Thistle eyes South African assets

Thistle Mining (THT-T) is buying five underground gold mines in the Free State of South Africa. Thistle will pay US$32 million in cash, plus a monthly royalty of US$8 per oz. gold for five years.

Among the assets are the company Mindserv and its wholly owned subsidiary, President Steyn Gold Mines (Free State), which operates the mines.

In the third quarter, President Steyn Gold Mines produced 45,597 oz. at a cash cost of US$213 per oz. The company realized a price of US$247.83 per oz. During the first nine months of 2001, production tallied to 134,743 oz. at an average cost of US$218 per oz.

Thistle has appointed Endeavour Financial in London to arrange US$25 million in bank financing, to be repaid over five years. The European division of Canaccord has been appointed to raise an additional US$10 million via a convertible loan note issue.

Following the news, Thistle shares shot up 12, to 30 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based Northern Orion Explorations (NNO-T) has arranged, through a share transaction, to purchase Ditchburn Management, which holds a 12-month option to acquire up to a 90% stake in President Steyn Gold Mines.

Asarco pulls plug in Tennessee

Asarco, now a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, has announced an indefinite suspension of zinc mining and processing at its three operations in Tennessee. Low zinc prices are blamed for the decision, which takes effect mid-November. As a result, 360 workers will be layed off.

“The slowdown in the industrial manufacturing sector, and in steel in particular, has resulted in higher worldwide zinc inventories and lower prices,” says Asarco President Genaro Larrea. “At these prices, the Tennessee facilities simply are not economically viable.”

At presstime, the cash price of zinc on the London Metal Exchange was US34 per lb.; a year earlier, it had traded at US48.

During 2000, the Tennessee division produced 56,800 tonnes of zinc-in-concentrate at a cash cost of US48 per lb.

The company says that operations could resume if long-term market conditions improve.

SW, Inco explore Peruvian property

Vancouver — Southwestern Resources (SWG-T) and Inco (N-T) have launched a 1,000-metre drill program over the Intihuatana base metal property, some 410 km northwest of Arequipa in southern Peru.

The equal partners have completed mapping, chip sampling and ground geophysics over the property, which is one of four that make up the 287-sq.-km Bambas West project.

Two extensive copper-gold skarn systems centred around high-level diorite intrusions have been identified. The skarns contain both massive and disseminated magnetite. Geophysical surveys outlined four anomalies associated with outcropping zones of copper-gold mineralization.

The largest of these zones has a strike length of 1.1 km. Chip samples collected from the main exposed skarn, which measures 300 by 100 metres, returned 0.4-11% copper. The initial drilling will test the geophysical anomalies between 100 and 250 metres below surface.

Inco is funding the program to the tune of US$1 million.

Yamana adds to Martha operation

Yamana Resources (YRI-T) has suspended mining at its Martha silver operation in Argentina’s Santa Cruz region while it awaits results from recent drilling. In September, 16 drill holes confirmed existing resources in one zone, or pocket, and added new resources in another.

At Pocket 1 West, drilling confirmed a resource of 440 tonnes averaging 804 oz. silver-equivalent. Farther to the west, deeper and outside the resource area, drilling returned 0.5 metre grading 744 oz. silver and 0.5 metre running 388 oz. silver per tonne. Gold assay results are pending.

Seven holes have extended Pocket 3 East by 20 metres to the east and to a depth of 30 metres.

The current resource is pegged at 4,993 tonnes averaging 428 oz. silver-equivalent per tonne, or 2.1 million contained ounces. About 600,000 of the ounces are contained in pillars and remnants and may not be immediately minable without impeding access to new resources.

An in-house study suggests the Martha vein system has potential for 40 million oz. silver-equivalent.

Yamana is continuing talks with its lender in an attempt to extend the Dec. 31 maturity date on the project’s financing. The company is also considering bringing in a partner.

Odyssey aims drills at Lucky Star

Junior Odyssey Resources (YOD-V) has begun diamond drilling at its Lucky Star polymetallic property on the coast of the Black Sea in northern Turkey.

The 250-sq.-km property features large areas of hydrothermal alteration which host numerous mineral occurrences in shallow submarine volcanic and derived sedimentary rocks.

Drilling will target the Lucky Star and Zavikoy prospects, where geophysical surveys defined several coincident gravity and electromagnetic anomalies.

Preliminary drilling at the Lucky Star prospect cut a 55-metre-thick zone averaging 4.43% zinc, 1.49% lead and 51.2 grams silver per tonne, including 19.7 metres of 8.48% zinc, 2.73% lead and 84.6 grams silver.

At the Zavikoy copper prospect, 12 km to the northeast, previous drilling had intersected pervasively altered volcanic rocks hosting repeating zones of disseminated and stockwork style copper-bearing sulphide mineralization.

Odyssey has completed a non-brokered private placement of 4.1 million units at 20 apiece for total proceeds of $814,750. A unit comprises one share and half a share purchase warrant. Each warrant allows the holder to buy one share for 25 for one year.