority interests, Marshall is now sole owner of the open pit property.

New Brunswick’s other base metal producers are Brunswick Mining and Smelting’s No 12 mine, Heath Steele Mine’s Heath Steele property and East West’s Caribou mine.

After drilling 180 holes at 15-m spacings, Marshall has outlined a total mineable reserve inventory (including underground estimates) of 1.73 million tons grading 0.35% copper, 6.94% zinc, 5.36% lead, 3.27 oz silver and 0.035 oz gold per ton.

Open pit reserves, at a 6% cut-off grade for lead plus zinc, stand at 1.15 million tons grading 7.71% zinc, 5.96% lead, 0.38% copper, 3.62 oz silver and 0.04 oz gold.

According to Marshall Chairman Harry Quint, about $3 million is needed to bring the property to the production stage once the necessary environmental permits are obtained. That would bring Marshall’s costs to approximately $5 million.

“We feel very fortunate to have bought this property,” said the former Shearson Lehman venture capital specialist who had discussions with East West general manager Colin Smith last week.

Under the terms of a proposed custom milling agreement, East West will be reimbursed for milling and administration costs, while the profits are split on a percentage basis between the two companies. “We are very close to reaching an agreement,” said Smith.

If and when the deal is closed and government permits received, Marshall expects to produce between 54,000 and 86,000 tons of concentrates annually with a mining rate of about 750 tons per day.

“Situated in dipping volcanics, the elongated orebody is a natural for open pit mining methods,” consulting geologist Neil Westoll told The Northern Miner.

Still to be fully tested is a northerly extension of the main massive sulphide deposit which Westoll believes could be mined by underground methods, off the open pit.

Meanwhile, with an over-all strip ratio of about 3:1 during its first three years in operation, the planned pit is expected to be 100 m deep, 300 m long and up to 100 m wide, according to Westoll.

Cash flow from Restigouche and a couple of properties in the Timmins, Ont., region that Marshall hopes to bring into production within the next 18 months will be used to finance exploration at a large gold project in west Africa’s Ivory Coast.

The Ivory Coast property was explored extensively during the 1950s by BRGM (the French geological survey) and recently by Marshall affiliate Eden Roc Minerals (ASE).

Under a 2-stage private placement involving Marshall and Eden Roc, the former company is acquiring 1.5 million Eden Roc shares for $450,000. Marshall has the option to purchase an additional 1.5 million Eden Roc common shares at the same price for two years. Proceeds are being used to finance a confirmatory drilling program at the Ivory Coast. Pending the results of the program, Marshall will become Eden Roc’s controlling shareholder by purchasing an additional 10 million shares.

While the deal gives Marshall access to what consulting geologist Joe Hinzer called 22 miles of highly prospective geology (in Canadian terms that is roughly equal to the entire Val d’Or, Que. mining camp), the company is interested only in looking at areas which can be brought into production quickly, according to Quint. He is attempting to negotiate a joint venture deal with the World Bank.

The Ivory Coast mineralization is predicated on a major shear zone which has been probed via a number of adits. “We will attempt to confirm the tonnage potential which the French have mapped in a number of areas,” said Hinzer.

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