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Gold/Mining/Energy : Winspear Resources -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/27/1999 8:20:00 PM
From: Rocket Red  Respond to of 26850
 
Not a Problem.
Yes they have applied for a TSE listing 3 months after Mpv so if the tse lists them it should be shortly as mpv was listed before Christmas.
Bulk Sample Pits should prove there are very large stones in it.
Core Drilling is 3.5inches suppose to 1.5 or 2 inch.
This I expect we may indeed see larger stones in the drilling core as I suspect this was the reason for larger diamiter drilling core.
For Right now this is the Best Spec Mining play going in my books and the risks at this point are slowly slipping away towards the real deal.

Cheers

PS Dilling Core from the 3.5 inch core is gone to Lakefield and turn around is suppose to be 2 to 3 weeks as lakefield is not that busy with other kimberlight samples.



To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/27/1999 8:27:00 PM
From: Paul Bilecki  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 26850
 
What might happen Monday as a result of Friday release whick seems to indicate more tonage?

My prediction down sharply (50 cents) and then bounce back:

False start last week as rumour of implied major intersection not found in press release..... could result in sell off/shake out in the early goings.

In addition, avg. intersections not well understood in terms of tonage implied.

Minability questions? I have no professional experience to comment but the question is being raised.

Third Quarter results for diamond valuations.

Will it sell off seriously.

NO

Project on track....Possible Hilltop surprises soon.

Goodluck

As I said, rumour was a setup for higher prices and quick buck knowing full well uneventful press release was imminent combined with March 22, 1999 notice period.

If it goes up don't blame me, thought I would call it the otherway since I usually predict up.



To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/27/1999 9:14:00 PM
From: Walt  Respond to of 26850
 
Good points Jack,

There is that old adage "When it comes to high grade deposits you really don't know the grade until after you have mined it". Ï think Snap lake may fall into this category.
I know its a little simplistic but personally I visualize this dyke like a high grade gold vein with a real nugget effect. You take out 5, 10, 20 tons without much gold then bang you hit a ton which pays for the next fifty.
So I agree with your first point. It would be nice if snap fell into a "type" deposit where a couple had been mined and we could compare.
failing that if they do a calculation then they could always put a few drill holes in an area, predict the grade bulk sample it and then see how the prediction compares with the results.
However I get the feeling this may be one of those deposits where you have to mine it to know what is really there.
I'm sure the diamond folks will disagree and dazzel us with statistics but I always go back to the gold analogy. You have a great glory hole which runs ten twenty ounces to the ton, you start drilling the zone and you can tell you are in the zopne and have gold but your assays bounce all over the scale from a few grams to hundreds. How do you predict grade except to start mining it.

I got a real kick out of #9) No offense, but I have not met a geologist who can successfully run a mining company involved in underground mining. If they are serious about this one, they need to get some mining experience on board.
Personally I have found the corollary to be true as well. I always hated to be involved with exploration programs "run from the mine by mining types". Explorationist dont make good mine managers and mine managers dont make good explorationist. (no offense to any mine managers out there.)

I think the splitting of the company into two seperate companies, one to deal with Snap and a second to go exploring may be a good answer.
regards Walt



To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/27/1999 11:27:00 PM
From: Sudhir Khanna  Respond to of 26850
 
Jack,

It is a pleasure to read your thoughts. A man's studies pass into his character.

An attempt at some of your questions:

From the March 9/99 issue:

"...In the diamond exploration business, there is a trend in the industry to do more with less. Diamonds occur in parts per million, therefore, you need large samples to collect representative macro stones. Micro/Macro size distribution analysis attempts to use micro stones, which can be yielded by smaller samples, to predict the occurrence of larger stones. In this type of modelling, usually only micro diamond data is available. Micro size class distribution can be used to extrapolate/estimate macro size class distributions and thus grade..."

From the same issue:

"...The delineation drilling, utilizing all three drills, is moving from west to east on 200 m centers. This drilling pattern will allow WSP to collect enough material to model a yearly processing rate to within 15%...." This is the opinion of Malcolm Thurston (MRDI) doing the size class distribution modeling for WSP.

From the March 9/99 issue:

"...Winspear is at a point when it must start thinking about raising money for the next stage of development towards a mine and eventually mine financing. The bulk sample results will give the first good indication of the quality of diamonds nurtured by the NW dyke. Given good quality (US$200/ct or more), WSP should be able to raise adequate funds from existing warrants and options to continue exploration.

* In order to secure future mine financing, WSP may decide to take a bulk sample down dip starting November. This will require consultations with native groups, possible construction of a gravel air strip and purchase of a small (10 tonnes per hour?), on site, bulk sample processing facility. A decision of this nature cannot be made in June. It will most likely be made over the next two to three weeks. The announcement of an additional down dip bulk sample may give speculators sitting on the fence additional reasons to participate..."

The JV dispute: The real story is in how the partners have handled decisions in the past. From the March 19/99 issue "...The decision will eventually be based on the past procedure followed by both firms in accepting an exploration program and paying for it. If a pattern has been established that Aber did not break during the 1999 program, than Aber may win back its 16%....Aber is asking the court to ignore the letter of the agreement and make a decision based on the spirit of the agreement. This can set a dangerous precedence for the mining industry..." Jack, unfortunately, this dispute has more to do with personalities than any other factors.

You may want to review the Jan. 26 WSP release for information on individual holes.

Sincerely,
Sudhir Khanna, P.Eng.
Editor, The RESOURCE INDICATOR
Free Trial: mailto:khannas@interlog.com?subject=WSP
goldsheet.simplenet.com




To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/28/1999 12:48:00 AM
From: russet  Respond to of 26850
 
Let's say they put steel reinforced concrete pillars on 10 meter square centers. Do you think that would hold up the damned lake and everything above. Be careful, because the supposedly soft kimberlite is doing that right now. Now what will that cost,...not much!

