Kwanika Property
| click here for Kwanika Core Model |
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| Kwanika Project: Aerial View of Deposit Area. |
The Kwanika Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) deposit was discovered by Serengeti Resources in 2006. Since then, drilling has defined two closely-separated deposits containing Indicated Resources of 1.23 billion pounds of copper and 1.66 million ounces of gold plus Inferred Resources of 1.25 billion pounds of copper and 0.91 million ounces of gold.
Serengeti has invested approximately $19 million in the project to date and retains 100% ownership of the mineral claims covering the 90 square kilometer Kwanika property.
Kwanika represents a potential near-term copper-gold development project located near infrastructure in a politically stable jurisdiction. A landmark access agreement was signed in August 2010 with the Takla Lake First Nation, which will provide First Nations' support to the project. Excellent exploration potential on this large property indicates upside to discover additional deposits.
Location and Infrastructure
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| Kwanika Project: infrastructure. |
All exploration operations have been conducted from a fully established 30 man base camp which is functional year round. A readily accessible labour force is located in the surrounding communities of Takla Lake, Fort St. James, and Prince George.
History
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| David Moore and Myron Osatenko in 2010 H.H. "Spud" Huestis Awards. |
Since 2006, Serengeti has drilled 71,100 meters at the Kwanika project delineating the mineral resources for the Central and South Zones and testing a number of regional exploration targets.
In 2010, Serengeti principals David Moore, President and CEO, and Myron Osatenko, former Chief Geologist, were awarded the Association of Mineral Exploration, British Columbia (AMEBC) H.H. "Spud" Huestis Award for Excellence in Prospecting and Mineral Exploration in recognition for their discovery of the Kwanika deposit.
Geology and Mineralization
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| Kwanika Project: Regional Geology. |
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| Kwanika Project: Deposit Area Geological Map. |
The Kwanika project consists of two porphyry deposits, the Central copper-gold Zone and the South Zone, a copper-molybdenum-gold-silver zone located two kilometers to the South.
The Central Zone (copper-gold) deposit is characterized by the presence of two major and several minor intrusive bodies of the multi-phase Hogem Batholith intuding a succession of andesitic rocks of the Takla Volcanic Group. Hypogene mineralization consists of disseminated chalcopyrite, bornite, and pyrite in and around a potassically altered monzonite stock. Where strongly mineralized, the unit commonly
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| Kwanika Project: Cross Section 150N Grade Distribution. |
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| Kwanika Project: Section 150N Supergene Profile. |
The South Zone (copper-molybdenum-gold-silver) deposit occurs within a fault bounded sequence of strongly altered intrusive rocks of alkalic to intermediate composition. This structural corridor is bounded by the 'West Fault' to the west and possibly by a similar fault interpreted to lie along the east boundary of the corridor. Coincident chargeability and resistivity anomalies form a geophysical domain that represents the fault bounded South Zone corridor. This variably mineralized domain is 2,900 meters long and up to 500 meters wide.
