The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - August 28, 2024
Antimony is a critical metalloid used in a wide range of household, industrial, high-tech, and military goods.
Felix Gold recently had samples from the 2022 drilling at NW Array analyzed for antimony.
Felix Gold Ltd. Aug. 28 reported that new high-grade assays from 2022 drilling at Treasure Creek support the idea that this Alaska gold project could host a standalone antimony mine.
"Treasure Creek constitutes a large-scale gold-antimony system characterized by the identification of high-grade antimony mineralization in numerous locations," said Felix Gold Executive Director Joe Webb.
One of these locations is the historic Scrafford Mine, which served as a source of high-grade antimony from intermittent operations between 1915 and 1977. It is estimated that a total of 1.08 million kilograms (2.4 million pounds) of antimony in 2,800 metric tons of ore averaging 38.6% stibnite, was extracted from nine seasons of small-scale underground mining over that span.
"Unlike lower-grade antimony often associated with larger gold systems, the high-grade antimony at Treasure Creek-exemplified by the Scrafford Antimony Mine, with historical production grades up to 58% Sb (the periodic table symbol for antimony) – presents a unique opportunity for stand-alone antimony production," Webb added.
The Goodwin Mine, about 1,500 meters east of Scrafford, also supplied the U.S. with antimony during World War I, but the quantities and grades of the antimony produced from this underground mine are unknown.
Now, Felix is outlining a zone of high-grade antimony mineralization at its NW Array gold deposit about 2,000 meters to the west of Scrafford.
Felix Gold acquired Treasure Creek for its gold potential but knew from the start that this Alaska property was a significant past producer of antimony.
Drilling carried out by the Australia-based company in 2022 and 2023 has confirmed both the precious metal and critical mineral potential of this Interior Alaska property.
Based on this drilling, an initial 25 million metric tons of Australian Joint Ore Reserve Committee- (JORC) compliant inferred resource averaging 0.58 grams per metric ton (467,000 oz) gold was outlined for NW Array.
Recognizing that the drilling at NW Array was also cutting through antimony mineralization, Felix has resubmitted selected samples from its gold resource drilling at NW Array for antimony.
Highlights from previously reported antimony assays from 2023 drill holes include:
• 1.5 meters averaging 26% antimony from a depth of 38.1 meters in hole 23TCRC135.
• 15.2 meters averaging 5.5% antimony from depth of 21.3 meters in hole 23TCRC155, including 6.1 meters averaging 13% antimony.
• 6.1 meters averaging 7.7% antimony from a depth of 3.1 meters in hole 23TCRC176, including 1.5 meters averaging 28% antimony.
Given the high-grade antimony potential at NW Array, coupled with the wider potential indicated by previous mines and other targets identified across the wider property, Felix is assessing the viability of a standalone, near-term, high-grade, and low-capex antimony mine at Treasure Creek.
Felix Gold recently had samples from the 2022 drilling at NW Array analyzed for antimony.
Toward that goal, the company had samples from its 2022 drill program analyzed for antimony. Highlights from this analysis include:
• 1.5 meters averaging 15.99% antimony from a depth of 88.9 meters in hole 22TCRC041.
• Three meters averaging 14.24% antimony from a depth of 7.6 meters in hole 22TCRC071.
• 7.5 meters averaging 3.3% antimony from a depth of 141.7 meters in hole 22TCRC122, including 1.5 meters averaging 28% antimony.
Given the very high-grade nature of the antimony identified at Treasure Creek, this project shows the potential to support a mine where antimony is the primary product. This is in contrast to most antimony-producing mines that recover critical minerals as a byproduct of gold, which is the primary economic driver of the operation.
Initial metallurgical work for Treasure Creek, however, does indicate that gold and silver could be recovered in a high-grade antimony concentrate, which would provide a financial boost.
A primary antimony mine on American soil would likely attract the interest of the U.S. Department of Defense, which considers antimony as highly critical and has already invested in one other antimony mine project in Idaho.
The urgency to bolster secure and reliable sources of antimony was further elevated with the recent announcement that China, which controls nearly half of the world's antimony production, will be placing state-controlled restrictions on the export of this critical mineral.
Felix believes the high grades and location of Treasure Creek make it a compelling future domestic source of antimony.
"Our focus is on advancing this potential rapidly, leveraging the strategic location of our assets in the U.S., where significant government support is available to secure supply chains for critical metals like antimony, which has strategic importance for U.S. national security," said Webb. "With widespread high-grade antimony across the Treasure Creek Project area, which is surrounded by infrastructure and includes one of Alaska's largest historic antimony mines, Felix Gold is well-positioned to contribute meaningfully to the U.S.'s critical metal needs while also advancing our gold exploration efforts."
EDITOR'S NOTE: North of 60 Mining News will be taking a more in-depth look into the strategic value of antimony and the potential Treasure Creek and other projects in Alaska to provide a domestic source of this critical mineral in its monthly edition to be published in print and online on Sept. 6.
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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