Name: Halfmile mine.
Location: The Halfmile mine is located in northern New Brunswick, Canada, about 60 km south-west of Bathurst and 40 km from the Brunswick 12 mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC).
Controlling Company: Trevali Mining.
Brief History: The Halfmile property was heavily explored by Xstrata Zinc and its predecessor companies at intervals since the 1960s. In particular, extensive exploration activity occurred during the 1980s and 1990s when the Heath Steele and Stratmat mines were in production.
In 2008, Kria Resources, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Trevali, entered into an agreement with Xstrata Canada Corporation – Xstrata Zinc Canada Division (now Glencore Canada), whereby Kria had the right to gain 100% ownership of the Stratmat and Halfmile projects by paying $18-million (completed) and issuing units worth a total of C$7-million (completed). Glencore has the first right and option to purchase all or any portion of the concentrate offtake, as well as a 2% net smelter return royalty. Trevali has a 61.51% interest on certain claims in the north portion of the Halfmile property (outside of the current mine plan), owing to underlying ownership rights.
Brief Description: Halfmile is a fully permitted underground mining operation that underwent initial trial mining and production from January to July 2012 from the Upper Zone of the deposit. Mineralised material was transported to and toll-processed through the Brunswick 12 mill facility, producing good quality, saleable metal concentrates of zinc, lead-silver and copper-gold. Trevali continues to advance studies on its Halfmile and Stratmat projects to ascertain if they will support a second standalone milling facility in the Bathurst Mining Camp separate from Trevali’s Caribou mine and mill complex.
Geology/Mineralisation: The Halfmile deposit contains four sulphide zones: Upper, Lower, Deep and North. The deposit is a volcanic- sediment-hosted massive sulphide deposit and is one of more than 45 massive sulphide deposits in the BMC. Rocks are of Ordovician age and have undergone a complex history of polyphase folding and faulting. The deposit is structurally overlain by rhyolitic and dacitic rocks, as well as disconformable quartz-wackes and pelites. To the footwall of the massive sulphide package are alkali basalts and thin-bedded feldspathic wacke/shales. Rocks have been metamorphosed to the greenschist facies. The entire package of rocks has been stratigraphically over turned.
Resources: A National Instrument 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate was completed on the Halfmile property in February 2009, which estimated and indicated mineral resource of 6.26-million tonnes grading 8.13% zinc, 2.58% lead, 0.22% copper and 30.78 g/t silver using a 5% capped zinc equivalent cutoff grade. Inferred mineral resources were estimated at 6.08-million tonnes grading 6.69% zinc, 1.83% lead, 0.14% copper and 20.51 g/t silver using a 5% capped zinc equivalent cutoff grade.
Products: Zinc, lead, copper and silver.
Mining Method: Mechanised cut and fill, Avoca, and long hole.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Underground equipment includes fuel, boom, and 30 t and 50 t trucks, load-haul dumpers, jumbos, scissor lifts, jeeps/tractors, a grader, a personnel carrier and ITH drills.
Surface equipment includes a front loader, a grader, a water truck, a dozer, pick-up trucks and a forklift.
Prospects: Trevali continues to advance studies on both its Halfmile and Stratmat projects in order to ascertain if they will support a second standalone milling facility in the BMC separate from the Caribou mine and mill complex.
Contact Person: VP investor relations and corporate communications, Steve Stakiw.
Contact Details:
Trevali Mining,
tel +1 604 488 1661,
fax +1 604 408 7499, and
email info@trevali.com.