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| Kwanika Project: Deposit Area IP Chargeability Response. |
Resources and Metallurgy
Between 2006 and July 2011, Serengeti completed 71,100 meters of drilling in 173 holes on the Kwanika property. To date, three independent NI 43-101 technical reports, all prepared by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc., have been published for the property. The current resource estimate originally published on March 3, 2011, is summarized in the following table:
2011 Kwanika Mineral Resources Estimate |
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ZONE |
Open Pit Resource Category |
Tonnes and Grade |
Total Contained Metal |
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Cut-off (US$/t) |
Tonnes (Mt) |
Copper (%) |
Gold (g/t) |
Silver (g/t) |
Moly (%) |
CuEq (%) |
Cu (Mlbs) |
Au (Moz) |
Ag (Moz) |
Mo (Mlbs) |
||
Central |
Indicated |
20.00 |
91.0 |
0.38 |
0.36 |
1.08 |
- |
0.57 |
754 |
1.08 |
3.2 |
- |
15.00 |
142.0 |
0.31 |
0.29 |
0.89 |
- |
0.46 |
962 |
1.32 |
4.1 |
- |
||
7.50 |
243.6 |
0.23 |
0.21 |
0.69 |
- |
0.32 |
1,233 |
1.66 |
5.4 |
- |
||
Inferred |
20.00 |
5.1 |
0.26 |
0.27 |
0.65 |
- |
0.40 |
29 |
0.04 |
0.1 |
- |
|
15.00 |
16.6 |
0.20 |
0.21 |
0.49 |
- |
0.31 |
72 |
0.11 |
0.3 |
- |
||
7.50 |
55.2 |
0.14 |
0.14 |
0.42 |
- |
0.20 |
168 |
0.25 |
0.7 |
- |
||
South |
Inferred |
20.00 |
74.3 |
0.33 |
0.12 |
2.15 |
0.012 |
0.47 |
546 |
0.29 |
5.2 |
19 |
15.00 |
132.0 |
0.27 |
0.11 |
1.84 |
0.009 |
0.38 |
785 |
0.46 |
7.8 |
27 |
||
7.50 |
239.9 |
0.20 |
0.09 |
1.49 |
0.007 |
0.27 |
1,080 |
0.66 |
11.6 |
38 |
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| Kwanika Project: Deposit Area Plan Map. |
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| Kwanika Project: Central-South Zones Block Model Longitudinal View. |
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| Kwanika Project: Property Regional Targets. |
Overall resources are reported within a conceptual pit shell with a 45 degree pit slope angle for rock and 30 degrees for overburden and are based on an insitu cut-off of $7.50 / tonne and a higher grade resources are reported at an insitu cut-off of $15 and $20 / tonne, all adjusted for metallurgical recovery and offsite costs. The dollar value and Copper Equivalent (CuEq) calculations are based on the following metal prices: US $3.50 / lb copper, US $1,200 / oz gold, US $21 / oz silver, US $17 / lb molybdenum with assumed recoveries as follows: copper 89%, gold 70%, silver 75%, molybdenum 60% based partially on preliminary metallurgical test work conducted on a sample from the Central Zone. At the prices used, a US $7.50 insitu cut-off is considered reasonable for a porphyry open pit deposit at this location.
Aggregate mineral resources at Kwanika combining the South and Central Zone now total 1.23 billion pounds of copper and 1.66 million ounces of gold in the Indicated Mineral Resource category, plus 1.25 billion pounds of copper and 0.91 million ounces of gold in the Inferred Mineral Resource category, estimated at a $7.50 Net Smelter Value (NSV) cut-off grade.
Preliminary metallurgical testing on the Central Zone indicates 89% recovery for copper and 65% to 75% for gold (potentially higher if cyanidation is considered). The test indicates that a copper concentrate would be good grade due to the presence of bornite and it contains no significant penalty elements.
Exploration Potential
A supergene enrichment event such as the one evident at Kwanika which has locally upgraded the mineralization to more than 1% copper-equivalent is rarely observed in the northern Cordillera and is similar to enrichment events observed in major porphyry deposits of Chile and the southwestern United States. The presence of both higher grade hypogene mineralization and a supergene enrichment zone at Kwanika is of particular significance as the potential to discover another deposit of similar grade within the property represents a highly attractive exploration target. Serengeti believes that there is excellent potential for discovery of additional deposits beneath a series of sedimentary basins that extend over 25 kilometers to the south within the Kwanika claims. These areas present both an exploration challenge and an opportunity to preserve an as-yet undiscovered supergene-enriched porphyry copper-gold deposit.
Two studies published by Geoscience BC (Heberlein, 2010, 2011) have demonstrated that a new low-cost geochemical survey method was highly successful in identifying the Central Zone beneath up to 300 meters of post-mineral consolidated sediments. This recent breakthrough will aid in the exploration for 'blind' deposits within the highly prospective Kwanika property.
Technical Reports
43-101 2011![]() Click to Enlarge | 43-101 2010 Click to Enlarge | |
43-101 2009![]() Click to Enlarge |
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GEOSCIENCE BC REPORT 2010-3 |
GEOSCIENCE BC REPORT 2011-3 |













