Insights from industry

Mining Exploration in Canada

In this interview, Gary Thompson P.Geo., P.Geol. Chairman and CEO of Brixton Metals talks to AZoMining regarding greenfield gold and silver exploration in Canada.

Could you please provide a brief introduction to Brixton Metals and the sector which it works within?

Brixton Metals is a junior exploration company exploring for precious metals, namely silver and gold. We are currently active in the exploration of the Thorn Property located in North West British Columbia, Canada.

Could you provide a brief background and history of this site?

The Thorn property was a 1959 Kennco discovery and it has had numerous exploration activities by various mining companies since this time. Geologically it’s a very interesting property with high sulfidation and low sulfidation systems. It hosts high grade silver-gold veins and porphyry related silver-gold bearing breccia zones. We are now working on the Oban Zone, which is a silver rich polymetallic breccia zone.

Brixton holds an earning option from Rimfire Minerals, which is now Kiska Metals. We are earning into a 51% and we have the option to continue to spend our way into 65% based on the current option agreement. So we see a path towards getting the lion’s share of the project by continuing to explore the property.

Are you looking at all of the mineralization zones at the Thorn property, or are you just concentrating on the Oban zone?

Currently we are focussed on the Oban zone. I think if the markets were in better shape and we were able to raise larger amounts of financing we probably would explore some other targets. The property exhibits many attractive gold-silver targets and is generally unexplored.

The highest grade material on the property has yet to be sourced. For example a float boulder in the Amarillo Creek area, in what we are calling a 6km long mineralized corridor, within the centre of the property has the highest grade material on the property returning 8oz per tonne of gold and 20oz of silver. We plan to conduct a soil geochemical survey in the area this fall as a follow-up.

However having said that, we are currently focussed on the Oban zone and the next phase of drilling which we anticipate will start in the latter part of September will continue to expand the known mineralisation at the Oban zone, which is a silver rich-a silver-gold, Pb-Zn breccia zone with high grade mineralization, the 2011 hole 60 returned 95 metres of 904 g/t AgEq.

How large is the entire project and how large is the Oban zone within this?

The overall property is a 25,000 hectare, so it is quite extensive. The Oban zone lies within the centre of this and we are still working to find the limits of it. We estimate that it extends around a kilometre north of where we are currently drilling. So we’re changing the model from the original 300m breccia pipe and we are now looking at a potential 1km across, which leads us to think more along the lines of a diatreme breccia. So we now know that it is much larger in general than previous work identified.

Brixton Metals commenced exploration in Alaska in 2011. Are you still involved in this site?

We were attracted to this area in 2010 because it has similar geology to one of the largest metal deposits on the planet. We did a little bit of work up there, but due to the current market conditions and the lack of appetite for early stage exploration stories we felt we couldn’t justify spending additional funds there. So at the end of 2011 we terminated our option agreement and we are now 100% focused on the Thorn property.

Brixton Metals has just published 2012 phase one drilling program results - are you happy with these?

Yes we are really happy with them! They are showing some great numbers and some very consistent gold and silver numbers. I think we have done an exceptional job with a very limited budget. We’ve expanded the zone significantly, and we have a better handle on the trend of the zone and the next rounds of drilling should continue to expand this zone, which appears to be trending NE-SW direction and remains open at depth.

When do you predict production could start at the Thorn property? What further studies have to be undertaken before this?

Well, we have a lot more work to do before a production decision can be made! We are still in the early exploration phase.

Stepwise, we need to continue to expand the zone and continue to build on the resource - that will be step one. But Brixton metals strategy is not to make that production decision. Our goal is to build up a high grade resource and effectively sell the company at an attractive premium for our shareholders to a miner that can develop the project into a mine. Production is not our forte; our experience is in exploration geology and development.

What are the benefits of mining in Canada?

We are seeing a lot of nationalization in Latin America and a lot of civil unrest in Africa, where a lot of exploration activity is going on. With Canada, we are dealing with a stable jurisdiction which provides stability with regards to resource rights.

We are always on the lookout for other opportunities; for example, the Dominican Republic has been very interesting recently. However, with the budget and the current market conditions we are going to stick with the Thorn project for the near future, because we know we have a high grade system here.

I think if we can continue to focus on building out the Thorn property then our shareholders will be rewarded for that.

Do you believe the growing demand for gold will continue?

In the short term I see prices continuing to rally, and though it has been a bumpy road for metal prices I believe the general trend will be upward. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw $2000 per ounce gold by the end of the year and $50 per ounce for silver.

How do you see the mining industry in general progressing over the next 10 years?

There’s been an interesting shift in exploration itself, most recently in the last year and a half or so when junior companies have found it more difficult. I think in the near future this will turn around because there haven’t been major discoveries to fill the market gaps.

I think what you will see in my view is more focus on higher grade systems that require less upfront capex to get them up and running. So there may be a shift in the short term to developing more high grade systems rather than mega projects.

About Brixton Metals

Brixton is an exploration company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of precious metal assets and advancing them to feasibility. The Thorn Property is Brixton’s flagship property and is centered on silver-gold-lead-zinc-bearing breccia zones, high-grade veins and porphyry targets. The Thorn Property is located in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, about 50 km from the past producing Golden Bear Mine and 130 km southwest from the village of Atlin, BC. Brixton Metals Corporation shares trade on the TSX-V under the ticker symbol BBB. For more information about Brixton please visit our website at www.brixtonmetals.com.

Brixton Metals

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited (T/A) AZoNetwork, the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and Conditions of use of this website.

G.P. Thomas

Written by

G.P. Thomas

Gary graduated from the University of Manchester with a first-class honours degree in Geochemistry and a Masters in Earth Sciences. After working in the Australian mining industry, Gary decided to hang up his geology boots and turn his hand to writing. When he isn't developing topical and informative content, Gary can usually be found playing his beloved guitar, or watching Aston Villa FC snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

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