The Bowdens silver project, owned 100% by Silver Standard, subject to a 2% royalty reducing to 1% after payment of US$5 million in royalties, is located 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Sydney, Australia. It is readily accessible by road; a major power line is close by; there are coal mines operating in the area; a knowledgeable labour force lives nearby; and we own the surface rights covering the mineralization and the proposed mine infrastructure. The property consists of a single exploration tenement covering 188 square kilometers (72.6 square miles) of geology.
The property was discovered by stream sediment sampling in 1988 and to date, 395 drill holes totaling 43,309 meters have been completed. In light of the current positive metal prices, additional metallurgical work is underway that will lead to the finalization of a feasibility study. The final objective is to conclude the permitting process, enabling project development.
Geology and Metallurgy
The silver mineralization is hosted in a Permian flat-lying felsic volcanic sequence consisting of rhyodacite ignimbrites with tufts and lesser flows. The mineralization appears to favor the contact between a porous tuft and impermeable ignimbrites. The low sulphidization epithermal system has minor lead and zinc, with the silver occurring in galena, sphalerite, argentite and percite.
Our metallurgical testwork demonstrates that SAG milling, followed by a conventional flotation circuit would provide optimum recoveries. A silver-rich lead/zinc concentrate and a zinc concentrate with lesser silver could be produced on-site and exported for silver recovery. Metallurgical testwork indicates recoveries are expected to average 88% silver, 92% lead and 65% zinc from a 6,000 ton per day open pit operation.
Project Scope and Plans
Metallurgical studies will be completed in 2007 which will be included in an update of the economic evaluation of the project.
For details on the reserves and resources of the Bowdens Project,view the current Resource Summary (312 kb pdf). [See the website for the summary] P
RCO Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
