It takes just one hot hole to put a company in play. In early December 2004, while drilling the Boomerang prospect, south of the Buchans camp in central Newfoundland,
Messina intersected a 13.9-metre (9.1 metres estimated true width) interval averaging 13.9% zinc, 4% lead and 0.7% copper, plus 102 grams silver and 1 grams gold per tonne, starting at a down-hole depth of 275 metres in hole 11. A zone of stringer stockwork mineralization, containing minor copper, lead and zinc sulphides, extends 17 metres below the massive sulphides into the footwall.
Hole 11 was Messina’s second hole into the Boomerang prospect. It was collared on grid line 33E, 100 metres east of hole 10, Messina’s first hole, which clipped a 19.8-metre-long intercept of sulphide mineralization grading 0.7% zinc, 0.4% lead and 0.1% copper, plus 18.3 grams silver and 0.4 gram gold, starting from 226 metres down-hole. The bottom 8.5 metres (5.5 metres true width) of the intercept consisted of massive pyritic sulphides containing similar grades.
Up until the announcement of the discovery, shares of Messina had been trading in the 15-to-20 range, but since drilling resumed in early February, they have reached a high of $2.15. The company recently completed a $2.5-million private placement financing by selling 1.5 million non-flow-through units priced at $1.35 apiece and 258,000 flow-through units priced at $1.50 apiece.
Messina has budgeted for 3,500 metres of tightly spaced drilling on the Boomerang find, with at least seven holes planned. Initially, the holes were to be confined to 25-metre step-outs above and below hole 11 on section 33E, before stepping out along strike. But according to Messina President Peter Tallman, there is a tendency for the holes to deviate with depth, so the step-outs have been wider than originally planned.
In the past, Boomerang was explored by Asarco, Abitibi, BP Resources and, most recently,
Another of Noranda’s old holes, 95-8, intersected half a metre of 14.2% zinc, 2.83% lead, 0.45% copper and 39.7 grams silver at a 250-metre vertical depth, 250 metres west of Messina’s discovery hole. Two other holes were drilled by Noranda on section 35E, 200 metres away from Messina’s discovery hole. Hole 93-3 intersected a 32.9-metre interval averaging 0.7% zinc and 0.22% lead, 100 metres from surface. A deeper hole on the same grid line, 97-6, encountered a unit described as chert and pyrite mud at 250 metres vertical depth.
The Boomerang area is underlain by a graphitic sedimentary package overlying felsic volcanic rocks. Asarco had outlined various electromagnetic (EM) conductors and soil anomalies in this area prior to 1975 and subsequently drilled several holes on various targets. Six of these holes intersected what is described as the “Boomerang alteration zone,” an altered, zinc-enriched stringer-stockwork zone hosted in felsic volcanics. Line-cutting and electromagnetic (EM) surveys by Abitibi and BP, coupled with mapping and geochemical sampling, have outlined an anomalous, 3-km-long zone. Abitibi drilled nine holes in the area in 1979, but only four cut through the overburden; these intersected weakly mineralized, altered felsic tuffs.
Noranda began drilling targets in late 1993 and completed additional EM and gravity surveys, in conjunction with further mapping and soil sampling.
Tallman says previous operators were preoccupied with drilling EM conductors, but that “it doesn’t work. The massive sulphides in the Tulks belt do not respond to EM.” The one hole of Noranda’s that hit 3.8 metres of mineralized massive sulphides at 500 metres vertical depth had clipped a gravity anomaly.
The Boomerang prospect was drilled by Noranda on roughly 300-metre centres. “Based on the structural mapping that I have done in the past five years, it’s evident that that kind of space drilling is going to miss,” says Tallman. “Everything we know to date indicates that the mineralization plunges fifty degrees to the northeast. Our drilling was an up-plunge test of stratigraphy in an area that is wildly altered and mineralized, and hadn’t seen drilling before, and lo and behold we hit.”
Tallman believes his discovery holes 10 and 11 intercepted a massive sulphide lens that is separate from the deeper one intercepted by Noranda. All the massive sulphides known in the Tulks belt — including Noranda’s hit, on line 38E — occur about 20 metres below the sediment-felsic contact in the felsics, explains Tallman. “Boomerang sits at the contact and is more associated with the sediments than anything. There is a lot of evidence that Boomerang was capped; everything we have seen so far is replacement-texture and lateral migration of metals.”
Messina (formerly known as Mishibishu Gold) indirectly acquired, through
Noranda has a back-in right to a half-interest should Messina define an economic deposit of more than 10 million tonnes of a base metal deposit or 1 million oz. gold, based on a positive feasibility study. To exercise that right, Noranda must reimburse Messina 150% of its exploration costs to that point or else its back-in right reverts to a 2% NSR covering any production from the property. Noranda also retains the right to buy up to 100% of the ore or concentrate produced.
The Boomerang prospect occurs at the southern end of the Tulks South property, 40 km southwest of the town of Buchans. The 151-sq.-km property is cut by numerous forestry roads, which connect to the Trans-Canada Highway through either Millertown, 60 km to the northeast, or via the Burgeo Highway, 35 km to the west.
Local infrastructure includes the 18MW Star Lake hydroelectric generating unit, owned privately by Abitibi, within 7 km of the Tulks East prospect. The Millertown hydro dam and the mine infrastructure of the formerly producing base metal mines at Buchans are 40 km northeast of the property. Although relatively small in size, five high-grade deposits were mined in the Buchans camp between 1928 and 1984, producing a total of 16.2 million tonnes of ore grading 14.51% zinc, 7.56% lead and 1.33% copper, plus 126 grams silver and 1.37 grams gold.
