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Gold/Mining/Energy : Pacific North West Capital Corporation-PFN on Alberta -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Just G who wrote (224)	6/12/1999 12:02:00 AM
From: John E.Quinn	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2255

NORTHERN ONTARIO BUSINESS EDITORIAL ARCHIVES By BARB BLAKELY For Northern Ontario Business (FEB.1999) A cyclical downturn in base metal markets may have resulted in cost restraints for mining companies in the Sudbury region, but exploration teams are still discovering rich mineral deposits in the area. To the delight of many, all that glitters is not gold – or nickel for that matter. Platinum and palladium minerals that remain strong in trading have been discovered both east and west of Sudbury. Market prices for platinum are about $350 (US) per ounce, while platinum's sister metal palladium trades at about $280 (US) per ounce. One of the platinum/palladium deposits is known as the Jackie Rastall Prospect. The mineral-rich property is located about 50 kilometres northeast of Sudbury. Brian Wright, chief executive officer of Goldwright Explorations, staked 350 claim units in the area two years ago after Falconbridge Ltd. let its claim units expire. Last June, Vancouver-based Pacific North West Capital committed to pouring $1 million into the Jackie Rastall project over the next four years. At the December meeting of the Sudbury Prospectors and Developers Association, guest speaker and economic geologist Scott Jobin told the audience that samples from the Jackie Rastall project are promising thus far. Trench four of the project has produced samples as high as 5.5 grams of platinum/palladium per tonne. Jobin adds that there are also areas of “sweet deposits” with up to 11 per cent of the two metals. These types of results have rekindled Falconbridge's interest in the property. A first right of refusal deal between the nickel company and Pacific North West was reached in the fall of 1998. Flag Resources (1985) Ltd. also has platinum/palladium-rich property northeast of Sudbury. Company president Murdo McLeod says Flag Resources is concentrating its efforts in Rathbun Township, about 45 kilometres outside of the nickel capital on the Wanapitei Magnetic Anomaly. Drilling in that area began the third week in January. Samples taken by the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) in 1982 from the Wanapitei Anomaly indicated as much as 34.6 ounces of palladium per tonne and .056 ounces of platinum per tonne. The OGS also reported that the area was rich in other minerals: 10.2 per cent copper, 2.22 ounces of silver per tonne, .14 per cent nickel and .02 ounces of gold per tonne. Murdo says Flag Resources has already invested $5 million in the property since it was purchased in 1981, and the company plans to sink an additional $200,000 this year into exploration “pending results.” Mike Cosec, district geologist for the OGS, says there has also been considerable exploration for platinum and palladium north of Sturgeon Falls. “There's also been interest expressed in the River Valley area,” he says, adding samples taken from independent prospectors from River Valley are “above expectations.” Active exploration for platinum and palladium is also being undertaken west of Sudbury near the town of Massey. Mustang Gold Gorp. is waiting for assay results from eight holes that were drilled the first week of December. Mustang vice-president Ken Lapierre anticipates very good results. “You can walk on surface and bang on rock that can come up over six grams PGEs (platinum/palladium blend),” he says.The minerals are deposited on the East Bull Lake Intrusion. “We have about 90 per cent of that intrusion and the other 10 per cent is owned by Free West,” Lapierre says. Although smaller mining companies and independent prospectors are exploring for minerals in and around the Sudbury region, Sudbury's two major mining companies are still considering developing new ore bodies in their own backyards. Falconbridge has discovered good nickel deposits in the northeastern corner of the Sudbury basin known as the Norman West Deposit. Brian MacLeod, spokesman for Falconbridge's Sudbury operations, says the deposit “has established resources of 5.4 million tonnes grading 1.58 per cent nickel and 1.47 per cent copper.” Although Norman West has potential, MacLeod says the future of Falconbridge is in its Onaping Depth Project. He says there are 13.86 million tonnes of ore waiting to be mined below the 7,000-foot level of the mine. “That's a good ore body with 2.91 nickel, and 1.8 per cent copper, but that's undiluted.” He adds that in all likelihood a new shaft would have to be driven in order to mine the ore, which would cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Because mining at depth is also a costly venture, MacLeod says Falconbridge must find ways to mine the ore at $1.30 (US) per pound to make the project feasible. Inco Ltd. will also be mining deep at Creighton Mine. Cory McPhee, manager of public affairs at Inco's Sudbury operations, says the company is proceeding with its $177 million investment at Creighton Mine which promises another 20 years of mining life for the company. Although Inco originally intended to contract out the work at Creighton, McPhee says the company has since decided to let its own workers do the job. “Victor and Kelly Lake mineralization remains potential new sources of ore for the future (too),” he says. “(They) will be brought into production when market conditions make it economically wise to do so, but in this depressed nickel market, right now it's not economically wise to bring them on stream.”