A big step toward production!Here's a very good news:
RIMOUSKI, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Dec. 21, 2016) - In its ongoing plan of action to acquire the Murray Brook Property, Puma Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PUM)(SSE:PUMA) is pleased to announce completion of a Mineral Resource Estimate on the Murray Brook Deposit located in the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) in Northern New Brunswick, Canada. A technical report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.
Highlights:
- The underground Sulphide Mineral Resource Estimate is comprised of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources totaling 5.28 million tonnes averaging 5.24% Zn, 1.80% Pb, 0.46% Cu, 68.9 g/t Ag and 0.65 g/t Au.
- The Murray Brook Deposit ("MBD") contains 610 Mlbs of Zinc, 209 Mlbs of Lead, 54 Mlbs of copper, 11.7 Moz of silver and 111 Koz of gold at a C$85 per tonne NSR cut-off in the Sulphide Measured and Indicated categories.
- Oct 31/16 two year trailing average metal prices for Zn (US$0.90/lb), for Pb (US$0.82/lb), for Cu (US$2.39/lb) with a $US/$C Exchange Rate $0.78 were used for calculating the Mineral Resource Estimate.
- The Measured and Indicated Mineral resource categories represent respectively 68% and 30% of the total Sulphide Mineral Resource Estimate and will be used to launch a PEA for underground mining operation in the first half of 2017.
- Metal recoveries to concentrate of Zn (89%), Pb (37%), Cu (51%) Ag (55%) and Au (0%) were used for calculating the Mineral Resource Estimate.
- The deposit starts at surface and continues, so far, to a depth of 300 meters and is open at depth and along strike with drill ready UTEM geophysical targets.
The Murray Brook Property (jointly the Mining Lease 252 and the contiguous 245 mineral Claim Block 4925/ the Camel Back Property) is located 4 km west of the producing Caribou Mine owned and operated by Trevali Mining Corporation.
The Murray Brook Deposit is hosted by sedimentary rocks of the Charlotte Brook Member in the lower part of the Mount Brittain Formation. The upper felsic volcanic member of the Mount Brittain Formation is host to the Restigouche deposit, some 10 km to the west. The Mount Brittain Formation is believed to be equivalent of the Spruce Lake Formation which hosts the Caribou Mine, 10 kilometres to the east. Many drill ready geophysical and geochemical targets will be tested during the second half of 2017.
2016 Mineral Resource Estimate
The Technical Report incorporates P&E's NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate for sulphide and oxide mineralization at a C$85/t Net Smelter Return ("NSR") cut-off that is summarized in Table 1.
Table 1
Murray Brook Underground Mineral Resource Estimate at C$85/t NSR Cut-Off(1-4) |
| Zone | Category | Tonnes
('000's) | Cu
% | Cu
M lb | Pb
% | Pb
M lb | Zn
% | Zn
M lb | Au
g/t | Au
K oz | Ag
g/t | Ag
M oz |
| Oxide | Measured | 434 | 1.13 | 10.8 | 1.44 | 13.8 | 4.51 | 43.2 | 0.31 | 4.3 | 60.5 | 0.8 |
| Indicated | 105 | 1.94 | 4.5 | 0.82 | 1.9 | 2.84 | 6.6 | 0.46 | 1.6 | 45.3 | 0.2 |
| M+I | 539 | 1.29 | 15.3 | 1.32 | 15.7 | 4.19 | 49.8 | 0.34 | 5.9 | 57.5 | 1.0 |
| Inferred | 4 | 3.94 | 0.3 | 0.19 | 0.0 | 0.62 | 0.0 | 0.46 | 0.1 | 26.6 | 0.0 |
| Sulphide | Measured | 3,681 | 0.36 | 29.0 | 1.87 | 151.9 | 5.57 | 451.7 | 0.56 | 65.8 | 70.5 | 8.3 |
| Indicated | 1,603 | 0.70 | 24.8 | 1.63 | 57.4 | 4.48 | 158.4 | 0.88 | 45.1 | 65.3 | 3.4 |
| M+I | 5,284 | 0.46 | 53.8 | 1.80 | 209.3 | 5.24 | 610.1 | 0.65 | 110.9 | 68.9 | 11.7 |
| Inferred | 125 | 2.16 | 5.9 | 0.92 | 2.5 | 2.58 | 7.1 | 0.54 | 2.2 | 47.3 | 0.2 |
| (1) | Mineral Resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. |
| (2) | The quantity and grade of reported Inferred Resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred Resources as an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource category. |
| (3) | The Mineral Resources in this report were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. |
| (4) | "M" means millions; "K" means thousands. |
The Mineral Resource Estimate classification was determined with the Zn grade interpolation since Zn generated the highest proportionate NSR value in the block model. The zinc price used in the Mineral Resource Estimate was US$0.90/lb. The Mineral Resource Estimate is primarily sensitive to zinc price. The NSR underground cut-off Mineral Resource Estimate sensitivity to the November 30th-2016 spot metal prices are tabulated in Table 2.
Table 2
Murray Brook Underground Spot Metal Price (Nov 30/16) Sensitivity to Resource Estimate at C$85/t NSR Cut-Off |
| Zone | Category | Tonnes
('000's) | Cu
% | Cu
M lb | Pb
% | Pb
M lb | Zn
% | Zn
M lb | Au
g/t | Au K
oz | Ag
g/t | Ag M
oz |
| Oxide | Measured | 595 | 1.05 | 13.7 | 1.24 | 16.3 | 3.88 | 50.9 | 0.33 | 6.2 | 52.7 | 1.0 |
| Indicated | 172 | 1.43 | 5.4 | 0.82 | 3.1 | 2.62 | 10.0 | 0.53 | 2.9 | 42.2 | 0.2 |
| M+I | 767 | 1.13 | 19.2 | 1.14 | 19.4 | 3.60 | 60.9 | 0.37 | 9.2 | 50.3 | 1.2 |
| Inferred | 4 | 3.84 | 0.3 | 0.18 | 0.0 | 0.59 | 0.1 | 0.44 | 0.1 | 26.0 | 0.0 |
| Sulphide | Measured | 6,157 | 0.36 | 48.5 | 1.50 | 202.9 | 4.38 | 593.8 | 0.55 | 108.3 | 58.0 | 11.5 |
| Indicated | 3,512 | 0.61 | 47.3 | 1.26 | 97.7 | 3.28 | 254.1 | 0.88 | 98.8 | 53.2 | 6.0 |
| M+I | 9,669 | 0.45 | 95.7 | 1.41 | 300.6 | 3.98 | 847.9 | 0.67 | 207.0 | 56.3 | 17.5 |
| Inferred | 188 | 1.85 | 7.6 | 0.81 | 3.4 | 2.24 | 9.3 | 0.56 | 3.4 | 42.7 | 0.3 |
Puma's projections for 2017 in view of the purchase of the Murray Brook Deposit are as follows:
- Produce a new PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) during the first half of 2017 for HIGH GRADE ZINC zones of the sulphide portion of the deposit contained in the current Mineral Resource Estimate.
- Proceed with additional advanced recovery (metallurgical) tests on the Deposit's mineralization, focusing on GOLD and SILVER recovery with the objective of establishing the economic value of the deposit.
- Proceed with a drilling exploration program to delineating the size of the deposit and potentially add more deposits along strike in the direction of the Caribou Mine.