|
NEW
YORK, NY, June 24, 2016 /Sector Newswire/ -
Metanor Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MTO) (US Listing:
MEAOF) (Frankfurt: M3R)
this week announced a new gold Resource Estimate at its Barry Mine open pit gold
deposit, located ~65 km (~116 km by road) from its Bachelor Mine and
Mill in Quebec, totaling 1,351,000 oz gold in all categories (305,000
oz Gold of Measured & Indicated Resources (8,420,000 t at 1.13 g/t
Au) and 1,046,000 oz gold of Inferred Resources (31,919,500 t at
1.02 g/t Au)), and also announced the Company's intention to
restart mining Barry under a new high-grade model, having identified
a total in-pit resources of 347,350 ounces at 2.07 g/t ready for the
taking.
Fig. 1 (below) Primary
asset:
100%-owned Bachelor Gold Mill
This weeks news falls on the heals of a series of
noteworthy developments involving the Company, including
Eric Sprott increasing his equity position in MTO.V. Metanor is
predicting to be cash flow positive, is poised to excel with
high-grade (between 6 g/T - 9 g/T) gold Hewfran sourced ore coming
online, is building serious new ounces in a new gold system adjacent
the mill, and is rapidly advancing toward reopening mining its
nearby (~65 km SE from the Mill) Barry open-pit as a second front
under an improved high-grade model.
|
Fig 2. (above) Metanor's Barry
Pit section view looking north-west, filtered to show high-grade
intercepts. The outline of the old pit is seen in green, it was
mined to only ~28 m at its deepest point and is essentially ready to
go back into service. The present gold corridor is nearly 1 km long
with a width of approximately 140m.
|
MTO.V geologists are
working under an updated interpretation of the orientation of the
high-grade shoots at the Barry Mine. The old interpretation had two
shoots dipping down, they are now viewed as three stacked shoots
more horizontal than they are vertical. The old off-orientation
interpretation resulted in the mixing of high-grade with low grade,
lowering the high-grade and smearing the gold into lower grade,
resulting in a lower average grade when estimating and block
modeling. Now Metanor's geologists have collected and affirmed data
under the new model that constrains the envelopes which contain the
high-grade. On June 22, 2016 the Company announced a new Resource
Estimate (see 'Metanor
Increases Total Ounces in New Gold Resource Estimate at Barry Pit')
totaling 1,351,000 oz gold in all categories* (see breakdown further
below). From an immediate
mining scenario point of view, the geologists identified a total
in-pit resources of 347,350 ounces at 2.07 g/t in 5.24
million tonnes calculated using parameters for direct shipping of
mineralized material to Bachelor Lake mill where 45% is in the
measured and indicated category and 55% is in the inferred category.
Metanor originally mined ore from Barry when it first took the
refurbished Bachelor Gold Mill online several years ago, while it
was still prepping to access the high-grade underground ore at
Bachelor mine, it poured a total of ~45,000 oz gold from Barry
sourced ore during that initial interim period. The Barry deposit is
essentially ready to go, geologists have pinpointed the high-grade, and Metanor could
soon be back in operation at Barry. On June 22, 2016 Metanor's CEO
commented regarding the restart of mining operations on the Barry
deposit, "We will immediately take all
required steps to increase its value by bringing the mineralized
material to our Bachelor mill and increasing capacity. With such
positive numbers, Metanor is moving forward with the development of
Barry with production targets of 30,000 to 35,000 ounces of gold per
year in a near future." Additionally, Barry
sourced ore is not subject to the Sandstorm gold participation
agreement.
 With a current market
capitalization near-$34.5 million Canadian (431,274,449 shares
outstanding X ~8
cents) MTO.V
presents a significant opportunity for shareholders as its primary asset,
the Bachelor Mill, has a replacement value numerous times the
Company's current market cap and is increasingly being viewed as a coveted
strategic asset being the only mill within 200km in a gold-rich
district.
