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 Learn more about the Birch Lake Community Project |
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  Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates (Scott Wilson RPA) estimates an Indicated Resource* of 131.2 million tonnes, plus an Inferred Resources of 37.5 million tonnes for the Birch Lake deposit. This represents a 21% increase in the amount of Indicated Resources from the previous 2008 estimate (see news release of July 9, 2008) of 108.2 million tonnes (see tables). On a copper equivalent (CuEq) basis (see table), the grade of the indicated resource increased in 2009 by 7% to 1.33% CuEq from 1.24% CuEq in 2008. Drilling has not fully defined the limits of the deposit to the south and southeast. This latest estimate takes into account all drilling conducted to date at Birch Lake, which comprises 68 holes and 153 associated wedge offsets, totaling 68,868 meters (225,945 ft.). The latest program of in-fill drilling at Birch Lake has significantly increased the size of the Indicated Resource and gives us still greater confidence as we continue to assess the potential for a stand-alone, 20,000 tonne-per-day underground operation at Birch Lake with a 20 year-plus mine life. Bearing in mind that the limits of the deposit have not yet been fully defined, we consider this size of operation to be a good foundation on which to start operations at Birch Lake. This drilling has also provided sufficient mineralized material - approximately 60 tonnes - to enable us to conduct an important bulk metallurgical test for a future feasibility study. The new estimate was prepared by Richard Routledge, of Scott Wilson RPA, an appropriately qualified person according to National Instrument 43-101. A Technical Report supporting this estimate, prepared to NI 43-101 standards, has been filed and made available on SEDAR. (*The Birch Lake deposit currently contains both Indicated and Inferred resources. An Indicated Resource is a portion of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade, and other characteristics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient to support mine planning and additional economic evaluation of the project. An Inferred Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which certain characteristics can be estimated based on geological evidence and limited sampling and which can be reasonably assumed to have a consistent grade of mineralization.) AS OF MAY 29, 2009 Franconia Minerals Corporation, Birch Lake Property, Minnesota
Links: (PDF - 6.65MB) MATURI Located some 3 miles northeast of the Birch Lake deposit, the Maturi deposit, as drilled by Inco, contains a substantial Inferred Resource. The Maturi deposit is a tabular, inclined body which extends from as shallow as 175 feet beneath the surface to more than 2,000 feet at our eastern property boundary. The mineralized body extends on to lands controlled by Duluth Metals where it is termed the Nokomis Deposit. The Maturi deposit is not part of the Company's ongoing pre-feasibility program.
Metal price assumptions: copper $1.50/lb; nickel $6.00/lb; cobalt $10.00/lb; palladium $300/oz; platinum $800/oz; gold $450/oz. *The July 2006 Technical Report on the Maturi resource, authored by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (now Scott Wilson RPA) and entitled "Technical Report on the Resource Estimate for the Maturi Property, USA, Prepared For Franconia Minerals Corporation", is available at www.sedar.com. Links: (PDF - 4.6MB) SPRUCE ROAD Franconia also controls the Spruce Road resource, located about 5 miles east northeast of Maturi. Spruce Road is not part of the Company's ongoing pre-feasibility program but it dramatically expands the long-term potential for the Birch Lake Project. Spruce Road was the subject of surface drilling, bulk sampling, metallurgical testing and a pre-feasibility study by American Copper & Nickel Co. between the 1950s and 1970s, and the subject of an engineering study by Bechtel Corporation in 1967. The current estimate is based on 220 surface drill holes. Franconia has yet to initiate its own work programs to confirm the historical data but, based on ACNC's work, the Company has defined resource estimates for both underground and open pit scenarios for the Spruce Road copper-nickel deposit, part of the Birch Lake Project in Minnesota. The estimates show an underground Inferred Resource at Spruce Road of 124.4 million tonnes grading 0.59% copper and 0.21% nickel and an open pit indicated resource of 367 million tonnes (see table).
Links: (PDF - 4.17MB) Maps
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