- Published: 26 September 2012
- Written by Editor
Queenston Announces 112% Increase in Indicated Resource (to 1.5 M oz. Gold) and 16% Increase in Inferred Resource (to 0.7 M oz. Gold) at Upper Beaver
HIGHLIGHTS:
-- Indicated mineral resource of 1.46 million ounces of gold and 56 million
pounds of copper (1.58 million gold equivalent ounces)
-- Inferred mineral resource of 0.71 million ounces of gold and 32 million
pounds of copper (0.78 million gold equivalent ounces)
-- Indicated and inferred resources driven by tonnage increase of 123% and
48% respectively
Table 1: Mineral Resource Statement(i), Upper Beaver Gold-Copper Project, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., September 26, 2012
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Tonnes Au Cu Contained Au Contained Cu
Category (000's) (g/t) (%) (000's ounces) (000's pounds)
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Indicated 6,870 6.62 0.37 1,461 56,006
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Inferred 4,570 4.85 0.32 712 32,218
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-- Notes:
-- Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have a
demonstrated economic viability.
Mineral Resources are reported in accordance with Canadian
Securities Administrators (CSA) National Instrument 43-101 and have
been estimated in conformity with generally accepted Canadian
Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "Estimation of
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practices".
-- Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 2.0 g/t gold
based on an underground mining scenario.
-- Cut-off grade based on a gold price of US$1,300, a copper price of
US$3.00, an exchange rate of US$1.00=CDN$1.00 and metallurgical
recoveries of 98% for gold and 90% for copper.
-- Capped composites were used for grade interpolation, domainal gold
capping ranged from 18 to 100 g/t, whereas domainal copper capping
ranged from 0.25 to 5.00%.
-- A specific gravity 2.75 was used.
-- All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the
estimates.
COMMENTARY
Charles Page, President and CEO of Queenston said, "We are very pleased with the latest mineral resource update for the Upper Beaver Project. The new resource statement that incorporates 129 new core holes (74,271 metres) completed in 2011 and 2012 has significantly increased the size of the deposit and supports our view that exploration will continue to expand this multi-million ounce gold-copper system. The discovery cost of the new resource remains in line with our historic cost of approximately $16 per ounce. A key focus of the 2011 - 2012 drilling campaign was to convert inferred mineral resources into indicated resources. We were successful in establishing a 112% increase in the indicated resource category that supported the continuity of the mineralization and mineability of the deposit.
"As we move the project to the advanced exploration stage that includes shaft sinking, underground development and feasibility, we will incorporate the updated mineral resource into a new Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") early in 2013. Six drill rigs are operating at Upper Beaver to complete the infill drilling program, conduct condemnation drilling for site facilities and to further expand the deposit along its prospective footprint. With Closure Plan Approval in hand we have begun construction of the road and power line corridor and commenced site clearing for the shaft collar."
TECHNICAL
The new mineral resource statement was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by SRK and is an update of a previous mineral resource statement prepared by Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited ("WGM") Consulting Geologist and Engineers of Toronto, Canada (see news release dated May 4, 2011). The previous mineral resource statement defined 3,074,000 tonnes grading 6.98 g/t gold (690,000 oz) with 0.54% copper (36,600,000 lbs) in the indicated category and 3,093,000 tonnes grading 7.15 g/t gold (616,000 oz) with 0.41% copper (28,000,000 lbs.) in the inferred category. A percentage comparison between the previous and current mineral resource statements is provided in Table 2.
Table 2: Comparison of the May 2011 and September 2012 Mineral Resource Statement(i)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- % Change Au Au Cu Cu From May 2011 Tonnes Grade Ounces Grade Pounds ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indicated +123% -5% +112% -31% +53% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inferred +48% -22% +16% -21% +15% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Note: The WGM resource applied a gold cap of 50 g/t, no copper cap, a 2.5 g/t Au cut-off and a gold price of US$1,050/oz.
The updated SRK mineral resource was established from a Queenston database of 380 (approximately 237,780 m) surface diamond drill holes and wedge holes drilled by Queenston from 2005 to 2012 including 129 holes (74,271 m) completed since the previous resource study by WGM.
