Louise LakeFrom the old fundamental research report:
"Investors may be aware that the Louise Lake deposit is very low grade. While copper
porphyry mines are characterized by large tonnage, low-grade deposits amenable to low cost
extraction methods, the Louise Lake deposit is significantly lower grade than many
operating copper porphyry mines. Teck Cominco’s Highland Valley Copper Mine near
Kamloops, British Columbia, is considered one of the world’s lowest grade copper mines, at
0.4% copper. This deposit has required significant engineering work to keep it profitable in
times of low copper prices. Teck Cominco is considering the installation of a CESL system
at the Highland Valley Mine, and a scoping study indicates this could extend the life of the
mine and allow the mine to operate profitably at lower grades.
British Columbia hosts a large number of copper porphyry deposits. There are several other
low-grade copper porphyry deposits in British Columbia that are useful to compare to the
Louise Lake deposit. The Brenda Mine, near Kamloops, British Columbia, produced 182
million tonnes of ore grading 0.183% copper and 0.049% molybdenum from 1970-1990. It
is one of the lowest grade copper mines in Canadian history, but it managed to remain
profitable in its 20 year history through very careful grade control of the open pit. Imperial
Metals (TSX.III) recently acquired bcMetals, due to their large Red Chris copper porphyry
deposit. The Red Chris property has a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate of 224.5
million tonnes grading 0.419% copper and 0.330 g/t gold. Copper Fox Metals Inc. (TSX.V:
CUU) has a large copper porphyry deposit in northwestern British Columbia. This deposit
has a resource of 1,058 million tonnes measured and indicated averaging 0.31% copper,
0.23g/t gold, 0.02% molybdenum and 1.63g/t silver.
We believe the Louise Lake deposit, although very large, carries a significantly higher risk
than similarly sized projects due to its low grades. The company has indicated that with the
use of CESL system, all four metals have the potential to be extracted profitably. We
believe that through careful engineering and design, the Louise Lake property may be able to
produce successfully and profitably, but it may lack the recognition that deposits with better
grades may receive in the market. There are a number of copper porphyry deposits in British
Columbia, including several mentioned above, that we believe may attract more market
attention due to their larger tonnage and better grades."
Hopefully the next news release will increase both the tonnage and grades and get some increased market attention.