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Leading worldwide mining company to do test drilling at Hall Mountain
June 25, 2014
Global mining company MMG Limited, with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia will start three test drills next month in Boundary County in the Hall Mountain area.

According to Sally Cox, MMG Group Manager of Stakeholder Relations, the drilling begins in July and will last for three to four weeks.

The company is looking to analyze the possibility of zinc deposits in the Hall Mountain area. MMG crews from the United States, Canada, and Australia will be working on the project. The drilling itself will be done by a US diamond drilling company. According to MMG, area and local servicing firms will be contracted to help with the project, including geological services, diamond drilling, and support equipment.

So how did an international company based in Australia end up in remote Idaho to test for zinc deposits? "This area of Idaho is part of a geological region referred to as the Belt Purcell Basin," said Ms. Cox. "[This basin] stretches from Montana to British Columbia, and contains zinc deposits in other areas, and hence was an attractive location for MMG to investigate."

She states the company has selected drill sites that will minimize disruptions on the Hall Mountain road. All three drill sites will be located on existing logging access roads, and no new roads will be made.

During the project's planning stages, concerns were raised by the Idaho Conservation League regarding the impact of the noise and the illuminating lights on area grizzly bears. MMG agreed to use acoustic panels around the drill and other equipment. Sound control devices and light shields will be installed to limit noise and light.

According to Ms. Cox, it takes years to develop and initiate a mine, and what is happening at Hall Mountain is only exploration, looking to see if significant zinc mineralization can be found in the area. If the initial drill holes show the presence of zinc mineralization, it would take three to five years of diamond drilling just to determine the extent of that mineralization before establishing a mine would be considered.

"If results from this program are not encouraging, then this would conclude the work that MMG is doing in this area. It should be noted that a very high percentage of exploration programs end at this stage," said Ms. Cox.

However, if significant zinc mineralization is found with the Hall Mountain drilling, the company will begin the long process to assess the value and viability of establishing a mine in the area. "Exploration is just the first step in a long process to develop a mine," said Ms. Cox. "Mine development is a long process, with many hurdles . . . we first assess the potential of a deposit, then study the potential development and infrastructure options, the economic feasibility, environmental and government regulations of the area and then finally if a decision is made by our Board to invest in the project, development and construction take a number of years to complete."

MMG Limited, with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, employs approximately 9,000 people worldwide. According to its annual report, the company is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc, and produces significant amounts of copper, lead, gold and silver in mining operations across multiple continents. Total revenue for MMG for 2013 was $2.47 billion dollars, with total profit for the year of $122.5 million.
 
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