The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Ontario company inks contract to buy high-grade copper property in Southcentral Alaska; metallurgical advances make recovery feasible
Ontario-based YOW Capital Corp. is taking a fresh look at the Caribou Dome high-grade copper property in Southcentral Alaska, about 160 miles, or 257 kilometers, northeast of Anchorage.
Caribou Dome was known as the Denali copper prospect when it was staked in 1963 for Leo Mark Anthony, owner of C-D Development Corp. An extensive exploration program carried out from discovery until 1971 outlined a high-grade copper deposit on the property, but due to the fine-grained nature of the mineralization, recovery of the ore was deemed difficult. Modern advances in metallurgy have overcome this problem, creating a new interest in development of the advanced-stage copper project.
YOW buys option to purchase Caribou Dome
YOW has signed a letter of agreement to purchase 1618254 Ontario Ltd. for about C$510,000 to be paid by issuing 2.55 million shares. 161's primary asset is an option to acquire the Caribou Dome copper property from C-D Development, which still owns the 31 claims in the historic Talkeetna mining district. YOW would pay $1.72 million over four years.
Management of 161 has indicated to YOW that it expects 161's shareholders to support the sale of the company and to tender their shares at closing. Two of 161's seven shareholders, David Lajack and Bernie Stannus, are expected to join YOW as officers and directors.
Extensive historic exploration
Historic exploration and development work on the property from the discovery in 1963 through 1971 included trenching and more than 36,000 feet of surface and underground drilling. In addition to the surface exploration, Alaska Exploration Syndicate completed a main access tunnel 1,189 feet underground with a decline of 1,706 feet, which exposed the mineralization at depth and provided platforms for the underground drill program.
A resource of 550,400 tons of ore grading 5.84 percent copper was estimated for the deposit in 1970. YOW reports that the resource has the potential for expansion. The historic estimate includes only three of nine known copper-bearing lodes on the property, according to YOW. The three lodes included in the estimate are open to depth and the remaining six lodes have not been drilled with enough detail to calculate a resource but are known to contain significant copper mineralization, according to YOW.
Raising cash to advance project
YOW is selling 7.5 million shares by way of brokered private placement at a price of C20 cents per share. The company will use up to C$1.5 million it raised to satisfy the initial listing requirements of the exchange and to conduct drilling and exploration as well as a re-sampling of the existing core and a metallurgical analysis of a recent bulk sample. Funds also will be allocated to re-build and expand the mining camp.
"With this property, we have an advanced stage mining project which we believe could be brought into production within a few years that has significant upside potential in future exploration," said YOW President Paul Barbeau.
161 has commissioned a geological report and plans to soon commission a number of other studies, including water sampling and wetlands studies as well as geographical surveys.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
Reader Comments(0)