SEG 45 Final_qx4 - Society of Economic Geologists

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EXPLORATION REVIEWS 24 SEG NEWSLETTER No 63 • OCTOBER 2005 ... from 23 Exploration Reviews (Continued) portions of the access drifts. It is anticipated that the overall project completion schedule will be met but that the initial ore feed to the mill will be trucked rather than conveyed from underground. Production start-up is expected in the 1st quarter of 2006 with a phased ramp-up to full production in the first half of 2006. The current estimate of total capital costs for the project is $321M. Select Resources Corporation announced that it has initiated the first phase of its 2005 exploration program on the Shorty Creek Cu-Au property near Livengood. The program will consist of an extensive soil sampling survey over two intrusive-related targets identified through integration of previous surface work on the property with satellite imagery, airborne geophysics, regional geochemistry, and geologic interpretation. A total of approximately 650 soil samples are expected to be collected over the two primary targets. ALASKA RANGE Alaska newcomer bcMetals Corporation announced that it had acquired an option to earn 100% of the Johnson project in the central Alaska Range. Terms of the agreement require bcMetals to pay $825,000 and incur $13.5M in exploration expenditures over five years or complete a Feasibility Study. Significant prospects include the Verona Pick prospect massive sulfides have been discovered with values ranging up to 21.8% Zn, 5.62% Pb, 32.3 gpt Ag and 4.97 gpt Au. At the Woody prospect massive sulfide samples have returned up to 5.7% Cu, 7.01% Zn, 1.3% Pb, 96.9 gpt Ag, and 5.58 gpt Au. Copper, Ni, and PGE mineralization occurs in outcrops at the Emerick prospect which, has returned values up to 6.3% Ni, 2.2% Cu, 0.22% cobalt, 1.17 gpt Pt, 2.28 gpt Pd, and at the Forbes prospect which has returned values up to 5.4% Ni, 4.13% Cu, 0.11% cobalt, 1.1 gpt platinum, 1.0 gpt Pd. Welcome to Alaska, bcMetals Corporation! Nevada Star Resource Corp. announced commencement of exploration on its MAN Alaska Au project in the central Alaska Range. The program includes geologic mapping and geochemical sampling designed to advance one or more Au and Cu-Au prospects to the drill stage for 2006. Significant occurrences include the Specimen prospect with rock values up to 6.89 gpt Au, 15.8 gpt Ag and 15.8% Cu. At the Gezzi prospect, geochemical values range up to 3.09 gpt Au, 25.7 gpt Ag and 6.60% Cu. At Gezzi South, assays grade up to 2.49 gpt Au, 3.40 gpt Ag, and 0.50% Cu. At the Broxson Ridge prospect rock values range up to 5.81 gpt Au, 86.7 gpt Ag, and 2.7% Cu. At White Marker rock values range up to 3.69 gpt Au, 2.4 gpt Ag, and 0.30% Cu. Piper Capital Inc. announced the commencement of drilling at its Golden Zone prospect in the central Alaska Range. Phase 1 drilling consists of approximately 9,000 ft of core drilling in 18 to 20 holes on the Golden Zone Breccia Pipe, veins, mineralized dikes, and replacements in the BLT and Mayflower prospects northeast of the Breccia Pipe and at the Long Creek prospect located approximately 1.5 miles south of the Breccia Pipe. The company also announced that revised resource estimates for the Golden Zone Breccia Pipe have been completed and include measured and indicated resources of approximately 2,027,000 G.E. McKelvey Professional Geologist Mineral Exploration & Discovery P.O. Box 1599 6454 Ruin Hill Loop, Lot 57 Pine, Arizona 85544-1599 tons grading 0.106 opt Au, 0.47 opt Ag and 0.12% Cu (utilizing a 0.05 opt Au cutoff). These resources contain approximately 214,862 oz Au, 948,636 oz Ag and 24,000 pounds of Cu. NORTHERN ALASKA NovaGold Resources announced that it is mobilizing crews to the Ambler and Khotol projects in northwestern Alaska. Current plans are to drill over 4,000 m (13,000 ft) between the projects. At Ambler, up to 3,000 m of core drilling will be directed at expansion of existing massive sulfide resources. At the Khotol project, initial exploration has targeted a series of coincident multi-kilometer scale geophysical and soil geochemical anomalies in areas with only limited historic exploration work. The target is massive to disseminated precious metal rich poly-metallic replacement mineralization. SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA Coeur d’Alene Mines announced that it had received all of the remaining federal mine permits that it requires to build and operate its Kensington Au mine project near Juneau. Receipt of these permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency clears the way for start-up of project construction. The company indicated that initial construction activities would begin in July. Congratulations, Coeur d’Alene Mines! Kennecott (70.3%) and Hecla (29.7%) announced 2nd quarter 2005 production from the Greens Creek mine on Admiralty Island. The cash cost to page 29 per ounce of silver at ... [928] 476-6550 mobile: [602] 769-2480 fax [928] 476-6572 gempress@earthlink.net PAID ADVERTISEMENT PAID ADVERTISEMENT
OCTOBER 2005 • No 63 SEG NEWSLETTER 25 SEG 2006 CONFERENCE Wealth Creation in the Minerals Industry: Integrating Science, Business, and Education May 14 –16, 2006, Keystone, Colorado Conference website: http://www.seg2006.org Overview: Talks, Trips, Workshops, Posters, and Student Participation The oral program is now finalized for the Society’s stand-alone Conference in Keystone next May. Thirty-seven invited and volunteered talks will be presented over 3 days during 12 sessions integrating the themes of science, business, and education as key elements for wealth creation in the minerals industry. In addition, more than 40 abstracts have been accepted for the Poster Presentation. Six field trips and seven pre- or post-conference workshops will round out the technical program for SEG2006. A variety of exhibits and scheduled periods for informal interaction will ensure a wide range of discussion and contacts outside the technical program. In