Metanor is also in the process of adding serious
new gold ounces adjacent its mill as it continues to systematically drill to define
a new high-grade system in a previously unexplored region (known as
the South Zone/Moroy Property) located south of
the pluton, only ~900 meters south of the headframe at Bachelor. Drilling in this new area began in
earnest following its September 22, 2015 new discovery zone
announcement of 10.1 g/T Gold over 26.2 m. Results to date in this
new South Zone have been stellar, the new system appears to be huge
and to be of higher average grade and thicker structure than the
Bachelor/Hewfran sections. New in-hole geophysics reveal
high-priority target anomalies of conductors that have correlated
well with high-grade gold found to date, and are highly perspective
for large gold values Metanor will be targeting in the months ahead;
Metanor is near the beginning of a 60,000 m drill program on the
Moroy property. Mr. Thibaut Lepouttre, Managing Director at
Belgium-based mining and commodity research BVBA firm Caesar
published a report in Q1-2016 in which he extrapolates results to
date and sees potential* for 1,000,000+ new high-grade ounces from
the South Zone.
Operationally: Metanor's
latest gold production figures (for the quarter ended March 31, 2016
click here to see related release) reveal a Gold producer that
is holding its own, successfully executing on cost-cutting measures,
and keeping its head above water after stripping out 'depreciation
and depletion'; Metanor reported Cash Cost of US$898 per ounce sold
for the quarter ended. Sustaining
cost of US$1,047 per ounce sold for the quarter ended, All-In cost of
US$1,101 per ounce sold for the quarter ended, Gold sales for
the quarter were 8,730 ounces from gold production of 9,114 ounces.
In the quarter MTO.V milled 60,727 tonnes of ore at a feed grade of
4.9 g/T and a recovery of 96.3%. A Total of $11,901,847 Canadian in
revenues from gold sales in its accounting Q3 at an average sale price of $1,363
Canadian per ounces sold (US$1,050/oz at an exchange rate of
US$0.77/CA$1.00).
Forward looking
Metanor is expected to excel (cash costs are expected to drop
dramatically): For the current year, Metanor has stated it
expects to produce 40,000+ ounces of gold. Sophisticated investors know a mine is not a
homogeneous unit; there are lower-grade areas, average-grade areas,
and higher-grade areas -- Metanor had been mining sub-5 g/T for
the last several months at Bachelor however that is expected to
change going forward as the Company is expected to begin (entering
the second half of 2016) processing
higher grade Hewfran section ore with grades between 6 g/T and 9 g/T and cash costs are expected to drop back
down. The Bachelor Lake mill has a capacity of
1,200 tpd but is currently running at a rate of ~800 tpd, with an
effective rate of ~700 tpd with periodic routine downtime for
maintenance. When Barry open pit ore comes back online as a second front, we
expect Metanor to maintain a high ounce output, and any reduction in
output (if any) would be offset 'net-positive to the bottom line'
with savings from operations at Bachelor, and not having to pay
Sandstorm on Barry ore.
Additionally, Barry ore is softer and the mill can be ran at
near-1,200TPD (50% higher) without upgrades when processing Barry
ore.
|
Pouring gold at Bachelor |
There exists
opportunities to expand production beyond the current production
capacity of ~50,000 ounces of gold per year; the Bachelor mine
sourced rock is 'hard', making it a limiting factor in-part, however
this can overcome with a nominal capital outlay to move to
1,200 tpd, also sourcing alternate sourced material from a
secondary front is another obvious option in this gold-rich
territory -- the flexibility Metanor has on this front positions
Metanor's mill as its primary asset and increasingly 'in-play'.
Hydro Quebec is expected to complete an area substation near-term,
afterwich may be the optimum time for Metanor to be positioned to focus
on increasing the capacity (Metanor has been waiting for that
substation). The
level of interest swirling around Metanor's primary asset appears
high -- shares of MTO.V are poised for upside revaluation as the
inherent value and accomplishments are appreciated by the market,
and apt to respond in multiples as gold retrenches and strengthens.
Besides improved grades and grade control
on tap, it is important to note that Metanor also benefits from
foreign exchange, receiving a ~$390/oz price differential (as of
June 24, 2016) for gold
in Canadian dollars over US dollars).
