Sherwood inks power and port deals as drills turn at Minto

Vancouver – The imminent release of a feasibility study for the Minto copper-gold project has Sherwood Copper (SWC-V) inking deals to arrange grid power and transport of concentrates while drilling continues at the proposed mine-site in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Since resuming exploration drilling in May, Sherwood has results in hand for the first four holes drilled in Area 2, which lies about 300 metres southeast of the proposed open-pit. The highlight was a 34.3-metre intersection grading 2% copper and 1.2 grams gold and 7.4 grams silver per tonne, including 5.3% copper, 3 grams gold and 20 grams silver over 6 metres.

The latest set of holes encountered multiple zones of high-grade mineralization within broad thicknesses (up to 280 metres) of more moderate grade mineralization. Other significant intervals include: 11.8 metres of 1.49% copper and 0.53 gram gold and 3.91 grams silver, and 31 metres of 1.1% copper, 0.44 gram gold from Hole 77; and 11 metres of 1.43% copper, 0.49 gram gold, and 27.8 metres of 1.76% copper and 0.66 gram gold from Hole 78.

Sherwood is conducted a 16,500-metre drilling program at its wholly owned Minto project this year, with two drills testing targets within 1 km of the proposed open pit. One drill is aimed at defining resources within Area 2, while another drill is exploring targets near resources or areas that could be affected by mining activities. The company has entered into several surface leases with the Selkirk First Nations for lands held by the native band under a land claim agreement. These leases cover some areas that would be used for the open pit, mill site, and waste dumps and tailings disposal.

Sherwood also signed a memorandum of understanding with an Alaskan government agency that will form the basis of a business arrangement allowing it to use the Port of Skagway, Alaska, for the export of the copper-gold concentrates from Minto. While the terms of the deal aren’t yet finalized, access to the port is expected to generate cost savings relative to the use of other ports, such as Stewart, B.C. Skagway is situated 420 km from the Minto project.

Sherwood has also signed a letter of intent with Yukon Energy for the provision of power to the site, which is dependent on diesel. If approved, the power would come from the Whitehorse transmission grid, which terminates north of Carmacks, and be extended to the Minto site along the Yukon Highway and then would likely follow the existing 29-km-long mine access road from Minto Landing on the Yukon River.

The Minto project was partially developed by a previous operator in the late 1990s, with about $10 million spent on camp facilities and mill foundations and milling equipment, and related infrastructure. Sherwood has proposed to develop an open-pit mine and achieve commercial production in mid-2007. The feasibility study nearing completion will include updated reserve and resource estimates, along with projected capital costs and production rates. In the meantime, the company is carrying pre-production and development activities, including waste pre-stripping in the area of the proposed open pit and ordering long-lead-time pieces of equipment.