Gold and copper mineralization at Upper Beaver is associated with disseminated sulphide (mainly chalcopyrite and pyrite) and sulphide veining in a strongly altered-brecciated sequence of igneous and volcanic rocks. The copper mineralization is often associated with gold and also occurs separately. The gold-copper mineralization is associated with pervasive magnetite, feldspar-actinolite-epidote-carbonate-sericite alteration centered in a multi-phase syenite complex. The deposit comprises six, steeply dipping zones (East and West Porphyry, Footwall-200, North Contact, Q and Syenite Breccia Zones) and one flat-lying zone (South Contact Zone) that have been identified from drilling and are considered as resource domains for the resource study (see Figure 1 accompanying this news release).
The East and West Porphyry Zones display strong continuity and form the core of the deposit. These zones combined represent approximately 80% of the deposit containing 4,830,000 tonnes grading 8.03 g/t gold (1,242,000 oz) and 0.42% copper (43,318,000 lbs) in the indicated category and 2,345,000 tonnes grading 6.20 g/t gold (467,000 oz) and 0.37% Cu (19,496,000 lbs.) in the inferred category (Table 3). Both the East and West Porphyry Zones remain open to depth and along strike.
The Footwall (200) Zone is a recent discovery located near the bottom of the deposit with mineralogy, alteration and general orientation closely resembling the Porphyry Zones. Three holes that have intersected this new zone (see news Release dated September 5, 2012) define a separate domain in the resource study containing 355,000 tonnes grading 4.96 g/t gold and 0.50% copper in the indicated category and 313,000 t grading 4.27 g/t Au and 0.74% Cu in the inferred category employing a conservative capping value of 18 g/t gold as compared to 75 g/t gold for the West Porphyry Zone and 100 g/t gold for the East Porphyry Zone. As more drilling is completed in this area of the deposit we anticipate the gold capping value to be more in line with that of the Porphyry Zones. The uncapped gold grade of the Footwall Zone is 9.69 g/t (indicated) and 5.82 g/t (inferred). The Footwall (200) Zone remains open to the east, up-dip and down-plunge.
Table 3: Contribution of Each Domain to the Mineral Resource Statement(i)
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Grade Contained Metal
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Domain Au- Cu Au-
(Au-Cu Au Cu Eq. Au (000's Eq.
Zones) Category Tonnage (g/t) (%) (g/t) (oz) lbs) (oz)
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Porphyry
East Indicated 2,906,000 7.60 0.25 7.96 710,000 15,796 744,000
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Inferred 1,471,000 6.28 0.21 6.58 297,000 6,726 311,000
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Porphyry
West Indicated 1,924,000 8.60 0.65 9.54 532,000 27,522 590,000
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Inferred 874,000 6.06 0.66 7.02 170,000 12,770 197,000
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Footwall
(200) Indicated 355,000 4.96 0.50 5.68 57,000 3,891 65,000
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Inferred 313,000 4.27 0.74 5.34 43,000 5,073 54,000
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North
Contact Indicated 742,000 2.84 0.26 3.22 68,000 4,256 77,000
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Inferred 804,000 3.36 0.23 3.69 87,000 4,100 95,000
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South
Contact Indicated 401,000 2.89 0.15 3.11 37,000 1,347 40,000
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Inferred 369,000 3.03 0.17 3.32 37,000 1,367 39,000
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Q Indicated 377,000 3.29 0.35 3.80 40,000 2,946 46,000
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Inferred 496,000 3.50 0.21 3.81 56,000 2,305 61,000
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Syenite
Breccia Indicated 161,000 3.35 0.04 3.41 17,000 143 18,000
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Inferred 240,000 2.92 0.03 2.97 23,000 177 23,000
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Total Indicated 6,870,000 6.62 0.37 7.15 1,461,000 56,006 1,580,000
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Inferred 4,570,000 4.85 0.32 5.32 712,000 32,218 781,000
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(i) Notes: Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 2.00 g/t Au based on underground mining scenario, metal prices of US$1,300/oz for gold, US$3.00/lb for copper, metallurgical recovery of 98% for gold and 90% for copper, Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have a demonstrated economic viability. Gold equivalent grades (Au-Eq.) are based on the above metal prices and metallurgical recoveries.
Mineral resources at Upper Beaver are sensitive to the selection of cut-off grade. Table 4 presents classified resource model quantities and grade estimates at a variety of cut-off grades. The reader is cautioned that the figures presented in this table, other than the 2.0 g/t Au scenario, are not a Mineral Resource Statement and only show the sensitivity of the block model estimates to the selection of a cut-off grade.
