Business World Online
Posted on June 26, 2011 09:53:10 PM
BRITISH MINER Metals Exploration Plc. has confirmed the presence of gold and copper deposits at a site in Nueva Vizcaya, thus supporting plans to put up a $150-million mine in the area.
Partial results from drilling at the site showed metal concentrations of 0.75 to 1.16 grams of gold per metric ton of ore, and 0.23% to 0.57% traces of copper, the firm said in a statement released late on Thursday.
“These are the first significant intercepts of copper and gold mineralization reported from within the company’s Runruno financial or technical assistance agreement area and confirm the potential of the property to host porphyry copper and gold style mineralization,” the miner said.
Ian Holzberger, executive chairman of Metals Exploration, said in the same statement that the confirmation of the presence of the minerals will guide the company’s exploration of the area.
“While being early days, the confirmation of porphyry copper and gold styled mineralization is significant for the company and will influence the direction of our exploration activities,” he said.
The miner said that further drilling has been now slated to further assess the potential of the area.
The company completed and submitted its feasibility study for the project in May 2010.
The Runruno project is expected to produce 96,700 ounces of gold per annum over a mine life of 10.4 years, as stated in the feasibility study.
The project cost is estimated at $149.3 million, with payback expected to be within three-and-a-half years from start of operations at $1,000 per ounce of gold.
The project will be an open-pit operation and will use carbon in leach processes to recover gold and molybdenum.
Commercial operations at the Runruno project are expected to begin in the second half of 2012, according to earlier reports quoting executives from FCF Minerals Corp., the local subsidiary of Metals Exploration. -- Louella D. Desiderio
“These are the first significant intercepts of copper and gold mineralization reported from within the company’s Runruno financial or technical assistance agreement area and confirm the potential of the property to host porphyry copper and gold style mineralization,” the miner said.
Ian Holzberger, executive chairman of Metals Exploration, said in the same statement that the confirmation of the presence of the minerals will guide the company’s exploration of the area.
“While being early days, the confirmation of porphyry copper and gold styled mineralization is significant for the company and will influence the direction of our exploration activities,” he said.
The miner said that further drilling has been now slated to further assess the potential of the area.
The company completed and submitted its feasibility study for the project in May 2010.
The Runruno project is expected to produce 96,700 ounces of gold per annum over a mine life of 10.4 years, as stated in the feasibility study.
The project cost is estimated at $149.3 million, with payback expected to be within three-and-a-half years from start of operations at $1,000 per ounce of gold.
The project will be an open-pit operation and will use carbon in leach processes to recover gold and molybdenum.
Commercial operations at the Runruno project are expected to begin in the second half of 2012, according to earlier reports quoting executives from FCF Minerals Corp., the local subsidiary of Metals Exploration. -- Louella D. Desiderio
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