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Volume 11 | Number 4 | Winter 2008 Vancouver, British Columbia www.ReportOnMining.com Planning for Profits - Report on Mining edition is published 4 times a year by Fusion Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Any reproduction or duplication without prior written consent of Fusion Publishing Inc. is strictly prohibited. Published by Fusion Publishing Inc. Canadian Office Fusion Publishing Inc. #317 – 1489 Marine Dr. West Vancouver, BC Canada V7T 1B8 1.888.925.0313 (Toll Free) USA Office Fusion Publishing Inc. #1537 - 145 Tyee Dr. Pt. Roberts, WA USA 98281-9602 1.888.925.0313 (Toll Free) Publisher Terry Tremaine Associate Publisher & Editor Connie Ekelund Editorial Assistant – Copy & Proofreader Leslie Goodson Production – Layout Artist Christie Smith Contributing Editor Grant Campbell Sales Manager 1.888.925.0313 Doug Dulmage Ext: 3001 Sales Representatives 1.888.925.0313 Randy Chaster Ext: 3004 Garry Ferris Ext: 3003 Shawn Gulliman Ext: 3005 Sarwat Jamaluddin Ext: 3006 Marie Richards Ext: 3002 Publication Mail Agreement #41124091 Circulation & Distribution Canada Post Distacor Inc. Newsstand Non Deliverables please return to: Fusion Publishing Inc. Report On Mining Magazine #317 - 1489 Marine Drive West Vancouver, BC Canada V7T 1B8 Subscriptions: 1 year $14.95 in Canada (+$8.00 in USA) 2 years $28.00 in Canada (+$16.00 in USA) 1.888.925.0313 Ext: 1001 info@ReportOnMining.com www.ReportOnMining.com The information in Planning for Profits - Report on Mining has been carefully compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy is not guaranteed. www.ReportOnMining.com
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Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 3
View of the former East Malartic Underground Mine Complex. Photo by Dale Gould.
The Canadian Malartic project is located in the historic Abitibi gold camp covering more than 230 sq. km. The long history of gold exploration and production in the Malartic area began in the late 1920s and ran through to 1983, with the camp having historical production of more than 8.5 million ounces of gold. Osisko has an extensive ongoing drilling program; it is completing 10,000 to 15,000 metres per month, and has drilled nearly 400,000 metres on the Canadian Malartic project to date. In September 2008, Osisko released an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate of 7.69 million ounces gold in the measured and indicated category, with another 720,000 ounces gold in the inferred category.
4 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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PDAC’s Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year Award Presentation on March 3, 2008. From left to right: from Osisko, Robert Wares, Executive Vice-President and COO; Sean Roosen, President and CEO; and John Burzynski, Vice-President Corporate Development; Edward Thompson, Chair of the PDAC’s Awards’ committee. Photo by Cris Ponce/envisiondigitalphoto.com.
Left to right : SAG Mill’s components arriving on site – August 2008; view of the new Malartic-North neighbourhood. Photo by Dale Gould. www.ReportOnMining.com
Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 5
Left to right : Launch of the FEMO fund on March 11, 2008: (from left) Mayor of Malartic Fernand Carpentier; Town Councillors Laurier Verville, Marie-Paule Ferron and Gilles Saucier; Osisko President and CEO Sean Roosen. Photo by Daniel Rompré. Resettlement of Malartic-South houses in the new neigbourhood July 2008. Photo by Dale Gould. October, 8, 2008 ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new elementary school in Malartic in the presence of Abitibi-Est MNA Alexis Wawanoloath, Osisko President & CEO Sean Roosen, Yves Marcotte, school principal, Jean Denommé, school board director, and the school children. Photo by Daniel Rompré. Public information meeting with residents from the Town of Malartic. Photo by Julie Lacasse.
6 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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Osisko’s team on the Malartic Project. Photo by Dale Gould. www.ReportOnMining.com
Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 7
Geologists at work on the Canadian Malartic Project. Photo by Dale Gould.
Osisko Mining Corporation 2140 Saint-Mathieu MontrĂŠal, QC Canada H3H 2J4 Phone: 514.735.7131 ir@osisko.com www.osisko.com TSX: OSK EWX: Deutsche Year Hi/Low: 7.24/1.86
8 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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10 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 11
‌this will likely prove to be one of the best times to build a position in commodity companies‌. Bold moves now will be well rewarded in the next few years.
