Trilogy Metals Inc has engaged Ausenco Engineering Canada to prepare the Arctic pre-feasibility study (PFS) technical report anticipated to be complete in Q1, 2018. The company has also engaged Amec Foster Wheeler to complete mine planning and SRK Consulting (Canada) to complete tailings and waste design, hydrology and environmental studies.
“We are pleased to have assembled an excellent team to complete our prefeasibility study on the high-grade polymetallic Arctic deposit. Ausenco, Amec and SRK are, all three, highly skilled and reputable companies, and the individual team members at each of these companies have decades of mining experience to draw on. The Arctic project is the first of many exciting opportunities in the Ambler mining district. While the Arctic PFS gets underway with a budget of $7.1 million, we will continue to explore our exciting Bornite property with a budget of $10 million. With a $17 million total budget this year for exploration at Bornite and the Arctic PFS, it will be a very busy and productive year ahead for the company. Major mining districts take time to develop and we are fortunate to have long-term support through our partnerships with NANA, AIDEA and South32, as well as continued support from our large shareholders”, says Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, President and Chief Executive Officer.
The Arctic deposit is a high-grade copper-zinc-lead volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit which also contains significant amounts of precious metals. The company is proposing a 10,000 t/d, open pit mining operation with a typical crush-grind-float flowsheet producing significant tonnages of copper and zinc concentrates and lessor lead concentrate containing significant quantities of precious metals. The company has recently provided updated PFS level metallurgy, pit-slope stability and hydrology information and an updated resource estimate for Arctic on March 25, 2017. This summer, the consultants will work with Trilogy team members to complete the site investigation work to determine the optimal location for the mill and power plant, tailing and waste design, and other supporting infrastructure and facilities. The company had previously released a NI 43-101 report entitled Preliminary Economic Assessment Report on the Arctic Project, Ambler Mining District, Northwest Alaska dated effective September 12, 2013. Trilogy expects the PFS to be completed in Q1, 2018.
Trilogy Metals Inc. is a metals exploration company focused on exploring and developing the Ambler mining district located in northwest Alaska. It is one of the richest and most-prospective known copper-dominant districts located in one of the safest geopolitical jurisdictions in the world. It hosts worldclass polymetallic VMS deposits that contain copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, and carbonate replacement deposits which have been found to host high grade copper mineralization. Exploration efforts have been focused on two deposits in the Ambler mining district – the Arctic VMS deposit and the Bornite carbonate replacement deposit. Both deposits are located within the company’s land package that spans approximately 143,000 ha. The company has an agreement with NANA Regional Corp, a Regional Alaska Native Corporation that provides a framework for the exploration and potential development of the Ambler mining district in cooperation with local communities. The vision is to develop the Ambler mining district into a premier North American copper producer.