Adex mining moves ahead with Mount Pleasant mine
Derwin Gowan
Telegraph-Journal (New Brunswick)
Published Tuesday December 4th, 2007
Appeared on page B1

A dormant mine in Mount Pleasant in the centre of Charlotte County has moved a step closer to resuming operations.

New Brunswick Environment Minister Roland Haché and Natural Resources Donald Arseneault have lifted a cease-operations order in effect since April of 1999, and issued Adex Mining Inc. (TSXV:ADE), the current owners, approval to operate.

"We are one step closer on the regulatory front towards opening a mine," Adex president Kabir Ahmed said from Toronto.

The approval to operate allows the company to resume exploration, metallurgical testing and other operations to "fast-track" both a feasibility study and movement down the "regulatory pathway."

The approval to operate does not allow Adex to pump water out of the old tungsten mine, which Billiton Exploration Canada Ltd. operated from 1982 to 1985, nor to begin underground operations. It is now seeking regulatory approval to undertake both.

Still, Ahmed says the minister's decision sends the right signal to investors. "I think that shows the world that the province of New Brunswick is solidly behind us," he said.

Adex announced $3 million in flow-though financing in November, allowing the company to contract a second drill contract to work on "definition drilling" to upgrade resource estimates.

Ahmed said drilling will begin in March, with the second drill starting in May.

"I would still think we are looking at a time-line of 24 months from now to when we resume mineral production," Ahmed said. "Obviously everything is just moving gangbusters right now."

He said Adex expects to employ at least 200 people at Mount Pleasant at full operation.

Adex acquired the abandoned Mount Pleasant mine, its principal asset, in 1995. In addition to the tungsten and molybdenum in the old Billiton workings, Adex discovered another tin, indium and zinc in another location in 1995 and 1996.

The environment minister ordered operations to stop after the tailings dam overflowed following heavy rain in 1999.

Ahmed said Adex contracted the consulting firms Jacques Whitford Co. and ADI Group to redesign the dam over the past several months.

The new approval to operate, valid until Sept. 30, 2012, permits Adex to conduct exploration and metallurgical bench scale activities on the property, operate the mine water treatment plant, repair and upgrade the tailings dam and mine site infrastructure, and other activities.

Ahmed said the company would have to go underground to recover tungsten and molybdenum, but could possibly mine tin and indium from an open pit.

The bench-scale metallurgy will allow the company to test old core samples, and compare these with the new samples once drilling resumes in spring, while work proceeds on the tailings dam and other projects.

"We're taking a very methodical and step-by-step process," Ahmed said.

This article is re-posted with the permission of the Telegraph-Journal.