12 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 13
14 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
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Over the past few years, exploration activity in Manitoba has surged, reaching $103 million in 2007, nearly double the amount spent in 2006.
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Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 15
There have been over 2,700 mineral occurrences identified in the Yukon on mining claims that cover only 3.6% of the land base
YUKON ADVANCED EXPLORATION PROJECTS JUNE 2008 Commodity/deposit type Silver
* â—? indicates project with drilling
Copper
Tungsten
iron oxyde breccias/vein
skarn/replacement Old Crow
porphyry/sheeted vein
porphyry/sheeted vein
vein/breccia
skarn/replacement
Lead/Zinc
sediment associated
Gold porphyry/sheeted vein skarn/replacement
skarn/replacement
mississippi valley type
volcanic associated
sediment associated
Nickel +/- PGE
vein/breccia
vein/breccia
mafic/ultramafic associated sediment associated
Map features
Generating Station diesel hydroelectric
communities
NIMO
capital city
Transmission line
deep water port
<138 kv
primary highway
YUKON OLYMPIC OG
WAU
RAU
TOM
rito rie
ANDREW
s
Faro
r Te
VG (VIC)
ANDREW N
GENTIAN
TINTA Carmacks HILL
st
NUCLEUS
CLEAR LAKE
we
Pelly Crossing
REVENUE CARMACKS COPPER
STODDART
MACTUNG
KALZAS
SONORA MINTO GULCH
INCA
PLATA
rth
Mayo
SEVERENCE
200 Km
June 18, 2008
MARG
BLACK FOX
CASINO
100
No
Alaska
KENO HILL
0
GOZ CREEK
SCHEELITE DOME
LUCKY JOE
CANALASK
MAR TUNGSTEN DUBLIN GULCH
MIKE LAKE
CONNAUGHT
ARN
Proposed infrastructures 1942 surveyed railway route
parks - withdrawn areas
Pipeline route
HEIDI
Dawson City
Beaver Creek
138 kv
mineral claims
IRONMAN
SHELL CREEK
WHITE RIVER
Carmacks-Stewart transmission project
secondary highway
MICHELLE
volcanic associated
ANDREW S SELWYN PROJECT
GREW CREEK Ross River
GOLDY
RISBY
WELLGREEN BURWASH
KETZA RIVER
Burwash Landing
WOLVERINE
STUMP
HARTLESS JOE
Haines Junction
Whitehorse COWLEY SKUKUM CREEK
CONVERT BAR
Carcross
Teslin
CMC SILVER (SILVER HART) TOOTSEE WOLF
MOR
Watson Lake
LOGTUNG (NORTHERN DANCER) Skagway Haines
16 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
Y GEOLOGICAL S URVEY
The exploration activity data represented on this map was compiled by the Mineral Services Unit of the Yukon Geological Survey.
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Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 17
Serra Pelada is situated in the mineral-prolific Carajas Province near the towns of Curionopolis and Parauapebas in northern Brazil. Access and infrastructure are excellent. In July 2007 Colossus and Coomigasp formed a partnership to develop the remaining bedrock mineralization at Serra Pelada. Under the terms of this joint venture, Colossus will manage and operate the project, earning up to 75% interest by funding exploration and paying Coomigasp a premium for the gold reserve established by the joint venture.
Strikes High Grade in Brazil
C
olossus Minerals Inc. is an emerging exploration and development company, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, dedicated to high-grade gold and platinum group metal projects in Brazil. With three projects, each offering promising potential, Colossus aims to become a leader in Project locations the Brazilian mining sector. Colossus CEO Ari Sussman says that “the solid relationships we have established over the years with garimpeiro groups [artisanal miners], local technical professionals and companies in Brazil have helped us gain a formidable advantage over our competitors.”
