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Mining Explorers 2009: A year of transition for CBR Gold Consolidated junior JVs Alaska VMS project, scopes Nunavut high-grade gold property Shane Lasley Mining News
Consolidating its name to CBR Gold Corp. and its shares on a 5-to-1 basis, 2009 was a transitional year for the Vancouver B.C.-based junior formerly known as Committee Bay Resources Ltd.
With the transition complete in February, CBR Gold management began brainstorming for the best approach to move forward at its two advanced exploration projects in North America; the Niblack gold-copper rich volcanogenic massive sulfide prospect on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, and the Three Bluffs high-grade gold deposit along the 300-kilometer, or 186-mile-long Committee Bay greenstone belt in northern Nunavut.
“We have worked up all the budgets for all the different scenarios; it is just a matter of sitting down … and figuring out, in this market and investment climate: Firstly, what project? And secondly, what scope of work on each of the projects to give us the best bang for our buck in this marketplace?” CBR Gold President and CEO John Williamson told Mining News in February.
The restructured junior initiated a scoping study at its high-grade gold deposit in Nunavut and entered into a joint venture to advance its exploration at the junior’s underground polymetallic project in Alaska.
Scoping out Three Bluffs CBR Gold retained Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. to complete a scoping study and supporting NI 43-101 technical report on the Three Bluffs deposit.
Three Bluffs is one of several high-grade gold prospects located at CBR Gold’s 569,000-acre Committee Bay Greenstone Belt land package in northern Nunavut.
After an initial review of the metallurgy and 2009 resource estimate for Three Bluffs, the consultant recommended examining two open-pit development options in the scoping study.
The first option is a 1,200-metric-ton-per-day mine-mill option with flotation and carbon-in-leach plant. The second possibility is an initial 500-tpd gravity and intense cyanide leach plant that would be expanded to a 1,200-tpd plant with flotation and CIL during year three. The second option would reduce initial startup costs at the remote deposit.
“We are especially encouraged by the indications of high gold recovery with only a gravity circuit and anticipate that the Scoping Study will further support our view of economically viable production,” Williamson said.
The explorer also updated its resource estimate for the high-grade gold deposit in northern Nunavut, based on five holes drilled in 2008.
The resource estimate for Three Bluffs outlined an indicated gold resource of 2.7 million metric tons grading 5.85 grams per metric ton, or 508,000 ounces of gold. The estimate included an additional inferred resource for the deposit of 1.27 million metric tons grading 5.98 g/t, or 244,000 ounces, of gold.
The 2009 revised Three Bluffs resource estimate is based on 15,673 meters of drilling in 89 holes, and includes 903 meters drilled in five holes during 2008.
In addition to the five holes included in the resource, the junior struck high-grade gold in two holes drilled to the west of the deposit. Hole 08TB077, a 500 meter step out to the west of the Three Bluffs deposit, cut 13.59 meters grading 23.59 g/t gold.
“The discovery of shallow high grade mineralization 500 metres to the west of the current resource is the most exciting development at Three Bluffs in the last three years,” said Williamson.
Hunter Dickinson JV at Niblack In August, Hunter Dickinson joined forces with CBR Gold Corp. to resume exploration of the Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska.
Heatherdale Resources Ltd., a privately-owned subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson, has agreed to spend US$15 million over the next three years to advance the Niblack project in exchange for a 51 percent stake in the precious-metals-rich VMS deposit.
“We are very pleased to be initiating a partnership with CBR Gold to advance exploration of the Niblack copper-gold-silver-zinc deposit,” said Hunter Dickinson Chairman Robert A. Dickinson.
The Niblack partners have a US$5.35 million exploration budget for 2009. Heatherdale, which is financing the endeavor, is also the operator of the underground diamond drill program.
Year-end drilling With the goal of completing a 7,260-meter underground drill program by the end of the year, the newly-formed partners immediately began mobilizing crews and equipment to the Southeast Alaska project.
While crews dewatered the exploration decline bored into the side of Lookout Mountain, exploration equipment was being barged to the project from Ketchikan located 27 miles, or 43 kilometers, northeast of the project.
This year’s drill program followed-up on drilling completed by CBR Gold after acquiring the property in 2008, and focused on extending the Lookout Zone to depth.
“Based on the most recent exploration results from the 2008 drill program, in particular, we believe this property presents potential for delineating significant volumes of high-grade mineralization,” Dickinson said.
Following up on 2008 success In Oct. 2008, after completing a merger with Niblack Mining Corp., CBR Gold embarked on a 19-hole underground exploration program. The 4,507 meters of drilling completed by the new owner of the VMS deposit was designed to test the continuity and expand the existing resources within the Lookout Zone. Surface drilling has traced this mineralization from near the apex of Lookout Mountain to a depth of about 600 meters.
Though most of the 19 holes drilled struck significant mineralization, CBR Gold was most excited about U028 which intersected 78.66 meters containing 4.83 grams per metric ton gold, 85.31 g/t silver, 1.89 percent copper and 4.93 percent zinc. U028 extended the mineralization 130 meters beyond the limits of the resource outlined by Niblack Mining Corp.’s surface exploration.
In March of this year CBR Gold produced their first resource estimate for the VMS deposit, adding 457,000 metric tons of ore to the estimate the junior inherited from Niblack Mining.
The updated estimate, incorporating the junior’s underground program, revealed an indicated resource of 2.272 million metric tons grading 2.42 g/t gold, 34.66 g/t silver, 1.27 percent copper, 2.36 percent zinc. The deposit has an additional inferred resource of 1.712 metric ton averaging 2.08 g/t gold, 32.56 g/t silver, 1.55 percent copper and 3.17percent zinc. This estimate was based on a US$50 net smelter royalty cut off.
Williamson said, “Since acquiring the Niblack Project, the CBG team has continued to systematically compile and evaluate the project with the expressed purpose of expanding the mineral resources in order to fast track to a production scenario.”
CBR Gold spokesman Derek Iwanaka told Mining News that an updated resource for the Niblack project is expected to be completed by Jan. 2010.
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