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[December 2009]
North Bay Resources Acquires Zippa Mountain Wollastonite Property
North Bay Resources Inc (Skippack, PA, USA) has acquired a 100% undivided interest in the Zippa Mountain Wollastonite Property in north-western British Columbia, Canada.
The Zippa Mountain Wollastonite Property (also known as ISK Wollastonite) covers 2,456 hectares (6,066 acres) approximately 240km north-west of the town of Smithers, BC and about 70km north-east of Wrangell, Alaska.
According to BC Assessment Report 25449, six wollastonite deposits have been discovered and evaluated in the vicinity of Zippa Mountain. These are the Bril, Cliff, Bartnick, Glacier, Brys and Slimjaw deposits. The geological resource estimate for all six wollastonite showings is 50 million tonnes.
The North Bay claims contain four of these deposits; the Cliff, Bartnick, Brys and Slimjaw. Of these, the Cliff (so named because it represents a 100 metre plus cliff of high-grade wollastonite) is considered the best and is estimated to contain 2 million tonnes of open pittable, high aspect ratio ore grading 80% wollastonite.
As well, a pre-feasibility study contained in Assessment Report 24540 states that samples from all of the deposits show high-grade wollastonite, but it ranked the Cliff and Bartnick deposits as the best targets as both are amenable to low-cost surface mining. The pre-feasibility study, which was completed prior to the adoption of NI 43-101 standards and is therefore considered a historical assessment, concluded that:
- samples from one deposit – the Cliff – at ISK wollastonite indicates the existence of 75% to 80% pure wollastonite.
- beneficiation trials show this can be concentrated and recovered by standard magnetic separation and flotation to give 96% wollastonite with a brightness of at least 87% IS0.
- grinding trials have yielded acicular material of which 50% has an aspect ratio greater than 15:1.
- there is an inferred two million raw tonnes of wollastonite above ground in the Cliff Deposit; two much larger deposits have been identified which also indicate high grade raw material.
- a production concept of simple bench mining, slurry pipeline transport of the crushed raw wollastonite to the tidal Stikine River and then barging to a suitable port is proposed.
- ISK wollastonite is insoluble in water, does not contain leachable metallics and incapable of causing acid rock drainage; the immediate environment does not indicate sensitivities.
- the above factors all combine to indicate ISK Wollastonite can meet all market specifications and offer the opportunity for a profitable commercial operation and be confirmed in due course to be a world class deposit.
- detailed work is now justified to establish the environmental and infrastructure baselines and continuity of wollastonite quality in the deposits in anticipation of a bulk sampling programme as a prelude to application for a mining lease.
Wollastonite is an industrial commodity and is the only naturally occurring, non-metallic, white acicular mineral. Because of its unique cleavage properties, wollastonite breaks down during crushing and grinding into needle-shaped particles of varying acicularity. This particle morphology imparts high strength and is of considerable importance in many markets and applications, ranging from plastics and ceramic tile to vehicle brake pads, thermal insulation board, paints and protective industrial coating. It is also used as a replacement for short-fibre milled fibreglass and short-fibre asbestos. The combination of high brightness and low gas release when heated creates a major demand in the ceramics industry and the brilliant whiteness is of major importance to its use in the coatings industry and filler markets.
ENDS