“Significant” is the word being used to describe the potential of two separate mineral properties in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region – but it remains to be seen whether the term is suitable.
Ken Lapierre, head of Rockcliff Copper Corp., said he sees “significant metal potential” in a newly acquired zinc property near the Lalor mine.
Rockcliff recently acquired by staking the Penex zinc property, which the company said hosts the down dip continuation of the Pen zinc deposit owned by Hudbay.
Lapierre said the staking of Penex was a “very strategic and timely” move.
“It underpins our commitment to acquire properties either by staking or acquisition that have significant metal potential within trucking distance to milling facilities in this world-class base and precious metals camp,” he said in a news release.
Penex is located about 4.5 km southwest of Hudbay’s Lalor mine near Snow Lake, and is within trucking distance of Hudbay’s Stall Lake concentrator used to process Lalor ore.
It is unclear whether Penex is a viable deposit that might elicit the interest of Hudbay. As such, Rockcliff has commenced a geophysical survey on the property.
The survey will help determine the extent and depth potential of the conductivity related to the Pen zinc deposit, and provide a framework for a drilling program planned in 2017, Rockcliff said.
Elsewhere, Foran Mining Corp. announced it hopes to follow up on “spectacular” drill results outside its McIvenna Bay deposit.
In 2015, Foran drilled six holes at the Bigstone deposit.
The junior miner said the drilling revealed “a number of significant intersections” that speak to the potential of Bigstone to host high-grade copper and zinc mineralization.
“Foran management believes now is the time to follow up these results and build a resource which could potentially supplement any mine development decision at McIlvenna Bay,” Patrick Soares, president and CEO of Foran, said in a news release.
Foran is proposing a follow-up drill program at Bigstone designed to yield a resource estimate that complies with national reporting standards for mining companies.
The hope, Soares said, is to not only verify the grade at the deposit, but to expand the size of the known deposit.
The company’s proposed 2017 drill program will consist of about 7,000 to 8,000 metres of drilling in 15 to 20 drill holes. It is envisioned that drilling will utilize two rigs in June, July and August.
Previous exploration at Bigstone outlined a historic copper-zinc rich mineral resource estimate.
Bigstone lies about 25 km southwest of the McIlvenna Bay deposit, which in turn is located 65 km west of Flin Flon.
