Silver stars at Alcyone Resources Texas project
OUT AND ABOUT: While in Brisbane for the Mining 2013 Conference, The Roadhouse was taken out for a drive by Alcyone Resources (ASX: AYN) to visit the company’s 100 per cent-owned Texas silver project.
While we were there Alcyone turned on the smelter for a demonstration silver pour which yielded just on 6,000 ounces – roughly around $140,000 worth of silver.
Although it was a small pour compared to the company’s usual output, it impressed the gathered throng of journalists nonetheless.
“We have produced around 1.2 million ounces of silver already from the heap leach operations during the ramp up phase of the project between June 2011 and 31 March 2013,” Alcyone Resources managing director Michael Reed said.
“We are averaging around 700,000 ounces of silver per year, however we want to reach around 1.2 to 1.3 million ounces per year.”
The Texas silver project is located 350 kilometres from Brisbane and 10km from the town of Texas.
The project boasts a JORC compliant (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) resource of 13.25 million tonnes at an average grade of 54 grams per tonne silver for 23 million ounces of silver.
The Resource is distributed across the project’s two main prospects of Twin Hills and Mt Gunyan.
The company recently raised just over $12.8 million, after placing approx. $4.88 million of a recent Rights Issue Shortfall with Malaysian-listed investment holding company, Notion VTec Berhad.
The company’s current focus is to extend the project’s current eight year mine life, and it considers the Mount Gunyan deposit to represent the best opportunity to achieve that aim.
Drilling Alcyone has completed to date has identified a global resource of 3.9 million tonnes at Mount Gunyan.
An exploration budget of $2 million has been earmarked to drill out Mount Gunyan with the target being to take the Mount Gunyan mine life out to 14 years.
Alycone Resources is happy to be the only ASX-listed pure-play silver producer and seller in Australia.
“Everybody talks about gold, but not too many people talk about silver,” Reed said
“Silver demand is growing exponentially, mainly due to the fact it is an industrial metal as well as a precious metal.
“Silver is a super conductor; electronic components love silver. It is also in demand for jewellery and as stored value.
“China and India are the main growth centres for silver and that is mainly due to its use in the solar panel industry.”