BRITISH COLUMBIA - Castle Resources of Toronto is putting resource numbers on the former Granduc copper mine. At a cutoff of 0.8% Cu, the indicated resource is 3.75 million tonnes grading 1.59% Cu. The inferred portion is 15.8 million tonnes at 1.36% Cu. Total contained pounds of copper are over 600 million, primarily in the inferred resource.
The property has what the company calls an "exploration potential" estimated to contain an additional 17 million to 23 million tonnes of material grading between 1.3% and 1.6% Cu.
The resource estimate was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) using a database of 2,000 drill holes and 40,000 assays. Historical data was verified wherever possible against old mine records.
The Granduc mine operated between 1971 and 1984 and produced 420 million lb of copper (plus gold and silver credits). Low copper prices forced its closure. Crushing took place underground and concentrate was made in a 8,150-t/d mill before it was trucked to the port in Stewart, BC. Castle hopes to redevelop the mine for production by 2015 at a rate of 5,000 t/d.
Mike Sylvestre, Castle president & COO, stated, "Our primary focus now is to upgrade much of the initial resource from the inferred to the indicated category and grow the resource by drilling new zones down dip and along strike so as to expand the Granduc resource estimate later this year."
Additional details are available at www.CastleResources.com.
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