Thomson locks down Webbs silver-base metals resource

Thomson has delivered an Indicated and Inferred resource of 14.2Moz silver equivalent for its Webbs deposit, completing the restatement of its Tablelands resource base.

The resource of 2.2Mt grading 140 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.15% copper, 0.55% lead and 1.1% zinc – a substantial portion of which is in the higher confidence Indicated category – is the fifth and final restatement of resources for its Tablelands Group of wholly-owned deposits within a 10-month period.

This also takes the total resource of the five deposits within its New England Fold Belt Hub and Spoke projects up to 54.4Moz silver equivalent.

Adding further interest, Thomson Resources’ (ASX:TMZ) new geological deposit model and block model for Webbs has delivered a robust, higher confidence resource and highlighted a number of compelling resource step out and exploration targets for drill testing.

“Another JORC 2012 Mineral Resource Estimate, the fifth we have produced in under 12 months. This has been an extraordinary effort by the team, led by our key consultants, Global Ore Discovery,” executive chairman David Williams noted.

“It must be remembered, these are not rubber stampings, these are new MREs prepared from scratch.

“Investors can now properly compare Thomson’s project resources with other silver focused companies, with a set of what we know are robust MREs. It makes for interesting consideration of Thomson’s market capitalisation.

“54.4Moz AgEq at 101g/t AgEq is a great base to now add the Mt Carrington polymetallic resources to, given the recent revision of the earn-in terms for that project. Our 100Moz AgEq target is looking well achieved.”

Webbs deposit

The Webbs deposit was first discovered in 1884 and was mined in several phases between then and 1964.

About 55,000t of ore grading about 710g/t – or about 23 ounces per tonne – silver was mined at the Webbs Main shoot over nine levels down to a depth of 210m between 1884 to 1901.

Almost all of the production came from the high-grade North Shoot while the South Shoot, which hosts a substantial proportion of the resource, was not historically mined and remains undeveloped.

Webbs mineralisation is hosted in steeply dipping up to 15m wide lodes defined by sericite-silica-carbonate-chlorite altered shales.

Mineralisation is currently known down to a depth of 340m below surface in the North Shoot and 275m below surface in the South Shoot.

Test work has delivered favourable recoveries and metal grades though the company is working with CORE on arsenic mitigation strategies for Webbs mineralisation in the context of the Hub and Spoke Process Pathway study.

This includes the use of concentrate blending and hydrometallurgical processing options to address the issue.

New England Fold Belt Hub and Spoke Centralised Processing Concept

With the restatement of Webbs resources and the recent restructuring of the Mt Carrington earn-in joint venture, Thomson is now able to focus on the restating of the Mt Carrington resource to include gold, silver, zinc, copper and lead.

Once completed, Mt Carrington and the Tablelands projects have the potential to move Thomson closer to its 100Moz AgEq critical resource scale target and to potentially catalyse the company’s hub and spoke central processing concept.

All resources are within a potential trucking radius and have geo-metallurgical compatibilities which may be amenable to similar mineral processing techniques.

This article was developed in collaboration with Thomson Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.