TIDMMIO
RNS Number : 7553H
Minco PLC
02 December 2015
RESEARCH PROGRAM ON CENTRAL NEWFOUNDLAND PROPERTIES
-- Minco and Canadian Zinc Collaboration Agreement
-- Key Metallurgical Studies to Determine Viability of a Central Milling Concept
Dublin, 02 December, 2015 - Minco Plc (AIM-"MIO") ("Minco" or
the "Company") is pleased to announce that, through its wholly
owned subsidiary Buchans Minerals Corporation ("Buchans Minerals),
it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Canadian Zinc
Corporation (TSX: CZN; OTCQB: CZICF) ("Canadian Zinc") to undertake
a research program to complete physical and metallurgical bench
scale studies on seven volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS")
deposits located in central Newfoundland and to share research data
on their respective central Newfoundland Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag-Ag
deposits.
The total cost of the research project is estimated at $735,000
with Buchans Minerals and Canadian Zinc each contributing up to
$100,000. The Research & Development Corporation of
Newfoundland and Labrador ("RDC") is providing Canadian Zinc
funding of $535,000 for the research project through the GeoEXPLORE
Industry-led R & D Technology Development and Demonstration
Program.
The intent and objective of the program is to determine the
technical and economic viability of developing the companies' key
deposits into producing operations by utilizing a central milling
facility. The concept is based on the potential that collectively,
the satellite deposits can be economically mined, pre-concentrated,
trucked and then milled simultaneously or sequentially through a
central mill.
The collaboration agreement between Buchans Minerals and
Canadian Zinc is focused on seven VMS deposits located in central
Newfoundland. Four of the deposits are held by Canadian Zinc
(Lemarchant, Boomerang-Domino, Tulks East, and Long Lake) and three
of the deposits are held by Buchans Minerals (Bobbys Pond, Daniels
Pond and Tulks Hill).
The seven deposits have all demonstrated resources of various
sizes and quality and all are located near the communities of
Millertown and Buchans, NL and all within trucking distance (30-90
km) of the recently closed Duck Pond Cu-Zn Mine. Individually at
this time, the various deposits are not large enough to support
stand-alone operations, but could potentially be developed with
improving economic factors and by utilizing a central mill
facility.
Outcomes of the research project will provide key information on
which to further evaluate the economic viability of developing the
central Newfoundland deposits through a central milling facility.
Positive results would lead to continued development work on the
known deposits, renewed exploration interest leading to new
discoveries, and ultimately, ongoing mining operations in central
Newfoundland.
Thibault & Associates Inc., an applied process chemical
engineering firm located in Fredericton, NB, has been awarded the
contract to complete bench scale physical/metallurgical studies and
the process simulation and cost modelling.
As a part of the collaboration agreement, both Companies have
undertaken to complete physical and metallurgical bench scale
studies on the deposits in order to:
a) assess the amenability of mineralized samples from the
deposits to physical upgrading (pre-concentration) at site by Dense
Media Separation as a potential means of reducing transportation
costs of the mineralized material from site to the milling facility
and to maximize head grade for reduction in downstream processing
cost;
b) assess the amenability of mineralized samples from 4 of the 7
deposits to a common flotation flowsheet for the production of
selective copper, lead, and zinc concentrate products of marketable
grade at acceptable metallurgical recoveries. This will serve as a
preliminary evaluation of whether or not a single flowsheet and
reagent scheme could be used for processing multiple resources at a
central mill. The deposits to be included are Boomerang-Domino,
Bobbys Pond, Daniels Pond and Lemarchant; and
c) determine the levels of deleterious elements present in the
four deposits and in the flotation concentrates produced, as well
as determining the acid generating potential of the four deposits
and from the flotation tailings generated.
The bench scale testing program will be followed-up by the
development of a process simulation and cost assessment model to
evaluate and identify the key factors controlling the earning
potential of a centralized milling concept for processing of the
satellite base metal deposits. Results from the modelling will be
used to help optimize the exploration and development budgets, by
focusing on the key factors that are critical to realizing the
economic potential of the base metal deposits in central
Newfoundland.
The Buchans area of central Newfoundland is one of Canada's
richest, historic base metal mining camps. Between 1928 and 1984
Asarco mined 16.2 million tonnes of ore at Buchans averaging 14.51%
Zn, 1.33% Cu, 7.56% Pb, 126 g/t Ag & 1.37 g/t Au from a series
of in situ massive sulphide and transported breccia sulphide
deposits. Between 2007 and 2015 Teck Resources Limited milled 5.0
million tonnes averaging 4.4% Zn, 2.8% Cu, 53 g/t Ag & 0.6 g/t
Au from its Duck Pond Mine.
ABOUT RDC (Research & Development Corporation of
Newfoundland and Labrador)
RDC is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for improving
Newfoundland and Labrador's research and development performance.
