Mirabel Resources to acquire Rocmec International

Montreal-based junior explorer Mirabel Resources (RMB-V) plans to acquire privately owned Rocmec International.

The two originally teamed to develop and exploit Rocmec’s thermal fragmentation technique under a strategic alliance in June of 2003.

The latest agreement, details of which were have not yet been released, is subject to regulatory approval and due diligence by both companies.

Rocmec’s thermal fragmentation method involves drilling vertical holes 5.75 inches in diameter to depths of up to 20 metres. The holes follow vein mineralization at regular intervals based on the width of the area to be mined. A burner then circulates in each hole causing the rock to shatter. The resulting granular material (up to 1/4 inch) is then vacuumed up.

Mirabel recently filed an application for Rocmec to use its technique to collect a 4,000-tonne bulk sample from the South vein on the Denain property, near Val d’Or, Que. The decision followed a positive review of preliminary results from more than 100 tonnes collected by Rocmec from various areas at Denain late last year. The material was shipped to Noranda‘s (NRD-T) Horne smelter.

In April of 2003, Campbell Resources (CCH-T) inked a deal with Rocmec International to test a thermal-fragmentation technique on some ore blocks at its Joe Mann in northern Quebec. The new method could increase reserves and resources and significantly reduce costs by making available some currently uneconomic narrow structures.