Current Projects Flagship Project–Serra Pelada Discovered in 1979, Serra Pelada was the site of the largest ever precious metals rush in Latin America. During the 1980s, nearly 70,000 garimpeiros produced an estimated two million ounces of high-grade gold, plus platinum and palladium from a 400 m x 300 m x 110 m open pit. Garimpeiro production declined due to pit wall collapse and flooding that caused the cessation of bedrock mining close to 20 years ago. Historical drill results by Vale include 43 m @ 3465 grams per ton (g/t) gold, 189 g/t platinum and 1088 g/t palladium. 18 Planning for Profits | Report on Mining | Winter 2008
Serra Pelada 2008
To date, Colossus has completed an approximate 5000metre Phase I drilling program, and is due to commence a Phase II 5000-metre drilling program in October 2008. Phase I Drill results include: • Hole 1: 88.00 m at 5.80 g/t gold, 6.11 g/t platinum and 6.83 g/t palladium. • Hole 2: 46.72 m @ 24.11 g/t gold, 9.04 g/t platinum and 11.57 g/t palladium, and 14.65 m @ 22.51 g/t gold, 4.56 g/t platinum and 5.01 g/t palladium. • Hole 3: 6.0 metres @ 40.59g/t gold, 0.42g/t platinum and 0.68g/t palladium. • Hole 7: 26.85 metres @ 8.61g/t gold, 8.85g/t platinum, and 14.43g/t palladium plus 23.30 metres @ 5.11g/t gold, 1.55g/t platinum and 2.34g/t palladium. • Hole 8: 7.50 metres @ 19.28g/t gold, 2.37g/t platinum and 5.27g/t palladium plus 10.34 metres @ 21.13g/t gold, 5.80g/t platinum and 8.42g/t palladium. Colossus President Vic Wall explains that Colossus’ drilling at Serra Pelada continues to realize the potential of this extraordinary noble metal deposit. “The assay results of our drill holes,” he says, “demonstrate the continuity of high value gold-platinum-palladium mineralization through large vertical intervals, and more than 100 metres of strike length of our main target zone well south of the historic Serra Pelada open pit. The apparent persistence of high grade PGE subzones is particularly encouraging.”
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Sumidouro The Sumidouro gold project, a medium-stage exploration play, is located in an area of excellent infrastructure in the prolific Quadrilatero Ferrifero, Minas Gerais state, historically and currently Brazil’s major gold producing region. Comprising 10 contiguous exploration licenses aggregating 6420 hectares, Sumidouro is centred in the historic gold mining village of Padre Viegas, near Marianna and Ouro Preto. Colossus is currently prioritizing drill targets, and a drilling program is scheduled to commence in 2009. The Serra Pelada core shed company can earn a 70% interest in the property by spending Natividade $1.25 million in Natividade is a highexploration and grade vein gold project development over located in Tocantins a three-year period State, Brazil. The project and completing a area comprises two bankable feasibility contiguous exploration study. licenses aggregating With a team that 10,000 hectares. Access possesses worldand infrastructure are class geoscientific both excellent. Project expertise and stellar operator Colossus is business acumen to earning a 70% interest in lead a growing list of the Natividade project. high-grade projects, This agreement involves Colossus Minerals Colossus making staged Inc. is poised to option payments of become a strong US$1.5 million and Vic Wall, President, Colossus Minerals Inc. (middle) contender among exploration expenditures of US$2 million over three years. today’s juniors. And with drilling programs set to commence Colossus recently completed a scout drilling program, with at its Serra Pelada and Natividade projects, Colossus Minerals’ results that include the following intersections within 30 investors have much to be excited about. n metres of surface: • Hole 17: 2 @ 34.91 g/t gold. • Hole 24: 19 m @ 7.72 g/t gold, including 8 m @ 16.05 g/t gold; hole terminated in mineralization. • Hole 39: 9 m @ 1.04 g/t gold; hole terminated in Colossus Minerals Inc. mineralization.
130 King St. W. Ste 2500 Toronto, ON, Canada M5X 1A9 Phone: 416.643.7638 Fax: 416.643.3890 www.colossusminerals.com info@colossusminerals.com TSX: CSI Year Hi/Low: $4/$1.25
Sumidouro www.ReportOnMining.com
Winter 2008 | Planning for Profits | Report on Mining 19
ETRUSCAN RAISES THE BAR
at its Youga Mine in Burkina Faso
As the first bars of gold are poured at Etruscan’s Youga deposit in Burkina Faso, project geologist Geoff Day reflects on the company’s progress in bringing Youga from an exploration project to a producing gold mine – and how they plan to replicate that success. One thing is for sure. Etruscan’s strength in developing and sharing exploration knowledge is an advantage that will continue to play heavily in their developing projects. From a starting point in Niger 13 years ago, Etruscan is now one of the largest mineral rights holders in Western Africa. With a property portfolio that spans thousands of square kilometres, the new gold producer manages a growing assemblage of exploration programs in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Namibia, Niger, and South Africa. “Our focus, from the start, has been on developing exploration teams in the countries within which we operate,” said Mr. Day. “Key to this is finding local personnel with experience and knowledge of the country, its administrative policies and local geology. There’s a lot of value in having people on our team who might have walked over the prospective ground we are exploring.”