RDC works with research and development stakeholders including
business, academia and government agencies and departments to make
strategic investments in highly qualified people, R&D
infrastructure and innovative research. Additional information
about RDC can be found at: www.rds.org.
ABOUT CANADIAN ZINC
Canadian Zinc is a TSX-listed exploration and development
company trading under the symbol "CZN". The Company's key project
is the 100%-owned Prairie Creek Project, a fully permitted,
advanced-staged zinc-lead-silver property, located in the Northwest
Territories.
Canadian Zinc also owns an extensive land package in central
Newfoundland that it is exploring for copper-lead-zinc-silver-gold
deposits, including three VMS projects, each with defined deposits,
which are being explored by Canadian Zinc. Key deposits on each
project are listed below:
South Tally Pond Project - Lemarchant deposit; Indicated Mineral
Resource of 1.24 million tonnes grading 5.4% zinc, 0.5% copper,
1.2% lead, 1.0 g/t gold and 59.27 g/t silver plus an additional
Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.34 million tonnes grading 3.7% zinc,
0.4% copper, 0.9% lead, 1.0 g/t gold and 50.4 g/t silver (Giroux
Consultants 2012);
Tulks South Project - Boomerang-Domino deposit: Indicated
Mineral Resource of 1.36 million tonnes grading 7.1% zinc, 3.0%
lead, 0.5% copper, 110 g/t silver and 1.7 g/t gold plus an
additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 0.69 million tonnes grading
6.5% zinc, 2.8% lead, 0.4% copper, 95 g/t silver and 1.0 g/t gold
(Snowden 2007); and the Hurricane and Tulks East prospects; and
Long Lake Project - Indicated Mineral Resource of 0.48 million
tonnes grading 7.8% zinc, 1.6% lead, 0.97% copper, 49 g/t silver
and 0.57 g/t gold plus an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of
78,000 tonnes grading 5.7% zinc, 1.2% lead, 0.7% copper, 34 g/t
silver and 0.48 g/t gold (SRK, 2012).
Canadian Zinc's exploration strategy in Newfoundland is to
continue to build on its existing polymetallic resource base with
the aim of developing either a stand-alone mine, similar to the
past-producing mine at Buchans or the Duck Pond mine, or a number
of smaller deposits that could be developed simultaneously and
processed in a central milling facility.
ABOUT MINCO PLC
Minco PLC incorporated in the Republic of Ireland and listed on
the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange ("MIO"), is an
exploration and development company currently engaged in zinc-lead
exploration in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and is also
evaluating its Woodstock manganese project in New Brunswick,
Canada.
Minco Plc, through its wholly owned subsidiary Buchans Minerals
Corporation, holds interests in four advanced base metal properties
in the Buchans area of central Newfoundland, which contain the
following deposits:
Tulks North property (which contains the Daniels Pond deposit)
with an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.16 million tonnes grading
4.44% zinc, 2.12% lead, 0.31% copper, 87.79 g/t silver and 0.60 g/t
gold, as well as an additional Inferred resource totaling 445,000
tonnes grading 3.88% Zn, 1.74% Pb, 0.27% Cu, 81.63 g/t Ag and 0.52
g/t Au.
Bobbys Pond property (which contains the Bobbys Pond deposit)
with an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.10 million tonnes grading
4.61% zinc, 0.44% lead, 0.86% copper, 16.6 g/t silver and 0.2 g/t
gold plus an additional Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.18 million
tonnes grading 3.75% zinc, 0.27% lead, 0.95% copper, 10.95 g/t
silver and 0.06 g/t gold (RPA, July 2008)
Tulks Hill property (49% Buchans Minerals/ 51% Prominex Resource
Corp) (which contains the Tulks Hill deposit) with an Indicated
Mineral Resource of 431,000 tonnes grading 3.97% zinc, 1.61% lead,
0.89% copper, 35.09 g/t silver and 1.17 g/t gold (RPA, July
2008).
Buchans property (which contains the Lundberg deposit). The
Lundberg copper-zinc-lead/deposit is the most advanced undeveloped
deposit in the district and consists of a large lower grade
resource being evaluated for open pit mine development. The
Lundberg deposit hosts Indicated resources of 23.4 million tonnes
grading 1.41% Zn, 0.60% Pb, 0.35% Cu, 5.31 g/t Ag and 0.07 g/t Au,
and Inferred resources of 4.3 million tonnes averaging 1.29% Zn,
0.54% Pb, 0.27% Cu, 4.47 g/t Ag and 0.08 g/t Au. (Peter C. Webster,
P. Geo., Mercator Geological Services Limited, 2013).
Minco also holds an approximate 26% shareholding in Xtierra
Inc., (TSXV- "XAG"), which holds mineral properties in Mexico, and
a 2% NSR royalty on the Curraghinalt gold property in Northern
Ireland, currently being explored by Dalradian Resources Inc.
(TSX-"DNA").
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
December 02, 2015 07:52 ET (12:52 GMT)
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