CHARTS: The coming critical minerals trade war is BRICS short of a load
"While a large number of countries around the world continue to talk about securing raw material supply, China is actually doing something about it."
Copper Fox Metals (TSX.V:CUU) is as clever as its animal namesake. And unlike many junior exploration companies, who lack focus and spread themselves thin across multiple properties without taking the time to truly understand the geology and producing potential of any, Copper Fox’s have a singular devotion to the possibilities of its Schaft Creek Project in northwestern British Columbia.
This has given this junior company a very rare opportunity to acquire and develop an extensively drilled project with near-term copper production potential.
They now look poised to prosper as worldwide demand surges on China’s domestic appetites.
CEO Elmer Stewart is refreshingly direct when he explains to Midas Letter his belief in what a junior metals exploration outfit like Copper Fox should be committed to; steadfastly stating “We have a clear objective to create shareholder value through tangible assets that are in the ground.”
Schaft Creek Resources
Speaking of companies that have complex portfolios of properties that are geographically and geologically at odds with one another, Stewart says, “You cannot properly explore them and give them the attention that they need”. Stewart goes on to add, ” With Schaft Creek we have a project with a very large resource base and that’s something we believe our shareholders are happy for us to focus on.” Talking about the property with a clear sense of pride, Stewart points out “It is classified as a giant porphyry and that is more than enough for a junior company. It’s all about resources in the ground” and wily Copper Fox clearly has them beneath their feet at Schaft Creek in spades.
With the announcement in early 2010 that Copper Fox had moved to retain Wardrop (a TERTA TECH company) to complete the feasibility study on the Schaft Creek deposit, the company made clear its priority is to prove up the properties’ production possibilities and reward continued shareholder belief in the profit potential of the project.
The feasibility study will include an updated geological model, resource estimate, reserve estimate, revised capital cost and operating costs estimates and other technical, socio-economic and financial aspects related to the feasibility study. This comes hot on the heels of a pre-feasibility report completed in 2008 that revealed the possibility of a truly major discovery and this next phase of feasibility aims to build on those very promising results. Copper fox is confident that the Schaft Creek story is only beginning to build.
In an industry often littered with projects whose sole goal is the creation of inflated value through the burnishing of vague promises, Copper Fox is a different creature all together. The company is completely committed to using the all their resources to create true and tangible resource wealth for stakeholders at Shaft Creek.
Cooper Ascendant On World Markets And Fox Aims To Rise With It
Copper Fox is well placed and well funded to be able to bring Schaft Creek’s copper to market in time to meet the exploding demand coming from China.
China is the world’s largest consumer of copper and this voracious appetite shows little sign of being sated anytime soon as China builds modern city after modern city to house the high-tech worker’s powering its world beating economy.
As the pace of urbanization slows in North America and rises across the Pacific in China and India, copper companies with the proven resources, transportation accessibility, and who lie within the Pacific Rim will have a leading role getting that critical metal to China’s architects and developers.
The company has both the human and capital resources to achieve their ambitious goals for Schaft Creek. Copper Fox is a company run by deeply experienced mining industry pros, managed by an energetic technical and management team with broad expertise in mineral exploration, mine engineering, operations, finance and corporate development. Copper Fox’s absolute priority is to complete a positive feasibility study for a proposed open-pit mine that could begin production by as early as 2013 to take quick advantage of increasing demand and soaring prices for not just surging gold, but also copper molybdenum and silver.
Schaft Creek Feasibility Study 2010: First Quarter Results
Copper Fox has committed $2,137,539 towards completion of the feasibility study and are very encouraged by the amount of work and quality of results already produced in the first quarter of the feasibility report. Stewart stated, “We are very pleased with the results and progress to date on the feasibility study for the Schaft Creek deposit. The technical data related to the ongoing environmental studies and the conclusions of the updated geological model significantly advance these aspects of the feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2010”.
Quarterly Highlights: Highlights of the work related to the completion of the feasibility study as of the date of the MD&A are outlined below:
Operating Activities:
To the end of December 2009, Copper Fox incurred a total of $43,299,162 that has been accepted by Teck as applicable expenditures pursuant to the Option Agreement on the Schaft Creek Project. A brief overview of the components of the feasibility study completed during the quarter is set out below.
Environmental Studies:
Copper Fox has been collecting environmental baseline information on the Schaft Creek area since mid 2005. As part of the environmental baseline studies, 634 Acid/Base Accounting Samples and numerous Humidity Cell Tests were performed. Copper Fox’s consultant, Dr Kevin Morin, has concluded that an estimated from 3.6 to 5.1% of the total rock mined from the Schaft Creek deposit could potentially be net acid generating which is very low compared to other porphyry copper deposits.
Geological Model:
The updated geological model for the Schaft Creek deposit was prepared by Cambria Geosciences Ltd., and has identified the following:
Resource Estimate:
AMEC Americas Limited has commenced working on the preparation of updated resource estimate for the Schaft Creek deposit. The initial work to be completed includes identifying the lithologic domains and creating copper and molybdenum grade shell to delineate the areas of mineralization that will be used in the updated resource estimation. It is expected that the updated resource estimation will be completed during the next quarter and include all drilling and analytical work completed at Schaft Creek to the end of December 2008.
Copper Fox Focus On Feasibility At Schaft Creek
Copper Fox know that by being committed to this single property they can move quickly and deeply to deploy all their resources on the property. There is no standing around for Copper Fox and work continues apace at Schaft Creek. The near term goals of the feasibility are to reduce the capital and operating costs related to the development of the Schaft Creek deposit, to shorten the period of time required to recover the initial capital costs referred to as the “payback” period, to identify a zone of higher grade mineralization to mine during the first several years of mining and milling operations, and to increase the daily milling rate.
Copper Fox’s continues to put its money where its mouth is with an ongoing wide scope of work programs and exploration studies planned in order to truly push toward to final feasibility and mine development in the very near future. These include an on going program of extensive metallurgical studies, and pit-optimization studies. In addition Copper Fox plan to complete an extensive review of road and power access options, environmental and socio-economic programs and studies to develop the mine plan and to expedite the government permitting process.
Stewart again demonstrated his belief in putting in the hard work and keeping the company focused on clear results saying, ” We’re going to have a really solid, practical, realistic feasibility study”. For a junior exploration company not be puffing up potential and to be committed to this amount of work on a single property means that shareholders will stand to reap the reward of Copper Fox’s obsession.
He summed up the potential: “Cooper Fox has one has one of the few projects in the world at the stage of development that the world needs based on the forward projected demand for copper”. As demand ramps up across the developing world Copper Fox will use the same sharp eyed hunting skills of its namesake predator to keep their eyes firmly on their quarry and shrewd investors with the same depth of focus will want to be a part of Fox’s fantastic story. Follow their progress at: www.copperfoxmetals.com.
SOURCE: http://www.midasletter.com/news/100712_Copper-fox-near-term-copper-production.php
