Mining Permit Application On Flagstaff Property
VANCOUVER - Kent Exploration Inc reports it has applied to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for a permit to commence open pit barite mining operations on its 100% optioned Flagstaff gold/silver/barite property.
The Flagstaff property, located in Washington state approximately 15 miles south of Rossland, BC, has ready access to both road and rail facilities and was the subject of prior barite mining operations (CE Minerals, 1981-1984) during which approximately 85,000 tons of barite was reportedly mined. During a 1981 drill program, which also intersected high grade gold and silver mineralization, CE Minerals defined an historic deposit which they estimated at 1,300,000 tons of 4.2 specific gravity (SG) barite. The Company advises that the estimate provided is of a historic nature, is not NI-43-101-compliant and should not be relied upon.
The Company is in possession of all of CE?s original 19,250 foot drill program data delineating the barite deposit. This material includes drill logs, barite intersection assay data, tonnage calculations, drill sections and plans, a contour map showing the developed barite thickness, as well as a complete physical deposit model. The Company conducted a limited diamond drill program in the fall of 2007, the results of which substantially compared with the CE original data. The deposit, which has been stripped and benched ready for mining, is accessible by good forest service roads.
On 11 May 2008, the Company completed the first stage crushing and separation testing of a 20 ton bulk sample at the Metso Minerals crush test center in Milwaukee, WI. Representative samples from the test that were submitted to Metsolve Labs, Burnaby, BC, indicated that 4.2 SG barite can be achieved through standard dry crushing and dry and wet separation methods.
Subject to financing and BLM approval, the Company plans to set up a pilot processing plant at the mine site using both standard dry crushing equipment and separation methods used in gravel pit operations and wet separation methods to determine whether the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 tons of barite that has previously been blasted, mined, and stockpiled on the property, can be economically separated into a 4.2 SG product for sale.
The company's address is 619-744 W. Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1A5, (604) 684-3394.