Roxmark Mines gets permits for molybdenum sampling
2006-09-06 13:59 ET - News Release
Mr. Monir Younan reports
ROXMARK OBTAINS ALL NECESSARY PERMITS FOR 2006 MOLYBDENUM BULK SAMPLING AND MILLING
Ontario regulatory authorities have granted all necessary permits for surface bulk sampling of 3,000 tons of molybdenum at the Nortoba-Tyson property and for milling the moly ore at Roxmark Mines Ltd.'s Northern Empire mill near Beardmore, Ont. The 200-ton-per-day mill complex is now fully permitted to process molybdenum and gold ores from Roxmark properties and will be selectively available for custom milling projects.
As previously announced, removal of overburden and waste rock began at Nortoba-Tyson in mid-August. With a mining permit now in place, Lakeside Manitouwadge Ltd., an independent mining contractor, has begun extracting the surface bulk sample. Ore will be delivered to the upgraded mill within the next few weeks. Concentrate produced, beginning in early October, will be delivered to port of Montreal, Que., for shipment under contract to an international buyer. Following up on last year's large-diameter diamond drilling program, which indicated a significantly larger mineral occurrence than previously estimated, the 2006 program is designed to further delineate molybdenum mineralization leading to underground workings, and to generate cash flow.
Construction of a portal leading to underground development by a way of decline is planned following the completion of the surface bulk sample.
Digitization of recent and historic data on Roxmark's gold properties, including 3-D modelling of key areas, is continuing under the supervision and direction of SRK Consulting Engineers and Scientists (Canada) Inc. Interim results from the program, expected within the next few weeks, will identify and prioritize targets for further drilling and development in 2007. Scoping studies on these areas will set the stage for early development on parallel zones and at depth, leading to production. Currently, work is being carried out on the Leitch-Sand River gold, Northern Empire and Magnet gold mines.
Roxmark's gold holdings are located in the Geraldton-Beardmore gold camp which ranked among the top five producing areas in Canada, producing 4.1 million ounces. Roxmark has consolidated key properties in the camp thus eliminating previous boundary and other issues and maximizing effective use of infrastructure. Current holdings consist of six former producers including Leitch-Sand River gold, Northern Empire and the Magnet mines which collectively have produced 1.89 million ounces of gold.
The Leitch mine was one of Ontario's highest grade and most profitable gold mines, producing 860,648 ounces from 906,395 tons of ore at an average recovered grade of 0.91 ounce per ton Au before it was closed in the 1960s. The Northern Empire property produced 149,053 ounces of gold from 425,866 tons with a recovery of 0.35 ounce per ton. The Magnet mine is located in Geraldton area and had historical production of 152,000 ounces of gold from 360,000 tons milled for an average grade of 0.42 ounce in gold per ton.
"We are encouraged by what we see on both the gold and moly fronts," said Monir Younan, president. "Our major focus is on mining gold. However with our mill able to process both metals and with prices for moly continuing to firm up on world markets as demand continues to outpace supply, it makes great sense for us to pursue low-cost production of what we believe to be high-grade molybdenum occurrences." |
