More on new technology for NB miningNice article written about the ELN, Xtrata, Votorantim deal...
What is cool is the discussion on the survey they are going to be doing...
NB might really heat up...
Cussy, the Windsurfer:)
A trio of mining companies with their
eyes on northern New Brunswickare hopeful advanced mineral exploration technology never beforeemployed in the Bathurst Mining Camp will identify massive mineraldeposits in a $5-million program announced Wednesday.
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Anthony Kovacs, project manager for El Nino Ventures Inc., says thepartners in an exploration of properties in the Bathurst Mining campwould like to have their surveys come up with a number of targets.
Vancouver-based mineralexploration firm El Nino Ventures Inc. (TSX.V:ELN) said that for thefiscal year
Starting in May, contractor Fugro AirborneSurveys Corp. will start flying a
helicopter equipped with a high-techgravity gradiometry at low levels over a swath of land to collect dataon properties that have never been scanned with such precision.starting in April, airborne surveys and a 10,000-metredrilling program will look at properties where El Nino and two otherpartners have a stake.
"Inan ideal world, we would like to have these surveys come up with anumber of targets that are very convincing and hopefully we'll testthose targets and cross our fingers and they'll point to moremineralization," said Anthony Kovacs, project manager for El Nino.
The perfect scenario would be to locate base metal deposits large enough to economically warrant mining.
ElNino is partnered with Xstrata Zinc and Votorantim Metals Canada Inc. -the operator - in a tri-party venture agreement that covers 2,335claims in the historic Bathurst camp, which has played host to a numberof mines, including the largest zinc mine in the world owned by XstrataZinc, Brunswick 12.
The agreement also includes a block of land inwhich El Nino, Xstrata Zinc and Votorantim Metals can each participatein acquisitions made by the other; Votorantim Metals has optionagreements with 341 claims held by third parties in this area.
Thoughlikely to close in 2013,
Brunswick 12 still produces three per cent ofthe world's zinc; Xstrata Zinc plans to extract 3.1 million tonnes ofits 6.2 million in ore reserves in 2011.
The hope of explorationcompanies, nearby communities and the provincial government is that apreviously undiscovered massive
deposit could be revealed to
produce oneor more mines that would offset job losses caused by the closure ofBrunswick 12, which employs about 900 people.
Fugro is using theFalcon survey developed by Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP BillitonLtd. (NYSE:BHP) and restricted for proprietary use until recently.
Falconis advertised as the only gravity gradiometry system specificallydesigned for airborne geophysics, while other systems are designed foruse on submarines.
The distinction is important in the miningworld because vertical accelerations - critical to high-quality gravitydata - on board a fast-flying aircraft at low altitude are drasticallydifferent from the accelerations aboard a slow-moving submarine.
The gravity surveys are meant to locate high-density sulphides.
Theidea is to also map conductivity in the earth, since the lead, copperand zinc minerals companies are eager to discover are typically moreconductive than less valuable minerals.
The difficulty with theBathurst Mining Camp is that it's "very noisy," according to Rod Thomas,general manager of Votorantim Metals Canada, who explained that thereare a lot of conductive minerals in the area.
"So we hope we canuse the gravity system to discriminate, if you will, our targetsbetter," Thomas said, explaining the Falcon technology offers a higherresolution survey than others.
"We have high hopes."
VotorantimCanada - a subsidiary of Brazilian mining giant Votorantim Metais -also has a three-year agreement signed last April 1 with the provincefor an advanced exploration project under which the company can spend upto $2.5 million per year and be reimbursed by the government for half.
Thecompany has said it would need to find around 20 million tonnes of basemetals before it would consider production; actual production would beat least four years away.