Adex to fund work at Mt. Pleasant mine

Under a credit-option agreement, Adex Mining (TSE) will fund a $525,000 program of exploration and metallurgical research on Piskahegan Resources’ Mt. Pleasant mine in New Brunswick.

The program, to be carried out by privately owned Piskahegan, will be completed by May.

The Mt. Pleasant mine, situated 60 km west of Saint John, N.B., was operated by Billiton Metals Canada from 1980 to 1983, when it was closed because of low metal prices. Billiton extracted tungsten and molybdenum from the property and later joint-ventured the project with Lac Minerals to exploit the tin potential. However, poor tin prices prevented a startup, and Piskahegan acquired the property from Billiton and Lac in late 1993. An existing mill, built at a reported cost of $120 million, is capable of processing 2,500 tonnes per day, Adex and Piskahagen believe the new processes and technologies for recoveries of tin and tungsten will greatly enhance the commercial viability of the project. Additional metals planned for recovery include indium, molybdenum, zinc, copper and bismuth. The deposit is estimated to contain 55 million tonnes of reserves in nine separate deposits. Proven reserves in the North zone stand at 5.1 million tonnes grading 0.79% tin, 0.56% zinc, 0.06% bismuth, 2.6 oz. per ton indium and 0.13% copper. The Fire Tower zone contains proven reserves of 9 million tonnes grading 0.4% tungsten, 0.2% molybdenum, 0.03% tin and 0.1% bismuth, as well as 1 oz. indium per tonne.

The funds for the exploration program will be advanced by way of a secured note, which Adex can convert into a 10% interest in Piskahegan. Adex also has the option of acquiring a total interest of 50.1% in Piskahagen.