Roycefield adds to Beaver Brook deposit

Roycefield Resources (RYC-T) has boosted the antimony resource at the Beaver Brook deposit in central Newfoundland.

With the latest drilling, Roycefield has added 500,000 tonnes grading 3% antimony (using a 1.5% cutoff grade) to the previous drill-indicated resource estimate of 1.4 million tonnes of 4.49% antimony.

Surface exploration and underground testing are under way in the East zone, which contains most of the resource. Two diamond drill rigs are probing a large, untested area below the zone that is being prepared for mining. Drill holes have intersected a new antimony zone at least 500 metres long, from a depth of between 70 and 300 metres.

The most significant intercepts returned from the 23 holes drilled to date in the current program are 5.03% antimony over 30.7 metres, 8.91% over 7.8 metres and 3.27% over 9.1 metres. The zone remains open on strike and at depth.

Ongoing underground exploration has opened 269 metres of the East zone.

Sampling of the entire length of this exposed mineralization has averaged 6.76% antimony over 5.33 metres, thus confirming values obtained from previous surface drilling, which had averaged 6.08% antimony over 5.14 metres. The brittle nature of the mineralization is responsible for underground sampling values being greater than those obtained from surface drilling, Roycefield officials note in a release.

Roycefield has concluded a private placement of convertible debentures (with an aggregate value of $2.8 million) and share purchase warrants. The debentures are for a 5-year term, with interest of 8%, and are convertible to common shares of Roycefield at $3.60 per share. The share purchase warrants expire Aug. 20, 1999, and are convertible into Roycefield shares at $4 per share.

Mill construction at Beaver Brook is nearing completion; mining began in July.

Roycefield plans to produce concentrates and value-added antimony trioxides for European and North American suppliers of flame-retardants for the plastics industry.