Our Eye-Opening Visit to The Strieborna Deposit In Slovakia

The entrance of the Strieborna silver mine in Slovakia.

We visited the Strieborná silver/copper/antimony property this week in Slovakia. It was a real eye-opener as the visit made us realize, even more than before, that Strieborná is quite unique.

Typically, a project has to go through the discovery, exploration, feasibility, financing and development stages before it can start production. This is not the case at Strieborná, which is 100% owned by Global Minerals Ltd. (CTG – $0.48). While the deposit is still in exploration stage, as drilling and metallurgy work will be conducted the following months, it’s also in development stage as the former mine is completely being rehabilitated.

That’s the real beauty of the Strieborná project. Most of the underground tunnels have already been completed in the 1980s and 1990s during the communist era. Imagine if Global Minerals had to build all the underground infrastructure. It would take the Company years and tens of millions of dollars. As a result, the project’s value would be much less than it is today.

Because a photo says more than a thousand words, we’ve added a gallery below which will give you an impression of what we saw and learned at Strieborná.

Conclusion

Strieborná is a well advanced project. It’s located in a mining friendly country and it can be brought into production at a relatively low cost since the underground workings are already there.

With a current cash position of approximately $13 million, Global Minerals is sufficiently funded to rehabilitate the rest of the property, restore access to the Strieborná vein and commence an underground drill program.

Near-term work will also include metallurgical testing, process flow-sheet design, concentrate marketing and mine planning with the goal of completing a preliminary economic assessment in 2013 and with the ultimate goal of entering production in 2014.

Project Location Map – The Strieborná property, located in Southeastern Slovakia is a well defined silver/copper/antimony resource ready to be advanced to the feasibility level.
 
Town of Roznava – In the Middle Ages, Roznava was a prosperous mining town for gold, silver, and iron. Mining activities – mainly iron ore – were renewed around 1800 and was present in the town throughout the 20th century.
 
3D View of Mine Workings – The Strieborná (which translates as “Silver”) vein is a mineralized structure of 1.2 kilometres long, 3.4 metres thick on average and 600 metres deep, starting 200 metres below surface.
 
Resource Estimate of April 2008 – The vein has an NI 43-101 resource estimate that includes 1.9 million tonnes in the measured and indicated categories grading 231.7 g/t silver, 1.1% copper, and 0.7% antimony along with 1.5 million tonnes in the inferred category grading 280.0 g/t silver, 0.9% copper and 0.7% antimony.
 
Surface Buildings – Renovation and upgrading of some of the surface buildings provides sufficient office space, service and change areas.
 
Entrance of the Mine
 
The Hoisting Mechanism – Ready to go down the shaft to Level 6, 180 metres below surface.
 
At level 6 – At this level, a drill will be installed with the intent to expand the already substantial Strieborná resource and to improve the economics of the project. 3,500 to 4,000 metres of drilling is planned, targeted to intersect the Strieborná vein.
 
Water Discharge – At the same time, dewatering of the shaft continues to Level 8, 280 metres below surface. At Level 8, the Company plans an additional 6,000 to 6,500 metres of drilling, also aimed at the Strieborná vein.
 
Water Treatment Facility – The water that’s being pumped out of the mine contains iron and manganese, which has to be treated and removed.
 
The Haulage Tunnel – The 1,600 meter long haulage and access tunnel has been restored. This tunnel was dug to get the ore out of the mine without having to transport it through the town of Roznava.
 
The Path Forward – While access to the Strieborná vein is being restored, Global is preparing a Preliminary Economic Assessment, or PEA. Next to the NI 43-101 resource report from April 2008, the PEA will include results from metallurgical testing, a mine plan and a production schedule.
 

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