addition, the Society’s first SEG Student Conference will also be held on 13 May in conjunction with SEG2006, with the best posters from this gathering adding to those of the main conference. Day 1: The Business of Exploration This Conference is coming at a time of considerable challenge for the mining and exploration industry. Many of the issues which confront the industry today will be featured at Keystone. A broad-based resources boom is now underway, driven by global growth; minerals producers are reporting record earnings, yet exploration is not replacing reserves depleted by mining. This situation leads to numerous questions which are relevant to members of SEG. How can minerals companies make better use of exploration research as greenfields discoveries become more difficult to make? What strategies will producers employ to keep their resource pipelines filled in times of robust asset prices? Are we at the top of the market or is this the beginning of a much longer rally for resources? How do we replace the people lost during the last downswing in the industry, and how do we keep them in the industry when the next downward cycle arrives? It is crucial to answer these questions now in order for a sustained improvement in the relationships between explorers and exploration researchers. Public funding of minerals industry education and research has been on a long decline in traditional mining economies but major miners have only now started to realize that they need a more strategic approach to human resource planning. Booming prices and a renewed rush to explore for commodities such as uranium, molybdenum, and iron ore (among many others) have made explorers impatient again with the pace of community negotiations. How do we build social competency and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? All of these questions and more are featured on Day 1. Day 2: Generating, Delivering, and Cooperating Day 2 will present three topics on the theme “Generating and Delivering Wealth.” The first of these explores the relationships between major companies and junior explorers and the value created when strategy and good practice allow the best attributes of each partner to be developed. The second theme, “Geometallurgy,” is an example of what miners are doing to utilize good science to improve operating efficiency and restore profitability. Boom times inevitably add inflationary pressures on labor costs and consumables and miners have often turned to technology to cope with these challenges. Geometallurgy, combining the disciplines of orebody geology, mineral processing, and mining, has allowed much better interaction on mine sites between professions and better economic outcomes. In addition to a state of the art presentation on geometallurgy, this session will also include presentations from operations staff of Carlin, Hibbing Taconite, and Grasberg. The importance of interdisciplinary cooperation and the productive interaction among industry, government, and academia continues into the final session on Day 2. This includes the Yandal story of Western Australia, an excellent example of a successful partnership between explorers and researchers. Placer Dome will also provide a comparison of the economic outcomes of different exploration strategies in Nevada. Day 3: Case Histories Day 3 will feature a selection of some of the best wealth creation case histories from the industry’s most successful companies. What were the crucial factors of geology, human insight and business opportunity which drove these successes? These include the discoveries of the Ekati diamond and Oyu Tolgoi porphyry Cu-Au deposits, as well as a discussion of uranium exploration and discovery. There will also be a presentation of exploration strategies by Codelco, and a discussion of the use of royalties. JOHN A. S. DOW (SEG 1998 F) Chairman, 2006 Organizing Committee A Venue for Communication As we contemplate the issues which we think will shape the near-term future of the discipline of economic geology, there is a growing need for industry and the economic geology research community to develop better working relationships. The recent Gordon Conference on Inorganic Geochemistry in New Hampshire featured a forum discussion on the ways in which exploration managers, government geologists, and exploration researchers could communicate better with each other and develop better working relationships. This forum was notable for the enthusiasm of all parties to participate. Mining companies have a huge vested interest in ensuring the continued health of the academic and research community if they are to develop better orebody models and exploration techniques, as well as ensure the vitality of faculties that provide teaching and training in earth science. SEG2006 at Keystone next May promises to be a further opportunity to continue and develop that dialogue, formally in sessions, and informally during social periods. Industry Support for the Conference Sponsorship for SEG2006 is progressing well with a number of companies committing to support this Conference at the Premier Plus ($25,000) level. BHP Billiton and Newmont have also committed specific funds to support student participation from around the world at Keystone. This will ensure the attendance of a strong contingent of SEG student chapter members and student leaders. Registration in November This SEG Conference is shaping up to be an important event for the Society, its members, and, indeed, for all in the industry, both for the technical, business, and societal issues that it will address, and for the cross-disciplinary interaction that it will foster. On-line registration for SEG2006 opens on November 1 and hard-copy registration forms will be mailed to SEG members in early January. Don’t miss out. Plan to register early and be there to discuss our future.
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SEG 45 Final_qx4 - Society of Economic Geologists

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