VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2019 / ZincX Resources Corp. ("ZincX Resources" or "the Company", TSX Venture Exchange: ZNX) is pleased to announce that the exploration crew has begun mobilizing personnel and a diamond drill to the Akie Project. The Company is now executing on its planned 2,500 metre large-diameter HQ diamond drilling program that will focus on the Cardiac Creek deposit and build on the positive and robust results from the 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
2019 Drill Objectives:
The 2019 exploration program will focus on the central high-grade core of the deposit targeting the initial five years of future mine production identified in the PEA. The program will aim to:
- Provide additional close-spaced drill intercepts to increase confidence in the current resource model
- Extend the high-grade core of the deposit further to the southeast
The 2019 drilling program will also allow for the collection of key technical data including:
- The collection of geotechnical and geomechanical data to improve the understanding of the rock mass characteristics of the deposit and provide advanced engineering data for future underground mine design
- The ongoing collection of structural data to assess ground support requirements and provide input data for stope dimensions
The 2019 exploration drill program will commence shortly andis expected be complete by early Fall.
In addition to the exploration program, the Company has submitted detailed plans to the Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources to permit a surface geotechnical and hydrogeological program to confirm site selection for key mine infrastructure areas identified in the PEA. The referral process is currently underway and the Company expects a favorable response shortly.
The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project
The 100% owned Akie property is situated within the Kechika Trough, the southernmost area of the regionally extensive Paleozoic Selwyn Basin and one of the most prolific sedimentary basins in the world for the occurrence of SEDEX zinc-lead-silver and stratiform barite deposits.
Drilling on the Akie property by ZincX Resources (formerly Canada Zinc Metals Corp) since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization known as the Cardiac Creek deposit. The deposit is hosted by siliceous, carbonaceous, fine grained clastic rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian Gunsteel Formation.
With additional drilling completed in 2018, the Company has updated the estimate of mineral resources at Cardiac Creek, as follows:
5% Zinc Cut-Off Grade |
Contained Metal: |
||||||
Category |
Tonnes (million) |
Zn (%) |
Pb (%) |
Ag (g/t) |
Zn (B lbs) |
Pb (B lbs) |
Ag (M oz) |
Indicated |
22.7 |
8.32 |
1.61 |
14.1 |
4.162 |
0.804 |
10.3 |
Inferred |
7.5 |
7.04 |
1.24 |
12.0 |
1.169 |
0.205 |
2.9 |
The Company announced robust positive results from the 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). The PEA envisages a conventional underground mine and concentrator operation with an average production rate of 4,000 tonnes per day. The mine will have an 18-year life with potential to extend the life-of-mine (LOM) through resource expansion at depth. Key parameters for the PEA are as follows:
Parameter |
Base Case1 |
Tonnes Mined |
25.8 Mt |
Mined Head Grades |
7.6% Zn; 1.5% Pb; 13.08 g/t Ag |
Tonnes Milled |
19.7 Mt |
Milled Head Grades (after DMS2 upgrade) |
10.0% Zn; 1.9% Pb; 17.17 g/t Ag |
Total Payable Metal (LOM) |
$3,960M3 |
Initial CAPEX |
$302.3M including $45.7M contingency |
LOM Total CAPEX |
$617.9M including $58.5M contingency |
All-in Total OPEX |
$102.4 per tonne milled |
Pre-Tax NPV7% |
$649M |
Pre-Tax IRR |
35% |
Pre-Tax Payback |
2.6 years |
After-Tax NPV7% |
$401M |
After-Tax IRR |
27% |
After-Tax Payback |
3.2 years |
1. The base case used metal prices are calculated from the 3 year trailing average coupled with two year forward projection of the average price; and are: US$1.21/lb for zinc, US$1.00/lb for lead and US$16.95 for silver. A CDN$/US$ exchange rate of 0.77 was used. The NPV discount rate is 7%. 2. DMS = dense media separation. 3. All dollar amounts expressed in Canadian dollars.
The PEA is considered preliminary in nature and includes mineral resources, including inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not yet demonstrated economic viability. Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of a mineral resource will be upgraded to mineral reserves. Therefore, there is no certainty that the results concluded in the PEA will be realized.
Kechika Regional Project
In addition to the Akie Project, the Company owns 100% of eight of eleven large, contiguous property blocks that comprise the Kechika Regional Project including the advanced Mt. Alcock prospect. The Kechika Regional Project also includes the Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties within which the Company maintains a significant 49% interest with partners Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.B) and Korea Zinc Co. Ltd. These properties collectively extend northwest from the Akie property for approximately 140 kilometres covering the highly prospective Gunsteel Formation shale; the main host rock for known SEDEX zinc-lead-silver deposits in the Kechika Trough of northeastern British Columbia. These projects are located approximately 260 kilometres north northwest of the town of Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada.
Ken MacDonald P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for the Company, is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information contained in this release. Mike Makarenko P.Eng, JDS Energy and Mining, is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the PEA technical information contained in this release.
The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ZINCX RESOURCES CORP.
"PEEYUSH VARSHNEY"
PEEYUSH VARSHNEY, LL.B
CEO & CHAIRMAN
SOURCE: ZincX Resources Corp.