Project Geologist Geoff Day speaks to Etruscan’s Expanding exploration portfolio and the difference developing and sharing local knowledge has made.
Based in Etruscan’s head office in Nova Scotia, Mr. Day manages the company’s data hub, a growing corporate map database that stores and provides not only information but knowledge embedded in plan maps, two dimensional exploration maps, drilling plan maps and drill sections for advanced analysis. While some explorers are content to move from project to project using the tools at hand, Etruscan has taken care to establish simple corporate guidelines, and a common exploration platform to support its project development. This has ensured it can easily capture and share the rich experience and knowledge being developed. Etruscan adopted Geosoft as their corporate exploration management platform in 1995, and this is the standard that is maintained to date. “We’ve found it easy to use Geosoft as our corporate standard because we’re able to bring in information from any of the main GIS and resource systems used in exploration,” said Mr. Day. “Geosoft is able to bring in MapInfo files, ArcGIS files, AutoCAD DXF files and a very wide range of remotely sensed data products. It can also bring in files from Surpac and other resource packages. It’s very flexible in that respect.”
“It’s taken for granted that when someone makes a map at the project site and sends it to one of the local managers or Canada, they’re going be able to open it at the other end and see exactly what the geologist sees in the field.” -Geoff Day www.reportonmining.com
Panoramic view of the Etruscan’s Youga plant.
Inherently when you are collecting historical data and obtaining data products from local government agencies you will encounter many different formats. Having software that can import the disparate data formats used in the industry has definitely aided in rapid compilation of information and target generation, according to Mr. Day. As important, it has also made data sharing between the field and managers faster, easier and more productive. “It’s taken for granted that when someone makes a map at the project site and sends it to one of the local managers or Canada, they’re going be able to open it at the other end and see exactly what the geologist sees in the field,” said Mr. Day. “They quickly understand what is being presented, as opposed to struggling to recreate a map or section using a different platform.” Etruscan has been exploring for gold and diamonds in Africa for more than 13 years. Now the junior has just made the significant leap from explorer to producer first as a JV partner at the Samira gold mine in Niger and now by opening its Youga gold mine in Burkina Faso in March 2008. Etruscan used Geosoft Target as the principle exploration platform at its Youga gold mine both during the feasibility stage and currently while developing additional resources outside the mine site, to monitor the progress of drilling programs. Now Youga is an 88,000 ounce-per-year producer with an expected mine life of six and a half years. Mr. Day said Target’s most useful features include being able to make clean and informative colour contour images from 2-D geochemical and geophysical data and, by using the map and section modules, visualize deposits during drilling campaigns.
Drilling activity from the feasibility drilling program for Youga.
Those features will become increasingly useful as the company continues to expand on African soil. Having just poured its first gold at Youga, Etruscan is working towards mining its Agbaou gold deposit in Côte d’Ivoire, where resources add up to more than one million ounces of gold. A feasibility study is currently underway in preparation for production in 2010. The company, with JV partner Resolute Mining Limited, is also starting a deep drilling program at the Finkolo gold project in Mali, where resources have increased by 53% to close to 750,000 ounces. And at the Blue Gum diamond project in South Africa, a potential alluvial diamond producer, a prefeasibility study is currently underway. As Etruscan continues to grow, with the aim of starting a second gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010, it needs the capability to adapt to the company’s larger and increasingly complex datasets. “As the company builds its portfolio of exploration projects and the scope of our corporate database increases, we will be migrating towards the integration of ArcGIS,” says Mr. Day. “With Target for ArcGIS, we can continue to use Geosoft for drilling data management, 2D interpolation and color contour image visualization in this integrated environment.”
Etruscan Resources Inc. Head Office: Suite 306, Royal Bank Building 1597 Bedford Highway Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B4A 1E7 Tel:+01 (902) 832-6700 Fax: +01 (902) 832-6702 Email: info@etruscan.com www.etruscan.com
Youga deposit drill plan, with a soil geochemistry target underlay, created in Geosoft Target. www.reportonmining.com
For more information on Geosoft software & solutions referenced in this article, go to www.geosoft.com/start-exploring or email your inquiry to explore@geosoft.com. Etruscan Raises the Bar at its Youga Mine in Burkina Faso
Editor in Chief: David Chalk
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