Metanor currently has
two permitted mines:
1) Bachelor Mine: Bachelor is a rich underground mine with
grades upwards of 26 g/t gold with an average grade of 7.38 g/t gold
(fully diluted using long hole). Recent drilling results continue to
demonstrate, in-part, Metanor's ability to readily extend the
mineable life of Bachelor, similar to how other successful area
miners have operated (and several continue to this date) --
typically lining up a couple years of initial quality mineralized
material but remaining operational for many decades, adding as they
go. MTO is able to sell 80% of its Bachelor Mine sourced gold at
spot prices with the balance sold to Sandstorm as per gold
participation agreement (Note: this arrangement is only on
Bachelor-area sourced material, Metanor's mill is a separate asset
that is 100%-owned by the Company and the mill may be used to
process material sourced from outside Bachelor without restriction
(for Metanor's sole-benefit) as long as it meets minimum covenants
to Sandstorm -- covenants Metanor has been more than able to satisfy
to date).
2) Barry Gold Project, Quebec (located ~65 km from Bachelor):
The 100% owned Barry property is neighbor to Oban Mining's Windfall
Lake Deposit (formerly owned by Eagle Hill). The resource estimate at Barry now
(as of June 22, 2016) sits at 305,000 oz
Gold of Measured & Indicated Resources (8,420,000 t at 1.13 g/t Au) and
1,046,000
oz gold of Inferred Resources (31,919,500 t at 1.02 g/t Au) and is
wide open for large resource growth expansion. The current 1km
strike at Barry is potentially 13km, there are in excess of 150
anomalies outside the pit area. The Barry deposit is a potential
multimillion ounce target; the independent international professional
geological firm SGS Geostat has identified Metanor’s Barry deposit
as comparable in potential to rival other multi-million ounce
deposits such as Canadian Malartic gold deposit (formerly owned by
Osisko, now owned by Yamana and Agnico-Eagle) & Detour Gold's
Detour deposit. Important to note
is that Osisko Mining Inc. has recently orchestrated acquisitions
near Metanor's Barry deposit.
Metanor has confirmed it will restart gold mining operations at the Barry Property. Ghislain
Morin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Metanor stated
earlier in the year: "We
feel that the metrics are optimal for a restart of operations at the
Barry Pit. Our surface infrastructure is still operational, and the
mining permit is still active. Combining this with the current low
fuel prices and a gold value of $1,700 per ounce in Canadian
dollars, we see restarting as an attractive option for the Company
at this time." On June 22, 2016 the Company
confirmed the decision to restart mining following receipt of a
technical report identifying 347,350 ounces of 2.07 g/T gold of open
pit material ready for the taking. The technical and management teams at Metanor are extremely
competent, having acquired a great deal of experience over the
years, and start-up costs are forecast to be relatively low. No
processing problems are anticipated, as processing of previous Barry
Pit ore was handled by the nearby Bachelor Mine treatment plant, at
a maximum of 1,100 tonnes per day.
Other than a 1% royalty (NSR), an additional 2% NSR is payable on
metals derived from 13 claims, representing 10% of the property.
There are no other obligations arising from production from the
Barry open pit.
----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Sector Newswire has
identified the following research links for additional DD on Metanor
Resources Inc.
----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Recent
(June 22, 2016) news from Metanor Resources Inc.:
|
Metanor
Increases Total Ounces in New Gold Resource Estimate at
Barry Pit
VAL-D'OR, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - June 22, 2016) - Metanor
Resources Inc. (« Metanor ») (TSX VENTURE:MTO) has received
an updated Mineral Resource estimate on its Barry property
located 116 km from the Bachelor mill. The independent
mineral resource estimate was prepared by GoldMinds
Geoservices Inc. (GMG) and update the previous resource
estimate of 2010. A technical report (NI43-101 compliant)
will be available on SEDAR within 45 days.
The new estimate is based on a total database
of 1,100 diamond drill holes and rock saw channel samples
for 79,055 meters with 51,524 assays.
