Granges/Abermin close to decision on Tartan Lake

A 500-ton modular mill will likely be operating at an initial rate of 250 tons per day by late March at Tartan Lake, eight miles northeast of Flin Flon, Man., according to project operator Granges Exploration.

Ultimately production from the deposit, which has ore reserves of 513,000 tons grading 0.349 oz gold per ton to a depth of 1,150 ft, will be 500 tons per day.

Based on the first results of underground drilling, the company, together with joint venture partner Abermin Corp., went ahead with orders for modular mill components from Sala Machine Works in Mississauga, Ont. Recoveries are expected to be in the order of 95% using gravity and flotation methods. Crews are preparing to put in the foundations for the mill. Total construction costs are expected to be in the order of $11-12 million.

“Basically, there were no bad surprises from the first 15,000 ft of drilling,” Granges president Mike Muzylowski tells The Northern Miner, “so we are very close — about 99% sure — of going into production by the end of the first quarter.”

Two drill rigs have been operating on the 500-ft level from a 15% decline for about two months. Now that they are approaching the end of the first phase of underground drilling, crews will be crosscutting to the ore zone to take a 10,000-ton bulk sample and will be extending the decline to the 800-ft level in the second phase.

The ore zone averages 13.3 ft in width.

The Northern Miner estimates the Tartan Lake deposit could generate net (after taxes) earnings of $2.5 million in the first year of production at 250 tons per day and $390(US)-an-oz gold prices. This translates into 9 cents -per-share earnings for Granges and 6 cents a share for Abermin.

Shares of both companies trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.