JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Base metals developers Canadian Zinc and Buchans Minerals Corporation have entered a collaboration agreement to jointly undertake a research programme and share research data on their respective central Newfoundland copper/lead/zinc/silver/gold deposits.

TSX-listed Canadian Zinc received $535 000 in research and development (R&D) funding from the Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador (RDC) to complete physical and metallurgical bench scale studies on seven volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, in central Newfoundland.

RDC was providing funding for the project through the GeoEXPLORE industry-led R&D technology development and demonstration programme. The total cost of the research project was estimated at $735 000, with Buchans Minerals and Canadian Zinc each contributing up to $100 000.

The intent of the research was to determine the technical and economic viability of developing the companies' key deposits into producing operations by using a central milling facility. The concept was based on the potential that collectively, the satellite deposits could be economically mined, pre-concentrated, trucked and then milled simultaneously or sequentially through a central mill.

The collaboration agreement between Canadian Zinc and Buchans Minerals was focused on seven VMS deposits. Four of the deposits were held by Canadian Zinc, including Lemarchant, Boomerang-Domino, Tulks East, and Long Lake, while the remaining three – Bobbys Pond, Daniels Pond and Tulks Hill – were held by Buchans Minerals.

The seven deposits had all demonstrated resources of various sizes and quality and all were located near the communities of Millertown and Buchans, within trucking distance of the recently closed Duck Pond copper/zinc mine.

Individually at this time, the various deposits were not large enough to support standalone operations, but could potentially be developed with improving economic factors and by using a central mill facility.

Outcomes of the research project would provide key information with which to further evaluate the economic viability of developing the central Newfoundland deposits through a central milling facility.

Positive results would lead to continued development work on the known deposits, renewed exploration interest leading to new discoveries, and ultimately, ongoing mining operations in central Newfoundland.

Thibault & Associates, an applied process chemical engineering firm, was awarded the contract to complete bench scale physical/metallurgical studies and the process simulation and cost modelling.

The bench scale testing programme would be followed up by the development of a process simulation and cost assessment model to evaluate and identify the key factors controlling the earning potential of a centralised milling concept for processing of the satellite base metal deposits.

Results from the modelling would be used to help optimise the exploration and development budgets, by focusing on the key factors that were critical to realizing the economic potential of the base metal deposits.