TURNING POINT GRADE COMPARISON'S - Hudson bay ( richer grades less tonnage )
- Prophecy ( richer grades more tonnage - here is where things changed )
- NCP's ( kept the prophecy mine model )
What was the turning point ? Prophecy switching to open pit.
This move increased the waste ore tonnage vs mineralized tonnage.
Hudson bay
sank 4 shafts and developed over 4 km of underground workings Thier mine model would seek to extract high grade zones underground.
Thus... limiting the need to mine unmineralized tonnage.
Prophecy ( Wardrop ) comes along and decides to remodel Shaw
with open pit. Creating more waste tonnage.
And... with more waste tonnage = grades decrease.
2010/2011 Wardrops Resource Tonnages + Grades EAST ZONE 14 308 000 tonnes Indicated Ni 0.69% Cu 0.62% Pt 0.99/g Pl 0.74/g Au 0.54/g Co .05%
EAST ZONE INFERRED 219,327,000 tonnage inferred Ni 0.39% Cu 0.39% Pt 0.54/g Pl 0.45/g Au 0.26/g Co .03%
WEST ZONE INFERRED 69,919,000 tonnes inferred Ni 0.34% Cu 0.38% Pt 0.50/g Pl 0.34/g Au 0.12/g Co .02%
YEAR 2010 - EAST + WEST + ALL CATEGORIES COMBINED 2,570,189,560 billion lbs (
Nickel )
2,570,683,520 billion lbs (
Copper )
9,876,319 million oz of (
Pt, Pl combined )
191,258,90 million lbs
( Cobalt ) 2,342,617 million oz (
Gold )
If we simply isolate just the East Zone
we would arrive at 1/2 the current NCP raw tonnage of,
436,695,000 mil / t
If one were to model open pit it perhaps doubled the tonnage and at same
time reduced the mineral grades by 1/2 . NCP 2023 Resource tonnage and grades | Total M+I | 436,695,000 | Ni 0.26 | Cu 0.13 | Co 0.014 | Pd 0.23 | Pl 0.22 | Au 0.04 | |
Open Pit model with double the unmineralized tonnage
Could explain the halving of mineral grades.
How is the Shaw deposit formed below grade ? Research conducted by Campbell (1976) and others after Hudson Bay ceased production found that the
massive sulphide lenses are fine grained and consist mostly of pyrrhotite with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite, pentlandite and magnetite. The pentlandite occurs as exsolution flames in pyrrhotite.
Individual sulphide lenses vary from 1 to 18 m thick and are interpreted as magmatic segregation deposits. Assays as high as 4.57% nickel, 1.58% copper, 0.10% cobalt, 4.14 g/t platinum and 3.08 g/t palladium over 6 m have been recorded, and a
9.8 m chip sample across the East zone lens gave a representative grade of 2.44% nickel, 2.07% copper, 0.94% cobalt, 2 400 ppb platinum, 2 200 ppb palladium, 1 020 ppb gold,
560 ppb rhodium, 650 ppb ruthenium, 440 ppb osmium and 550 ppb iridium. These numbers show that the Wellgreen massive sulphides contain an unusually high proportion of the rarer platinum group elements, especially
osmium, iridium, ruthenium and rhodium. Link -
https://data.geology.gov.yk.ca/Occurrence/17432#InfoTab Individual massive sulphide lenses
1 - 18m in thickness
understandable why they switched to open pit to grab it all
vs shaft / long hole only rich grade zones (
lenses ).
Central zone and portion of western zone
also added to... grade dilution and more waste tonnage.
THE FIX ? Including iron as a credit would monetize the original tonnage
and newly added waste tonnage.
Something a good engineering firm would pick up on especially
if met tests revealed concentrating the - irons ) 39% - 43%
Throw iron in as a credit...
This stock will move to a decent valuation.
Only a matter of 3rd party ( recognizing other minerals )
Sift all cores for - 8 platinums + titanium, tellurides, magnesium,
drop co2 incorporate river turbine / hydrogen - electrical power
and watch investor excitement rise.
Own opinion.
Not investment advice.
Advice directed at junior.
Felt the need to address the turning point.
Own opinion, how i see it.