Armed with $2 million from a recent financing,
In the past eight months, the junior has completed 35,000 ft. of reverse-circulation and core drilling in 60 holes. Material from those holes will be processed through the plant to fine-tune the metallurgical process, determine recoveries and estimate operating costs. These data will then be incorporated into a prefeasibility study.
About 55 tonnes of material will be ground and put through a flotation circuit to create a bulk concentrate. Platinum group elements will be removed in a second circuit through leaching, followed by copper extraction through solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW). Nickel-cobalt extraction would occur in a third SX-EW circuit. All the testing should take six weeks to complete.
Meanwhile, Polymet has contracted the Natural Resources Research Institute to analyze portions of previously unassayed core drilled by US Steel in the 1970s. Early indications reveal lower-grade mineralization outlying the main zone.
In February, Polymet shifted drilling to the main body of mineralization. Results to date continue to confirm initial assumptions of continuity, thickness and grade.
The company has also drilled six holes into the area between the Northeast and Main zones. Results indicate good potential for connecting the two structures. Initial drill-spacing has been greater than 360 metres, though tighter spacing will be required before Polymet can add this area to the resource estimate.
Polymet suspended drilling in March, allowing for the spring thaw, though it is more than halfway through the 18-month, 18,000-metre drilling program.
The NorthMet deposit contains 808 million tonnes of material averaging 0.43% copper and 0.11% nickel, plus 0.44 gram palladium, 0.12 gram platinum and 0.06 gram gold per tonne, based a resource estimate from 1991.
Polymet issued 2 million units in its public offering through Union Securities. Each unit, sold at $1 per unit, consists of one share and one warrant. Each warrant can be converted into one share at a price of $1.20 per share until May 2002.
The company has 25.9 million shares outstanding (29.5 million fully diluted).
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