Falconbridge Ltd has purchased 100% of the Montcalm nickel-copper property near Timmins, Ontario, from the Outokumpu Group. The total undiluted indicated mineral resource is currently estimated at 7.02 million tonnes grading 1.46% nickel and 0.71% copper. The purchase price for Montcalm is CAD 14 million, comprised of a CAD 4 million initial payment followed by two subsequent conditional payments over the next two years, plus a per-tonne production royalty. A pre-feasibility study is currently being completed. This will be followed by a CAD 9 million advanced exploration programme designed to further improve Falconbridge’s confidence level prior to completing a feasibility study and making a production commitment. Montcalm has the potential to produce a total of 5 million tonnes of ore at a rate of 750 000 tonnes annually. The ore would be milled and concentrated at Falconbridge’s Kidd Metallurgical Division in Timmins and the concentrate processed at the company’s Sudbury smelter.
