www.bassmetals.com.au
Bass Metals (ASX: BSM) is a growth focused and profitable Australian base and precious metal producer with a portfolio of high quality zinc, lead, copper and gold assets in the rich Mount Read Volcanic mineral belt in northwest Tasmania. Listing in 2005, Bass delivered its maiden profit in 2008 from its profitable base metals production hub at Que River in Tasmania, which has generated $25 million in cash flow over the last two years.
The Company also has an active and successful exploration programme and is currently following up on recent discoveries at Switchback and Fossey East which are high-grade and located in close proximity to existing mines and milling infrastructure. Bass has an experienced Board and operating team who have a strong track record of delivering profitable production underpinned by exploration success and are highly motivated to improve on that record.
The Company’s growth strategy centres on the development of a ‘pipeline’ of production, near-production and exploration assets in this prolific mineral belt, with strong leverage to a substantial new discovery through its extensive regional ground holding.
Bass Metals' high grade base and precious metals hits add to Fossey resource
Bass Metals (ASX: BSM) has reported further encouraging drilling results at the Fossey deposit, within the Hellyer Mine Project in Tasmania, with an intercept of 6.9 metres at 14.2 % zinc, 6.6 % lead, 0.6 % copper, 135 g/t silver and 1.8 g/t gold, providing additional information on a lens of massive sulphide mineralisation.
Bass is currently following up on recent discoveries at Switchback and Fossey East which are high-grade and located in close proximity to existing mine and milling infrastructure.
Drill hole HLD1016, a geotechnical hole targeted at the Easy Street Fault, intersected the edge of the Eastern Lens, one of the minor lenses included in the inferred resources at the Fossey deposit.
As well as the 7 metre zone from 123.8 metres down-hole, there were also several narrow and very high grade zones such as 1.3 metres at 53% combined Pb and Zn.
This lens is very disjointed by faulting and late basalt dykes and this drill hole provides additional information on this zone of Inferred Resource.
These results indicate the potential for a modest tonnage, high grade resource in the Eastern Lens that is potentially mineable when mine development from Fossey to Hellyer is put in place.
With the completion of the geotechnical drilling, Bass has resumed drill testing of the exciting new and distinct Fossey East target.
Bass’s larger transformational Hellyer Mine Project is on track to commence production toward the end of 2010.
With an initial through-put rate of 400,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), the 1.5 million tpa capacity Hellyer Mill will produce 53,000 tpa of zinc concentrate, 27,000 tpa of lead concentrates and 4,500 tpa of copper—silver-gold concentrates.
On October 28 Bass commenced a $1.7 million definitive feasibility study (DFS) on further gold production, that could add 40,000-110,000 oz of gold in annual output from Hellyer.
In addition, the company raised $3.55 million through a share placement to mainly European institutional investors at 25 cents per share to fund growth.
With a feasibility study underway and increased funding, a positive DFS could add 50,000+ ounces of gold production worth $67m-$100m+ in revenues, yet Bass is valued by the market at only $53m.
BSM had $A16.38 million cash at the end of the September quarter.
