Rockcliff Copper Corp. says it is encouraged by an initial mineral resource estimate for the Talbot deposit outside Snow Lake.
Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. of Toronto independently prepared a report, which meets government reporting guidelines, relative to the resource estimate.
The report looked at inferred mineral resources at Talbot. Inferred resources are those for which metal quantities and grades can be estimated based on geological evidence and limited sampling.
The inferred estimate at Talbot: 2.17 million tonnes of ore grading 2.8 per cent copper, 2.2 per cent zinc, 2.4 grams of gold per tonne and 54.6 grams of silver per tonne.
“The initial mineral resource estimate on the Talbot deposit is encouraging and the work completed to date on the property demonstrates the potential to host several high-grade VMS [volcanogenic massive sulfide] deposits rich in copper, gold, zinc and silver,” Ken Lapierre, president and CEO of Rockcliff, said in a news release. “The deposit remains open to the north and at depth, has high copper, gold, zinc and silver grades, is hosted in multiple lenses and has the potential for expansion with additional drilling.”
Lapierre said additional work in 2016 will attempt to upgrade and expand the deposit resource.
He said this work will determine the significance of a copper zone discovered 2.5 km north of the deposit, and define the potential of the Central Target located two km southeast of the deposit.
The database to support the inferred estimate is comprised of 45 holes drilled between 2003 and 2015 for a total of 27,044 metres, the Toronto-based Rockcliff said.
Going forward, Rock-cliff says it is “well funded” with about $2 million in its treasury and no debt.
The company can earn a 51 per cent interest in the Talbot property from Hudbay by spending $6.12 million on exploration over six years.
If Rockcliff earns its 51 per cent interest, Rockcliff (51 per cent) and Hudbay (49 per cent) would form a joint venture with Rockcliff as operator.
Through further terms, however, Hudbay has the option of becoming the majority owner and the operator.
The Talbot deposit is located about 80 km outside Snow Lake.
Correction
Due to an editing error, the article “PM accepts local’s gift amid grief” (Friday, Feb. 12) was published with an incomplete final paragraph.
The final paragraph in its entirety is a quote from Tom McDermott. It reads:
“When you are first on the scene, you see the dead bodies. I have to be the one to say, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ The person is gone. That’s when you see the heartbreak.”