Lucky Strike, concentrated in a 12-sq.-km area of the Buchans Group belt, is the largest of these deposits; it held 5.9 million tonnes grading 15.2% zinc, 8.2% lead and 1.51% copper, plus 112 grams silver and 1.6 grams gold. The others included Oriental (3.3 million tonnes of 14.2% zinc, 7.9% lead and 1.48% copper, plus 155 grams silver and 1.95 grams gold), MacLean (3.3 million tonnes of 13.2% zinc, 7.32% lead and 1.16% copper, plus 129 grams silver and 1.03 grams gold), Buchans (568,000 tonnes of 15% zinc, 7.73% lead and 1.37% copper, plus 128 grams silver and 1.58 grams gold), and Rothermere (3.3 million tonnes of 12.7% zinc, 7.72% lead and 1.16% copper, plus 135 gr
ams silver and 1.03 grams gold).
The Buchans Group belt, the most northerly of the central Newfoundland volcanic belts, is a complex assemblage of mafic, felsic volcanic, and volcaniclastic rocks and proximal clastic sediments of Lower Ordovician age.
Duck Pond
The wholly owned Duck Pond copper-zinc project of
In December 2004, Aur committed to spending $92 million to accelerate development of Duck Pond, with startup envisaged for late 2006. Construction will last 20 months and employ about 200 people. At the daily rate of 1,800 tonnes, the mine is expected to produce 41 million lbs. copper, 76 million lbs. zinc and 536,000 oz. silver annually over 7-8 years at cash costs in the order of US40 per lb. copper, net of byproduct credits.
This mine will produce about 20% more copper and six times the amount of zinc than what Aur achieves as a result of its 30% interest in the Louvicourt, in Quebec, which is slated to close in June.
Aur expects the return on invested capital will meet or exceed its 15% threshold, based a long-term copper price of US95 per lb. and a zinc price of US50 per lb., and providing the government of Newfoundland and Labrador subsidizes some of the infrastructure development. The company will fund this capital investment from existing cash balances, which stood at US$206 million at year-end.
Proven and probable reserves are estimated at 4.1 million tonnes grading 3.29% copper, 5.68% zinc, 59 grams silver and 0.86 gram gold. Aur is under the assumption that an additional 1.1 million tonnes of inferred resources, at a grade of 3.04% copper, 7.05% zinc, 71 grams silver and 0.81 gram gold, could add a further two years to the mine life.
The mine plan calls for the underground mining of 3.7 million tonnes of ore from the larger Duck Pond deposit via a decline ramp. An additional 400,000 tonnes will be mined by open-pit methods from the Boundary deposit. An on-site flotation mill will produce copper and zinc concentrates for sale to smelters. The concentrate will be trucked to Turf Point on the Port au Port Peninsula for shipping. Once operational, the mine will employ upwards of 190 people.
Tulks South
Central Newfoundland comprises a succession of Cambrian-to-Ordovician-age volcanic belts, namely Buchans Group, Tulks, Long Lake and Tally Pond. These are highly prospective for volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) style mineralization in island-arc or back-arc settings. There are more than 40 known VMS deposits in these marine volcanic sequences.
According to a technical report by consulting geologist Kerry Sparkes on behalf of Messina, the Red Indian Line, or suture, is thought to divide the Buchans Group belt from the Victoria Lake Group belts, which is sub-divided into the Tulks, Long Lake, and Tally Pond belts. The Buchan Group formed on the North American side during the closing of the ancient Iapetus Ocean, while the Victoria Lake Group formed on the African side of Iapetus. The Victoria Lake sequence consists of felsic pyroclastics and flows interbedded with mafic volcanics and fine-grained sediments. The collision of the two ancient continents and accompanying thrusting resulted in the localization of the four distinct volcanic belts.
Messina’s Tulks South property covers a 5-by-30-km area along the southern half of the Tulks volcanic belt. The Tulks belt hosts several significant base metal prospects. The most northerly is Bobby’s Pond, 25 km northeast of the Tulks South property. The massive sulphide lens is up to 30 metres thick and measures 250 metres in strike length. Bobby’s Pond contains a historic resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading 6.19% zinc, 0.71% lead and 1.06% copper, plus 16.8 grams silver and 0.2 gram gold.
The Daniel’s Pond discovery of
The Jack’s Pond prospect is 12 km northeast of the Tulks South property. This prospect is an extensive alteration zone hosting four massive sulphide lenses. The lenses consist predominantly of pyrite and carry low (less than 0.5%) copper values.
The Tulks Hill prospect is held by Newfoundland-based
Previous exploration on the Tulks South property alone has resulted in the discovery of five base metal prospects, including Tulks East, Boomerang, Curve Pond, West Tulks and Dragon Pond. Tulks East is the most advanced in terms of exploration; the other four are in the early-discovery stage.
The Tulks East prospect represents the largest accumulation of sulphide material in the Tulks belt. Drilling and geophysics have outlined three massive sulphide lenses. Together, they contain a historically estimated 6.2 million tonnes of base-metal-bearing sulphide material, including 230,000 tonnes grading 8.69% zinc, 1.26% lead and 0.66% copper, plus 59 grams silver and 0.14 gram gold per tonne, in the B horizon.
In 2004, Messina completed six holes totalling 500 metres on the Tulks East prospect, with the objective of testing the updip extension of the B zone and confirming the down-plunge direction. The company remained encouraged by the results, which included a 4.1-metre intercept of 6.8% zinc, 1.2% lead and 0.6% copper, plus 72 grams silver and 0.7 gram gold.
Be the first to comment on "Messina stirs up Buchans camp"