Then take the $300US/carat valuation with 1.2carat per tonne grade kimberlite out with intersections of 2.5-6 meters (so far) downdip and tell me that it doesn't pay for the reinforcing of the hanging wall of granite and I'll tell you that someone wasted money on your education. If you don't know that the hanging wall is granite, why not???? Talk to Winspear and find out. The whole area is overlayed with granite, and that has been known for at least 2 years. Next you will say it's too fractured,...well ask them,,....I did,...so far its solid,...that's why the kimberlite is hard and not full of water at depth. Fact is,...if you ask Winspear for info, they give it. If you want to be of some value to this thread, get the shear strengths from Winspear and publish your calculations,... we are all waiting.

Now let's check out the qualifications of the principles. RT is a geologist, worked for Esso Minerals in uranium, gold and base metal finds. John MacDonald did similar things working for Esso Minerals, and guess what,...he is an mining engineer too. Walter Melnyk is a diamond mine engineer, as well as base and precious metals. Does Winspear not have enough experience to mine Snap??? One thing RT has done consistently,...if he doesn't have that experience,... he goes out and buys it.

Screw you all,,....Russett is long,...and if you fools sell off on Monday,...you will be selling to me!!!

So far the only person on this Winspear chatline that has consistently given us factual info has been Red and some notable others. The guy has given us info that we could have used to make money. A large number of you have questioned the information from both Winspear and Red and the notable others, and should now apologize,...but only the best of you will. We will remember!!!

russett (still celebrating buying Winspear under $3.00 a few weeks ago,... with some beers tonight)



To: jack hampton who wrote (17031)3/28/1999 1:27:00 AM
From: WillP  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 26850
 
Jack:

#1. The original MRDI study was dubbed a "scoping study". The work undertaken this spring, in my mind at least is "pre-feasibility". For a full feasibility evaluation, I suspect at least 5 to 10 million tonnes will be "proven" on a 50 to 100 metre grid. Probably the former for a bankable feasibility.

#2. There was a mini bulk sample of 200 tonnes, and this is being followed up by a formal bulk sample of 6000 tonnes plus, which should yield close to 10,000 carats, which is considered by some to be a statistically valid sample for valuation purposes. (I believe the sample will fall short by 1 to 2 thousand carats, at 6000 tonnes but could be met at 7000 tonnes. This sample should be representative of the NW peninsula at least, and this was the main thrust of the original MRDI scoping study.

"Walt" has likened the deposit to a rich gold mine. He's not going to get an argument from this "diamond guy". That's a very good analogy. According to the mini bulk...you get a 1 carat diamond roughly every 8 tonnes, and a valuable 1 carat gem worth about $750 about every 30 to 40 tonnes. You might run across a 5 carat gem every 50 tonnes, with a $7,500 5 carat gem every 150 tonnes. There could be portions where you "get lucky" on gem content, and portions where you do not. The actual stone distribution on the other hand will be more consistent, I believe...but still somewhat variable.

Hence the need for fairly large bulk samples.

The grade is, however, rather predictable from the macro diamond content revealed by caustic fusion...once one has decent data from a bulk sample or three. As to whether the samples are large enough from the 200 metre drill program this spring...probably not. That depends on the consistency of the results, however. There should be in excess of 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes available from the 50 odd holes drilled in a 1200 metre square grid. This is in addition to the 1.2 tonnes available from last fall's drill program.

#3. The real story about the JV dispute is still relatively unknown. I feel it comes down to a dispute among a few individuals, rather than the entire boards and key employees of both. It should resolve itself over the next few months.

#4. I'm not sure. The data to date lacks some key information...such as depth of the dyke on the north shore, etc. The open pittable tonnage on the NW dyke has been estimated at about 700,000 tonnes and given its relatively shallow nature, I'm guessing it's well within your specified ratio. Where's my calculator when I need it? This is basically an underground situation, for the most part.

#5. Canaccord is screaming "Speculative Buy" to retail and institutional buyers alike. It's one of their featured companies. Yorkton is bullish as well, at last reading. I have not stumbled upon any CIBC coverage as yet.

#6. Yes. The TSE listing was allegedly close in December. I was told that a March date was likely. It's possible that things are on hold at the TSE with the recent releases concerning the reorganization of Canadian markets. I understand that Winspear applied three months after Mountain Province Mining did...and they have been TSE listed for about a month.

#7. No. I have a database probably more extensive than anywhere outside the JV partner offices, gleaned by reading everything and using mathematical deduction...but it's still woefully inadequate. As for your fears of pinching and swelling...such a feature is present to a minor degree. The dyke seems to undulate between about 1.4 and 4.0 metres. There is an area of definite thinning (in my mind) at the southernmost extent of drilling, and a potential area of thickening toward the northeastern edge of drilling. For the most part, I would say with some confidence that most of the tonnage lies is contained in regions between 1.9 and 3.1 metres true thickness.

As far as more detailed information being available...the MRDI report that may be released this year could contain some of that data. This is not an industry that likes to make data available, however.

#8. Umm...err...you can apparently break it in your hand fairly easily. It's not as competent as you would prefer, I fear.

#9. No offense taken. Proper tools for the job, I say. Frankly, I would be reassured about the long term intentions of management if they did bring mining expertise on board.

Oh...and I have not met a miner yet who thought much of mining engineers or geologists. :-)

#10. They need financing. No doubt about that. Debt financing would be most preferable, but that impacts directly on #1...the level of feasibility required would be much greater. There will be lots of activity on this front over the next year, for sure.

How do you rate the costs of mining and for drift and fill versus room and pillar?

Regards,

WillP