West Desert

InZinc Mining Ltd. holds a 100% interest in the advanced stage West Desert zinc-copper-iron- indium project located in western Utah.  The West Desert project is located approximately 160 kilometres southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah.

In 2005, InZinc Mining acquired a 100% interest in the Project which had been previously explored by Utah International and Cyprus Minerals.  Drilling and an updated resource estimate by InZinc Mining in 2007-2009 substantially increased the size of the West Desert deposit and identified the presence of significant quantities of indium.  The Project is host to a large zinc-iron-copper-indium resource, a small near surface portion of which is oxidized.

In April 2014, InZinc Mining announced the results of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) indicating good potential for a low cost, long life zinc mine at West Desert. The resource base at the West Desert project had been re-estimated to include iron, an important co-product newly identified at the Project.  Metallurgical studies indicate good recoveries to produce separate zinc and copper concentrates using conventional flotation processing.  The “clean” concentrates (absent of deleterious constituents such as mercury, arsenic, selenium, iron sulphide) contain recoverable levels of gold, silver and indium.  Additional metallurgical studies showed that a marketable, high-grade iron concentrate (magnetite) grading 63% iron and containing no deleterious elements can potentially be produced with a traditional process flowsheet. The recovery of iron was very high in the process testwork at levels above 95%.

The West Desert PEA contemplates an underground mine with conventional mining and milling projected to produce an annual average of 107.9 million pounds of zinc, 1.0 million tonnes of iron concentrate (magnetite) and 9.9 million pounds of copper.  Near surface oxide resources were not assessed and remain as a future opportunity. The West Desert deposit is open in three directions with good potential for resource expansion.  The Project is fully permitted and bonded for drilling.

The PEA identified multiple opportunities for enhanced economics.  Further work at West Desert leading to a pre-feasibility study is planned.