Lead/zinc shipped from Caribou, N.B. by 1989

A new $120-million mine has begun producing concentrates in northern New Brunswick. Lead/ zinc concentrates from the 2,000- tonne-per-day Caribou mine/mill complex should be on their way to Europe by ship sometime in December, Australian mine operator East West Minerals NL of Australia tells The Northern Miner.

The company contracted to European smelters 90% of the 126,000 tonnes it expects to produce next year. The 5-million-tonne deposit near Bathurst, N.B., which grades 12.3% combined lead/zinc deposit was purchased from Anaconda Minerals of the United States in December, 1986 for $1 million (US).

AM&S Europe Ltd. will take 50%, Metallgesellschaft 20% and Samim 20%.

The concentrate, unacceptable to Canadian smelters, will contain about 15.2% lead, 34.2% zinc and 321 g silver and 2.3 g gold per tonne.

At an estimated operating cost of about $32 per tonne, East West expects to net more than $21 million in 1989.

Securing the smelter contracts was key to bringing this deposit into production. Discovered in 1955 it has long been noted for its fine- grained mineralogy, making separate lead and zinc concentrates extremely diffic ult to achieve. Anaconda spent $60 million developing the deposit before making the sale. East West expects to spend an additional $60 million bringing the project up to full production.

By accepting a single concentrate containing both lead and zinc, the European smelters have levied hefty smelter penalties. But at today’s metals prices, the mine looks very profitable regardless.

East West has 25 million shares outstanding, trading in Sydney, Aust., at about $1.85(A).