Table 4: Indicated and Inferred Global Quantities and Grade Estimates(i) at Various Cut-Off Grades
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Gold Copper
Cut-Off (Au Resource Grade Grade Contained Contained
g/t) Category Tonnage (g/t) (%) Ounces Au Pounds Cu
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1.5 Indicated 7,946,209 5.96 0.34 1,522,640 59,562,462
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Inferred 5,364,400 4.39 0.31 757,141 36,662,037
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2.0 Indicated 6,865,883 6.62 0.37 1,461,320 56,005,653
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Inferred 4,566,828 4.85 0.32 712,111 32,217,985
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2.5 Indicated 5,844,715 7.38 0.40 1,386,790 51,541,502
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Inferred 3,757,143 5.41 0.35 653,501 28,990,754
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3.0 Indicated 5,007,955 8.16 0.42 1,313,837 46,370,679
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Inferred 2,964,078 6.12 0.38 583,220 24,831,729
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4.0 Indicated 3,814,795 9.63 0.47 1,181,105 39,527,815
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Inferred 1,948,255 7.51 0.43 470,410 18,469,196
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5.0 Indicated 3,121,552 10.77 0.51 1,080,880 35,097,363
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Inferred 1,270,159 9.14 0.46 373,246 12,881,002
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(i) Note: The reader is cautioned that the figures presented in this table should not be misconstrued as a mineral Resource Statement. The reported quantities and grades are only presented as a sensitivity of the deposit model to the selection of cut-off grade.
QUALIFIED PERSONS
The design of the Queenston's drilling programs, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and interpretation of results is under the control of Queenston's geological staff including qualified persons employing a QA/QC program consistent with NI 43-101 and industry best practices. The Upper Beaver project is supervised by Senior Geologist, Mark Masson, P. Geo. A detailed review of Queenston's QA/QC procedures is filed in the 2011 Annual Information Form on SEDAR. The drill core is logged and split with half-core samples shipped to Swastika Laboratories of Swastika, Ontario and analyzed employing the appropriate gold fire assaying techniques. For QA/QC purposes the Company as well as the lab submit standards and blanks every 25 samples. Approximately 5% of sample rejects and/or pulps are sent to other laboratories for check assaying. This news release was reviewed by Queenston's Vice President Exploration and QP, William McGuinty, P. Geo.
The resource estimation work by SRK was completed by Sebastien Bernier, P. Geo. and Glen Cole, P. Geo. both employees of SRK and "independent qualified persons" as defined by NI 43-101. The NI 43-101 technical report on the mineral resource statement will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.
ABOUT QUEENSTON
Queenston is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company with a primary focus on its holdings in the historic Kirkland Lake gold camp comprising 230 km2 of prime exploration lands. The Company's assets include six 100%-owned gold deposits, all with NI 43-101 compliant mineral resources and ongoing exploration and development. The objective of the Company is to advance the flagship Upper Beaver project towards feasibility and production. The Upper Beaver project is currently being permitted for Advanced Exploration leading to new shaft development beginning in 2012. The Company is also very active in exploring and advancing the other five 100%-owned deposits that will provide additional feed for a central milling facility. The Company has working capital of approximately $115 million including cash and short-term investments of $90 million, no debt and a fiscal 2012 budget for exploration of $25 million and $10 million for advanced exploration.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release may contain certain statements regarding future events, results or outlooks that are considered forward looking statements within the meaning of securities regulation. These forward looking statements reflect management's best judgment based on current facts and assumptions that management considers reasonable and include the words "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "potential" and "should". Forward looking statements contain significant risks and uncertainties. A number of circumstances could cause results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements including, but not limited to, changes in general economic and market conditions, metal prices, political issues, permitting, environmental, exploration and development success, continued availability of capital and other risk factors. The forward looking statements contained in this document are based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, however, we cannot assure that the results will be compatible to the forward looking statements as management assumes no obligation to revise them to reflect new circumstances. The Corporation has no knowledge that would indicate the information is not true or incomplete and the Corporation assumes no responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information. Readers should not place reliance on forward looking statements. More information concerning risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business is available in Queenston's most recent Annual Information Form and other regulatory filings of the Company at www.sedar.com.
To view Figure 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/qmi0926fig1.pdf.
Contacts:
Queenston Mining Inc.
Charles E. Page, P. Geo.
President and CEO
(416) 364-0001 (ext. 224)
Queenston Mining Inc.
David Donovan, CFA
Director of Corporate Communications
(416) 364-0001 (ext. 234)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.queenston.ca
Andreas Curkovic
Investor Relations
