After funding over $1 million of exploration over the past two years, a unit of Asarco (NYSE) recently dropped its option to earn 60% of the Taseko copper-gold property west of Clinton, B.C.
Westpine Metals (VSE) now holds 100% of the property, subject to a 2.5% net smelter return royalty capped at $1.5 million. The junior is considering various options to finance this year’s proposed exploration program. The 1990 program funded by Asarco was concentrated in the Empress area where three copper-gold zones occur; the 76, Upper North and Lower North. Following this program, Westpine released two reserve estimates.
Preliminary reserves of 7.45 million tons grading 0.73% copper and 0.024 oz. gold per ton were calculated in the first study (by Giles Peatfield) for the Lower North zone at a cutoff of 0.15% copper.
The second, by James Askew and Associates, used a cutoff of 0.4% copper to calculate total preliminary reserves within the Empress area of 11.07 million tons grading 0.61% copper and 0.023 oz. gold.
The focus of the 1991 program was to drill targets outside of the Empress area, an initiative which resulted in the discovery of two potential new zones.
Westpine said the main criticism of the property is concern about the depth of the zones. For example, the top of the Lower North zone is 450-550 ft. from surface and excludes lower-grade mineralization found above. The Askew study calculated a stripping ratio of 1-to-5.9 based on 0.4% copper. Westpine said reducing the cutoff grade to 0.4% copper equivalent would add substantial tonnage in the 76 and Upper North zones and thus lower the stripping ratio.
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