Tamerlane conducts Pine Point feasibility study
Tamerlane Ventures Inc (C:TAM)
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Last Close 8/10/2006 $0.50
Friday August 11 2006 - News Release
Mr. Ross Burns reports
TAMERLANE REPORTS PROGRESS ON THE FEASIBILITY OF RETURNING THE PINE POINT ZINC-LEAD MINE TO PRODUCTION
Tamerlane Ventures Inc. confirms that the feasibility study to return the Pine Point zinc-lead mine to production is on track. The feasibility study includes mining the R-190 deposit, which is the highest-grade deposit, as a pilot project to determine the applicability of the freeze ring technology, dense media separation technology and vertical conveyor technology to the Pine Point deposits. The pilot project, which will involve mining the entire R-190 deposit, is targeted to provide data to allow the evaluation of the remaining 34 deposits. Returns from this test mining program will be applied to repay capital and mining costs, with any excess returns being applied to finance construction of the concentrator, which is required to place the remaining deposits into production.
The R-190 project is currently undergoing environmental assessment in which the company is scheduled for scoping sessions in Hay River and Fort Resolution on Aug. 16, 2006, and Aug. 17, 2006. The Mackenzie Valley environmental impact review board will then generate a list of items requiring further information or explanation from these meetings, by early September, which it will deliver to Tamerlane. Tamerlane will then respond to this with a developer's report. The second level baseline environmental studies will be completed by EBA Engineering before the end of August, 2006.
Tamerlane has decided to use freeze ring technology to inhibit water recharge into the area being mined. This technology uses a ring of drill holes containing refrigerant to freeze the ground in a fence-like manner around the deposit to prevent water from flowing into the deposit area. This will dramatically reduce the costs of pumping water from the mine.
The goal of the second phase of dense media separation testing is to produce a direct shipment ore that has a grade higher than 45 per cent zinc-lead. The coarse crush fractions of the ore have been shown to produce good concentrate grades once the minus-28-mesh fraction, which forms 10 to 18 per cent of the weight, is removed. The minus-28-mesh fraction is the focus of the current study and the upgraded portion will be recombined with the coarse concentrate for shipment.
The following elements of the feasibility study that have been designed and specified include the headframe, hoist, shaft and shaft sinking, ventilation, surface infrastructure layout and buildings, communications, power, equipment, pumping and pumping station design, transportation, fuel and lubrication needs, and freeze ring requirements. The reserve calculations are being carried out on Vulcan mining software while mine design will use both the Vulcan software and Autocad software.
The historical resource of the R-190 deposit is 1.0 million tonnes at a grade of 12.09 per cent zinc and 6.29 per cent lead, and is not NI 43-101 compliant (Sinclair & Giroux, November, 1982). Verification of this historical resource has not yet been completed. Therefore, it should not be relied upon. Mining of this deposit will demonstrate the applicability of the freeze ring technology and dense media separation at Pine Point, and provide financing toward the construction of a concentrator, which will allow the remaining lower-grade resources to be developed.
Development of the Pine Point zinc-lead project into production is contingent upon completion of the positive feasibility study.
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