White Star rises as talks continue on Kidd property

Shares of White Star Copper Mines (CDN) have soared since the junior announced that it is negotiating with a “major mining company” to explore its Kidd Creek area play near Timmins, Ont.

White Star’s property, purchased from Sheridan Geophysics during the Timmins boom of the early Sixties, consists of four claims and 2.5 lots in Kidd Twp. Ont., on the western boundary of Falconbridge’s Kidd Creek zinc-copper-silver mine.

The junior company, which had gained 40 cents to trade at 50 cents by presstime, says successful negotiations will lead to an exploration program, including deep drilling, on the strategic claims.

Falconbridge declined comment on the announcement. Although the senior company has completed some deep drilling on the western boundary of the Kidd Creek mine property, Timmins exploration manager Dennis Prince said he was not at liberty to share results with The Northern Miner.

Falconbridge’s 1991 exploration budget for the Timmins area is about $8 million. Since production at Kidd Creek peaked a couple of years ago, the Noranda subsidiary has been spending most of its regional budget looking for volcanogenic massive sulphide (copper-zinc) deposits, particularly in the vicinity of Kidd Creek.

White Star says it will launch its own exploration program if the negotiations are unsuccessful. The junior company has filed for a private placement circular of 600,000 flow-through shares at 25 cents per share to raise $150,000.

The Kidd Twp. claims are not virgin territory. In 1974, Ecstall Mining, a subsidiary of former Kidd Creek owner Texasgulf agreed to spend $80,000 to earn a 25% interest in the claims. Ecstall dropped its option two years later after failing to intersect economic mineralization.

But on the adjoining property to the west, in which Chance Mining and Exploration (CDN) continues to hold a 10% net profit royalty, Falconbridge has spent more than $2.5 million to drill about 70,000 ft. The work outlined 2,000-ft.-deep, 250,000-tonne deposit containing 12% zinc, 4% lead and 6.5 oz. silver per ton. Falconbridge, with a 100% interest in the Chance prospect, has not followed up on the results this year.

The Kidd Creek ore occurs in two main deposits, the South and North orebodies. They both strike north-northeast, dip steeply east and plunge northeast. As of Dec. 31, 1990, the mine contained proven and probable reserves of 45 million tons averaging 3.45% copper, 5.08% zinc, 0.15% lead and 1.8 oz. silver.