The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Plans further investigations at Kispiox and Blunt Mountain North of 60 Mining News – March 17, 2023
An outcrop of high-grade stibnite, an antimony mineral, identified during Jaxon's 2021 exploration at Kispiox Mountain.
Antimony is used in fire retardants, ammunition, night vision goggles, and a wide array of other military equipment.
Jaxon Mining Inc. March 15 announced plans to explore the high-grade antimony potential of its Kispiox Mountain and Blunt Mountain projects in Northern British Columbia.
Two claim groups that are part of Jaxon's larger Hazelton land package about 30 miles (45 kilometers) north of Smithers, BC, Kispiox Mountain and Blunt Mountain, are early-stage exploration projects that both host outcropping zones of high-grade antimony mineralization with associated silver, gold, zinc, and lead.
Mapping and sampling carried out at Kispiox Mountain in 2021 identified three high-grade zones over a 1,000-meter area. A rock sample collected from KS zone one was made up of 26.7% antimony.
Six meters of chip samples collected from KS zone two returned an average of 2.52% antimony, including a two-meter massive sulfide zone averaging 6.48% antimony.
A rock sample collected from Blunt Mountain in 2021 returned 923 g/t silver, 2.68 g/t gold, 4.04% antimony, 8.39% lead, 2.09% zinc, and 0.36% copper. Additional samples collected along strike indicate the existence of near-surface silver- and antimony-rich polymetallic epithermal mineralization that extends for at least 1,500 meters.
Noranda completed 378 meters of drilling at Blunt Mountain in six shallow holes during the 1980s. Jaxon believes these holes were drilled parallel to the dip of the antimony and silver-enriched polymetallic mineralization, hitting the footwall and missing the intended target.
To gain a better understanding of the geology and mineralization at Kispiox Mountain and Blunt Mountain, Jaxon plans to use backpack drill rigs to test the near-surface antimony mineralization at both projects.
The company's focus on Northern BC antimony comes at a time when there is increased emphasis on securing North American sources of this mineral critical to both Canada and the United States.
Given the geopolitical tensions with China and Russia, the U.S. Department of Defense has been particularly concerned about secure supplies of antimony, a metal-like element that is critical to military hardware and emerging renewable energy storage technologies.
"Antimony is a key ingredient in communication equipment, night vision goggles, explosives, ammunition, nuclear weapons, submarines, warships, optics, laser sighting, and much more," U.S. Army Major General (retired) James "Spider" Marks inked in a 2020 column published in The Washington Times.
In addition to its military uses, antimony is used in semiconductors, circuit boards, electric switches, fluorescent lighting, high-quality glass, lithium batteries, solar panels, and liquid-metal batteries that can store renewable energy electricity at the grid scale.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China, Russia, and Tajikistan accounted for more than 88% of the antimony produced globally during 2022.
More information on antimony and its uses can be read at Antimony at top of strategic concerns in the Critical Minerals Alliances 2022 magazine published by Data Mine North.
Jaxon's exploration crew is expected to begin the 2023 investigation of the antimony potential at Kispiox Mountain and Blunt Mountain in June.
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.
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