Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corporation will have earned a 50 per cent interest in the proposed lead-zinc mine at Ruddock Creek at the end of a $6 million exploration program currently underway, according to the latest quarterly report from Imperial Metals.
Mitsui and Itochu presently have earned a 35 per cent interest in the Ruddock Creek property by funding $14.0 million in exploration expenditures.
According to the report, the access road was plowed out in the spring and the camp was reactivated following the winter shutdown. Surface diamond drilling on the Creek zone commenced in late June 2012 with one drill. A total of 4,000 meters of drilling is planned.
The Ruddock Creek lead-zinc property is located about 30 km due east of Avola near Tum Tum Lake.
Ruddock Creek is one of several exploration properties owned by Imperial Metals. The company also owns two open pit mines: Mount Polley copper/gold mine near Likely and Huckleberry copper/molybdenum mine near Houston,