· “We’re drilling next to Canada’s largest copper producer, which is currently comprised of production from three different open pits and there is one past producer and another deposit located beneath 150 metres of gravel; our claims cover the same rock package that produced these 5 deposits- and it just seems logical there are more economic deposits to be found in this camp. Our work has so far identified 2 new copper zones with some comparable grade drill results to what they’re mining next door and we have a number of other targets we are anxious to test by drilling. So far we’ve had some very positive results with copper, molybdenum, a little bit of gold and silver and the recently identified rhenium values are definitely important. I’ve received communications from several people in Canada and the U.S. who were specifically interested in the rhenium values. It appears they are significant and we’re the first in Highland Valley to publically report them. We expect to make further progress from this program, as we do from our other drill programs planned this year.”
Happy Creek Advancing Highland Valley Copper Projects in BC
By Claire O'Connor
MidasLetter.com
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
In the complex world of junior mining exploration, adopting a particular strategy regarding property acquisition is a critical one. Happy Creek Minerals Ltd. (TSX.V: HPY) is a BC based exploration company whose strategy involves 100% owned mineral properties that are close to existing and past-producing mines. The company’s flagship property, The Highland Valley Property adjoins Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Copper mine and it looks like positioning themselves in such close quarters to this particular property, could prove quite beneficial to Happy Creek in the near future.
Since its establishment in 2006 Happy Creek has accumulated 6 properties in total, all located in British Columbia. However, it’s the aforementioned Highland Valley flagship properties that has them putting on their ambition boots down at Happy Creek right now.
The Highland Valley Property
The Highland Valley Property consists of the Rateria and the West Valley properties which comprise 65 mineral claims totaling 14,450 hectares.
According to Teck’s Q1 2010 Financial Report, they processed 10 million tonnes grading 0.30% copper, and earned about $12 profit per tonne. If 50 million tonnes of this material is potentially worth $600 million to Teck within the existing mine- it seems reasonable that same 50 million tonnes could potentially be worth a lot if it were only 6 kilometres from one of their operating pits.
Results to date from Happy Creeks Rateria property include 177 metres grading 0.37% copper in Zone 2, and 100.0 metres grading 0.29% copper in Zone 1. Higher grade intervals include 5.4 metres grading 2.5% copper in Zone 1 and 27 metres grading 1.05% copper, 0.019% molybdenum and 0.24 g/t gold in Zone 2. Both Zone 1 and 2 remain undefined and open for expansion, with several drill holes ending in mineralization.
Recently, the company announced significant rhenium values in a portion of re-analyzed drill core including 12.0 metres containing 1.38% copper, 0.010% molybdenum, 2.85 g/t (grams per tonne) rhenium and 7.1 g/t silver. Rhenium is a rare metal having a 2009 price around $6.00 per gram, and appears to be associated with molybdenum.
The West Valley Property is approximately 4 km West of Rateria and is contiguous with the South and West side of the Teck property. A compelling new large scale geophysical target has been identified on the property with surface samples containing trace to 1.7% copper, 0.37 g/t gold. The positive gold values and host rock for this zone are a little different than the copper-molybdenum zones identified to date, and permits are in preparation for drilling in 2010.
Encouraging Results for Blann
With the first of Happy Creek’s 3 proposed drill programs for 2010 already in progress at the Highland Valley property, CEO David Blann comments on why he feels strongly in the property.
“We’re drilling next to Canada’s largest copper producer, which is currently comprised of production from three different open pits and there is one past producer and another deposit located beneath 150 metres of gravel; our claims cover the same rock package that produced these 5 deposits- and it just seems logical there are more economic deposits to be found in this camp. Our work has so far identified 2 new copper zones with some comparable grade drill results to what they’re mining next door and we have a number of other targets we are anxious to test by drilling. So far we’ve had some very positive results with copper, molybdenum, a little bit of gold and silver and the recently identified rhenium values are definitely important. I’ve received communications from several people in Canada and the U.S. who were specifically interested in the rhenium values. It appears they are significant and we’re the first in Highland Valley to publically report them. We expect to make further progress from this program, as we do from our other drill programs planned this year.”
