ResourceClips: Heatherdale Resources Ltd. (TSXv: HTR) and Niblack Mineral Development Inc. (TSXv: NIB)

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Heatherdale’s Takeover Boosts Alaska’s Niblack
~ By Greg Klein - October 12 2011
Prevailing market moods notwithstanding, a surge of optimism greeted the With steady progress on all fronts, mine construction could begin in 2015.
Heatherdale Resources Ltd TSXV:HTR bid to take over Niblack Mineral
Development Inc TSXV:NIB. The October 5 joint announcement raised “We’re now looking for offsite milling options,” he adds. “We’ve got deep water,
Niblack’s shares to a high of $0.23 before closing at $0.22, a 37% increase so we could potentially load the ore onto a barge and move it a considerable
over the previous day’s closing price of $0.16. But—unusually for the acquisi- distance to a brownfield industrial site where we could set up our processing
tive company—Heatherdale did even better, closed at $0.54, 74% above the facility and tailings pond.”
previous day.
Further north, in east-central Alaska, Heatherdale holds a 60% interest in
Delta, a zinc-gold-silver-copper-lead project that’s seen some M&A activity
itself. Heatherdale’s partner, Grayd Resource, is subject to a $275-million
friendly takeover bid by
Agnico-Eagle.
Delta’s 2006 inferred resource comes to 15.4 million tonnes grading 0.6%
copper, 1.7% lead, 3.8% zinc, 62 g/t silver and 1.7 g/t gold. The 2011 drilling
season wrapped up last August, with results to be announced.
Again, Heatherdale acts as project operator. “We have completed our first
million-dollar requirement,” Smith says. “We have another $2 million to spend
before January 2013, then another $4 million up to 2014. We also have the
option to get 100% of the project by issuing shares of Heatherdale to Grayd.
“Delta is a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit, so it’s similar geology to
the Niblack Project,” he explains. “We’ve got the same technical team—in fact
All this suggests a bullish view of the Niblack Project, which both companies it’s the same technical team that recommended Niblack to Hunter Dickinson.”
currently share under a joint venture. A copper-gold-zinc-silver project on
Prince of Wales Island, off the southern extremity of the Alaska Panhandle, it’s Hunter Dickinson Inc is a private mining group that holds a controlling interest
Heatherdale’s flagship and Niblack Mineral’s sole property. Heatherdale holds or affiliation with other companies, providing them with management and
a 60% interest and acts as project operator. “We’ve got very good economics, technical services.
and it just makes a lot of sense to make decisions as 100% ownership under
Heatherdale,” says Heatherdale President/CEO/Director Pat Smith. “Understanding the geology, understanding the techniques and strategies
of working in Alaska boded well for Heatherdale,” he says. Smith himself is a
The deal offers one Heatherdale share for every two of Niblack’s. Heather- long-time Alaska hand, having spent nearly half his 35-year career there.
dale anticipates issuing around 18 million shares, effectively buying the rest
of the project for about $9.54 million (based on Heatherdale’s share price Smith concludes, “We’re meeting our threshold on the resource, and we’ll
of $0.53 at press time). Unexercised Niblack warrants will be eligible for half be doing the preliminary economic assessment over the next two months.
a Heatherdale share at an exercise price of $1.20 for warrants that have an We can see the offsite milling work and we have some locations that look
exercise price of $0.45 and $1.73 for warrants that have an exercise price of really good. Very likely we’ll have hydroelectric power to those facilities. We’ve
$0.65. All unexercised options will be cancelled for $0.01 per option. got the political and local stakeholder support for the project. As long as we
continue to let people know what we’re doing and provide the jobs locally, the
Just what is Heatherdale going after? The project’s March 2011 43-101 project continues to look positive. All the pieces are there.”
shows an indicated resource of 4.1 million tonnes grading 1.13% copper,
2.32 grams per tonne gold, 2.27% zinc and 38.7 g/t silver for 103 million At press time Heatherdale Resources had 69.11 million shares outstanding
pounds copper, 308,000 ounces gold, 207 million pounds zinc and 5.1 million at $0.53 a share for a market cap of $36.63 million. Niblack Mineral had 35.98
“
ounces silver. The inferred category shows 2.5 million tonnes grading 1.21% million shares at $0.24 for $8.63 million.
copper, 1.77 g/t gold, 2.29% zinc and 25.9 g/t silver for 67 million pounds
copper, 142,000 ounces gold, 126 million pounds zinc and 2.1 million ounces
silver.
As long as we continue to let
The resource grew 54% from December to March. And the infrastructure, people know what we’re doing and
Smith says, is excellent. “There’s a road network that connects with our barge,
which is the living quarters for the staff of 35 people…. The underground provide the jobs locally, the project
workings were completed in 2008, so we have a very modern four-by-five- continues to look positive
metre adit that goes back 2,800 feet [854 metres], and that’s where we’ve
been doing our drilling non-stop ever since Heatherdale took over the project
in 2009. We’ve got a water treatment facility, and we’ve got all the environ-
– Pat Smith
mental baseline work underway.”
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