Mt Carbine

Target: Tungsten
Tenements: ML4867 & ML4919

Location: The Mt Carbine project is located 120km (~1.5 hours by car) to the NW of the port of Cairns in Far North Queensland with power, sealed roads, water, tailings storage and some permitting in place.

Background:

During the early 1980’s Mt Carbine was Australia’s leading tungsten producer, with a total recorded production of approximately 17,000 tonnes of wolframite and scheelite concentrates extracted from some 13.5 Mt of sheeted quartz veining, until low metal prices forced the closure of operations in the mid-1980’s. When operations ceased, underground development was well advanced to access high-grade mineralisation extending beneath the floor of the open cut. Following the acquisition of Mt Carbine in 2008, Icon has been progressing the redevelopment of the project as the longer-term outlook for tungsten continues to improve. See the video below for more information about tungsten.

Resource:

Resource is partially defined with potential for very large upside in project value following expected increase in grade and tonnage (targets identified). Preliminary geological modelling of previous drilling data has highlighted extensive tungsten mineralisation adjacent to and beneath the existing open cut.

Geology/Geophysics:

Mt Carbine is a tungsten deposit hosted by a sheeted quartz vein system up to 100m wide and potentially 400-500m long, contained in Siluro-Devonian greenstones. The southern boundary and footwall of the mineralisation is the ‘Southwall Fault’. Mineralisation consists of wolframite (Fe, Mn) WO4 in quartz veins extending up to 100m from the fault, and extending at least to 600m deep, with minor scheelite (CaWO4) imprinted over the wolframite mineralisation. Wolframite crystals ranging from 0.5m to 1000mm occur in Th. quartz veins.

There is evidence that wolframite mineralisation is replaced by stiletto mineralisation with increasing distance from the Southwall fault. There is no record of exploration for scheelite north of the wolframite zone, an this potential remains to be explored.

Forward Program:

Only one exploration hole has tested beneath extensive old workings along Carbine Hill (and intersected the ‘blind’ Watson’s Zone). There is potential to recover the tailings totalling approximately 2Mt @ 0.11% WO3 (JORC compliant). Also potential for old waste dump to carry ‘grade’ material (previously reported as 0.07% WO3), which is scheduled for bulk assaying, and potential for old ‘reject’ dump to be profitably re-run through latest generation ore-sorters, also scheduled for bulk assaying.

A Scoping Study for the potential development of Mt Carbine was commissioned to assess the economics of restarting an open pit mining operation. The study found that a relatively modest capital expenditure is required for project re-development given existing infrastructure already in place on the Mt Carbine Mining Lease; that project NPV’s are a multiple of the current Icon share price; the long term production strategy comprises both open cut and underground resources giving a +10 year mine life.

31-Oct-2009 | Mt Carbine Scoping Study Oct 09 (18118 KB)