Jul 13 2020
Major Precious Metals Corp., a Canadian junior mining and exploration company, reports that it has planned to visit its Skaergaard Project located in Greenland, in the August month.
Image Credit: Kertu/Shutterstock.com
The site visit will be subject to possible logistics problems that may emerge on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this site visit will be to assess the mineralization and geology inside the Skaergaard intrusion, which is about 11 km north-south and 7.5 km east-west in size.
In addition, the site visit will be done as part of the historical data verification procedure and also as an updated mineral resource estimate to be concluded according to NI 43-101 and CIM standards.
Major Precious Metals has examined the latest drilling and geological data obtained by the former owner Platina Resources Limited, and also the data included in the historical reports for the Skaergaard Project. Based on this information, Major Precious Metals believes that:
- Earlier assumed mineable widths employed in the historical resource estimate, or historical estimate, could have been underestimated.
- Substantial increases in the cost assumptions of palladium (Pd) and gold (Au)—since the conclusion of a historical JORC resource estimate done by Platina Resources earlier in 2013 and a Scoping Study performed in 2019—may enable Major Precious Metals to include other aspects of mineralization that were not considered before, and enhance the AuEq cut-off grades.
- Although interval sampling for titanium, gallium, and vanadium was not concluded by Platina Resources in 68 drill holes and 35,000 m of drilling, prevalent drill core will be sampled and tested again for these elements. Major Precious Metals will perform core drilling in the future in which these elements will be tested as prospective byproducts in metallurgical analyses.
- Moreover, based on the latest metallurgical and recovery testing conducted by Platina Resources, the inclusion of these major elements may possibly enhance the viability of the project in a bulk tonnage mining situation.
- While a combination of underground and open-pit mining techniques was not considered in the 2019 Scoping Study performed by Platina Resources, they might be effective in increasing the recoverable mineralization over the two major zones—the South Zone and the North Zone. But Major Precious Metals warns that such types of mining situations should be further examined as part of an updated mining analysis for the Skaergaard Project.
As reported before by Major Precious Metals in a news release dated June 1st, 2020, the most latest historical JORC resource estimate, or historical estimate, concluded for the Skaergaard Project was finished in July 2013 through metal price assumptions of US$560/oz for Pd and Au, US$1,400/oz for platinum (Pt) and Au, and a cutoff grade of 1 g/t AuEq leading to an:
Indicated mineral resource of 5.1 million tons at 1.66 g/t AuEq
- 0.01 million oz of Pt
- 0.14 million oz of Pd
- 0.2 million oz of Au
Inferred mineral resource of 197.1 million tons at 1.51 g/t AuEq
- 0.7 million oz of platinum
- 8.5 million oz of palladium
- 5.5 million oz of gold
The above figures have been rounded.
Back in October 2005, RPA Inc. finished a historical estimate for the Skaergaard Project under NI 43-101 standards, leading to an:
Inferred mineral resource of 1520 million tons at 0.04 g/t Pt, 0.61 g/t Pd, and 0.21 g/t Au
- 1.95 million oz of Pt
- 29.8 million oz of Pd
- 10.3 million oz of Au
The above figures have been rounded.
Subsequent to this completion of the historical estimate, drilling programs conducted on the property in three consecutive years 2008, 2010, and 2011 (a combined total of 14000 m of drilling) enhanced the interpretation of possible mineable widths inside the Skaergaard intrusion and also led to somewhat increased metal grades.
Such historical estimates were also limited only to the three main mineralized zones—H0, H3, and H5—but based on an assessment of the historical data, Major Precious Metals assumes that possible mineable widths inside the Skaergaard intrusion are likely to be thicker on average when compared to the assumptions employed in the historical estimates made in 2005 and 2013.
For the Skaergaard Project concluded according to NI 43-101 and CIM (May 2014) standards, Major Precious Metals has started work on an updated geological model and mineral resource estimate.
The updated geological model and resource estimate will integrate the latest Pt and Au costs compared to the previous estimates and will involve a re-assessment of the possible mineable widths to establish practical prospects for ultimate economic extraction.
According to Major Precious Metals, this may have a positive effect on the updated resource estimate for the Skaergaard Project, such as considerable variations to the Au equivalent cut-off grade.
For the Skaergaard Project, an updated mineral resource estimate will be the first step in ascertaining a go-forward plan for this major gold and PGM project, such as additional metallurgical testing as well as a PEA at a future date.
Additional corporate updates in relation to the scheduled site visit and other exploration works will be announced over the approaching weeks.
Source: Major Precious Metals Corp.