Xstrata Zinc is in the midst of a feasibility study on two zinc deposits in the Sudbury Basin and hopes to begin construction next year.
The Errington-Vermillion project consists of two former producing mines in the southwest corner of the Sudbury Basin. Errington was mined from 1924 to 1928 and has six million tonnes of polymetallic ore containing zinc, copper, lead and precious metals. The Vermillion deposit, five kilometres away, was in operation from 1952 to 1957, and has an estimated three million tonnes of ore.
The two deposits are being looked at to compensate for the loss of ore from Xstrata Zinc’s Bathurst Mine in New Brunswick, which shut down in April after 49 years of operation, said Errington-Vermillion project manager Aline Coté.
The company will be able to use 8,000 metres of lateral development and at least one of the shafts as a ventilation raise. Both deposits will be mined via ramp access.
The sites were rehabilitated beginning in the 1990s.
Xstrata Zinc spent more than a year compiling data from paper logs in the absence of drill core, and did more than more than 40,000 metres of drilling to confirm their estimates.
“Not only is it there, but it’s a bit bigger than we expected,” said Coté.
The Vermillion deposit grades 4.16% zinc, 1.23% copper, 1.06% lead, 50.53 g/t silver and 0.73 g/t gold. The Errington deposit grades 4.7% zinc, 1.46% copper, 1.46% lead, 53.77 g/t silver and 0.89% gold.
Assuming zinc prices hold up and the project gets a green light, the company will spend $350 million to develop the two properties and build a concentrator at Xstrata Nickel’s Strathcona complex.
The 2,900 tonne per day operation will have a mine life of seven to 10 years and create employment for 250 people.
The company hopes to be in production in 2016.
