Imperial Metals Corporation reported on Wednesday that it had significantly increased the estimated resource for its proposed lead-zinc mine at Ruddock Creek.
According to the company, the property now has an indicated resource of 4.654 million tonnes and an inferred resource of 5.382 million tonnes at a 4.0 per cent lead-plus-zinc cutoff. This represents an indicated resource tonnage increase of 99 per cent and an inferred resource increase of 261 per cent from a report released in July, 2009.
The combined indicated resource now contains 695.0 million pounds zinc and 142.0 million pounds lead. An additional 794.0 million pounds zinc and 155.0 million pounds lead are contained in the combined inferred resource category at a 4.0 per cent lead-plus-zinc cut-off.
Imperial also announced it has received confirmation from joint venture partners Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corporation that they will proceed with their Year 3 option to earn an additional 15 per cent interest in the Ruddock Creek property by spending an additional $6.0 million by March 31, 2013. Mitsui and Itochu presently have earned a 35 per cent interest in the Ruddock Creek property by funding $14.0 million in exploration expenditures.
The proposed 2012 exploration program will continue to expand the Lower E zone using two underground diamond drills and utilizing the existing workings and drill bays. A bulk sample for metallurgical testing will be excavated from the Lower E zone during the 2012 underground program as well. Surface drilling will continue to expand the Creek zone west and south. A helicopter supported drill program will be designed to continue to explore and follow up on the highly successful 2011 drill program in the V zone area, located three km west of the E zone outcrop.
Imperial is a mine development and operating company based in Vancouver. The company’s key properties are two open pit mines: Mount Polley copper/gold mine near Likely and Huckleberry copper/molybdenum mine near Houston, as well as development stage Red Chris copper/gold property near Dease Lake, and Sterling gold property in Nevada.
The Ruddock Creek lead-zinc property is located about 30 km due east of Avola near Tum Tum Lake.
Yellowhead Mining recently announced a 53 per cent increase in the estimated size of its proposed Harper Creek copper-gold-silver mine southwest of Vavenby.