Moving Forward
As it stands, Happy Creek’s Highland Valley property makes for a highly promising, potentially lucrative property. The entire Highland Valley area has been undergoing mining activity for approximately 50 years now. On Teck’s 2007 Sustainability Report, Annual and Quarterly financial statements, it’s stated that their mine life will end in 2019, one of their pit walls has begun to fail and they’ve declared a force majeure- that is speculatively thought to be in case they can’t deliver on their contracts to purchasers.
“I don’t believe there are any serious concerns here, it’s just that there are additional costs to work into the mine plan going forward, and as with all mines- sooner or later the cost versus return becomes unacceptable and other alternatives are sought”.
“Essentially what Happy Creek is trying to do is either find economic alternatives to the existing operation, or a stand-alone situation.” As 95% of the property is covered by glacial till, the company has largely used geophysics and widely spaced drill holes to obtain information about what’s in the rock, and in the process have located two new copper zones containing significant grades. For a district with at least a 50 year exploration history and hosting Canada’s largest copper producer- just finding these new copper zones is important. So now that we’ve found the mineralization, we can explore to see how much there is, and we also know there’s a better chance in several of our other targets to contain copper and that’s part of the excitement for us now.”
“We believe that even a modest size deposit of good quality could be worth a lot for our shareholders, and to Teck.” Blann comments, “That’s the key for us, to get something attractive enough that they would be prepared to take it to production or find enough for a standalone operation.”
Highland Valley Aside
Although Highland Valley’s been hogging all the attention of late, Blann is also excited about the potential of Happy Creek’s other projects, in particular the tungsten-molybdenum Silverboss & Fox Property, the copper-gold Hawk Property and the Golden Ledge Gold Property.
The 100% owned Silverboss and Fox tungsten-molybdenum properties are located approximately 70 km Northeast of 100 Mile House in the South Cariboo region of BC, Canada. Importantly, the Silverboss property surrounds the former Boss Mountain molybdenum mine property- Canada’s first primary moly producer with historical production grades averaging 0.20% molybdenum. The mine property is currently held by Xstrata Plc.
“Our exploration on the Silverboss property has discovered that mineralization at the mine expands outwards, well onto our property and we think that together there’s potential for a gigantic molybdenum system with multiple deposits. And on our Fox property- about 25 kilometres to the east- we’ve made a significant new large scale tungsten-molybdenum discovery in B.C. The tungsten grades on surface and in the first drilling in 2007 are excellent, and intercepts of 0.25% molybdenum over 4.2 metres suggests we could have another very large molybdenum system –similar to the Boss Mountain. “So should we one day see all three of these properties combined and fully explored-and with the existing mine infrastructure in place- I feel it would compete to be among the best molybdenum projects around.”
The Golden Ledge gold property is also 25 km Southeast of the Silverboss property and is approximately 40 square kilometres in area.
“Our Golden Ledge property is right next door to a new discovery containing significant gold. Spanish Mountain Gold is a company that has over 3 million oz gold and resources in one deposit up to the north of Happy Creek’s property. They’ve also intersected significant gold grades only 300 meters south of our property. We do have grades of 42.5 grams per tonne gold over 1.0 metre on our property. It’s still at an early stage, but preliminary information is indicating the overall gold system could be over 7 kilometres in length- with 5 kilometres on Happy Creek’s property; so this could develop rapidly into a big, new gold story. For investors, it could be one of those situations that you don’t notice until it’s too late” Blann comments.
Regarding drill programs, 2 will take place on the Highland Valley Property, one already in progress, on both Rateria and West Valley. The 3rd will take place on The Hawk Property as part of a joint venture. Hawk is a bulk tonnage copper-gold-silver target totaling 1,978 hectares, 24 km south of the Boss Mountain mine. Drilling is scheduled for May 2010. The company will also be working towards drilling the Golden Ledge and Fox this year too.
With only about 30.5 million shares, $2 million in the bank and stakes in some of the most potentially lucrative mining property in British Columbia, Happy Creek has every reason to be living up to its name.
“We like lots of action, that’s the kind of company we are.” Blann concludes, “We have taken early stage properties that are next to past producing or producing mines, and we’ve been successful in our exploration. We survived the market crash of 2008, and I feel our original strategy still makes sense in today’s market, and we are making excellent progress to creating value for shareholders.”