This update takes the 1 g/t range base case
resource to 209,400 ounces gold in Measured category grading
1.21 g/t in 5.383 Million tonnes, 96,000 ounces gold in
Indicated category grading 0.98 g/t in 3.037 million tonnes
and 1.046 million ounces grading 1.02g/t Au in 31.92 million
tonnes in inferred resources using a cut-off grade of
0.50g/t.
A total in-pit resources of 347,350 ounces at
2.07 g/t in 5.24 million tonnes is calculated using
parameters for direct shipping of mineralized material to
Bachelor Lake mill where 45% is in the measured and
indicated category and 55% is in the inferred category.
Highlights
-
Important increase in confidence level of
the mineralization at Barry;
-
209,400 ounces in the measured category
in the base case resource estimate above 0.5 g/t;
-
96,000 ounces in Indicated category in
the base case resource estimate above 0.5 g/t;
-
1.046 million ounces in the inferred
category in the base case resource estimate above 0.5
g/t;
-
347,350 ounces of inpit resources at 2.07
g/t in 5.24 million tonnes with a strip ratio of 2.29 to
1;
-
Deposit open in all directions;
-
Drill hole results of the 2013 campaign
outside the Barry pit perimeters are not taken into
account in the current inferred mineral resources;
-
Screen metallic samples for one
mineralized zone shows 11% more gold than standard fire
assay;
-
Higher gold grade mineralization occurs
in Basalt on edges of Diorite as well as Feldspar
Porphyry.
Cautionary statement: Mineral resources that
are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
The following tables show two global resource
estimate scenarios, each with a different cut-off grade with
capping at 35 g/t on assays, density to convert volume to
tonne is 2.8. Rounded numbers, total may not add up.
Base case Mineral resources above 0.5 g/t
Mineral Resources above 1.0 g/t
Estimation and classification
These upgraded Resource Estimates encompass
data from surface to a depth of 250m within the mineralized
envelope. 3D envelopes of barren rocks (Diorite and FP) has
been done to avoid smearing and maintain integrity of
estimates with the domains.
The estimation of 3m x 3m x 3m blocks was
made with capped to 35 g/t assays and composites of 3
meters.
Inverse square of the distance is used with 3
different search ellipsoid as well as different parameters
in each pass. The first ellipsoid has a long axis of 50m
intermediate 10 meters and small of 5 meters, the second is
75 m, 15 m and 10 meters while the third has 150 m long
axis, 50 m intermediate and 25 m short axis.
Direction of the long axis is UTM 84 degrees
North with an inclination of 19 degrees and 45 degrees. In
clear: the long axis plunge down 19 degrees at 84 north,
intermediate 45 degrees south west and the short axis plunge
354N at 71 degrees.
The estimation was done in 3 pass where for
the first pass: a minimum of 6 composites and maximum of 12
composites limited with 3 from the same hole, a minimum of 6
composites and maximum of 12 composites limited with 3 from
the same hole in the second pass and a minimum of 1
composite and maximum of 12 composites limited with 3 from
the same hole for the third pass.
The estimation ellipsoid are the same for the
classification where a minimum of 2 holes in the ellipsoid
are required for measured and indicated and one for the
inferred. Search ellipsoid were validated with geostatistics
and visually where mineralized zones showing up to 300
meters strike length.
Finally, the 2016 drilling of the western
extension has brought a new zone in the resource model. This
zone deserves additional drilling to define its size and
increase its level of confidence as well as extension of
mineralisation around the existing pit and other targets on
the property.
The significant change from the 2010 resource
model is the fact that high grade gold mineralization is
East West oriented gently dipping Eastward along the
regional North East trend. The high grade zone are
associated with intrusive rocks.
Ghislain Morin president and chief executive
officer, declared: "This
updated resource, namely with the in-pit resources, is a
game changer for Metanor as it now demonstrates the
important value of Barry for our company. We will
immediately take all required steps to increase its value by
bringing the mineralized material to our Bachelor mill and
increasing capacity. With such positive numbers, Metanor is
moving forward with the development of Barry with production
targets of 30,000 to 35,000 ounces of gold per year in a
near future."....
....click
here for full copy from source |
|