Meet the chief executive officer of Thunderstruck Resources, Bryce Bradley, who recently visited her believed mineral-rich properties in Fiji.
Together with her head geologist, Kris Raffle, they took three Japanese geologists by helicopter to Thunderstruck’s two high-grade zinc/copper exploration assets.
They visited the company’s Wainaleka and Nakoro properties.
Thunderstruck Resources is a Canadian mining exploration company that is now entertaining joint venture opportunities and is now organising site visits.
There were Preliminary mineralogical tests from the Wainaleka Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) project shows great potential to produce zinc and copper concentrates via conventional flotation, which is a critical precursor to mine development.
Further work on the high-grade Liwa Creek gold prospect will begin shortly, giving all the zinc, copper and gold assets much deserved attention.
“Wainaleka, where prior drilling by Anglo-American returned average grades of eight per cent, zinc and two per cent copper, and Nakoro which averaged 11.6 per cent zinc and 0.64 per cent copper,” Ms Bradley said.
“Thunderstruck is looking for joint venture partners to expand these deposits into a sizable resource through drilling into a tonnage large enough to justify the high capital costs of building a mine.
“Large mining companies in search of zinc and copper, like the Japanese company, send their geologists to study the minerals, country and culture in order to assess whether they would like to make the significant investment necessary to explore these types of mineral-rich assets.
“Zinc is used as an alloy to galvanise steel to build bridges and skyscrapers, and copper is used in large quantities in electrical wires, as it conducts electricity easily and has a high melting point.”
Both of these commodities, she said are in high demand and trading at favourable prices.
“Countries with high expansion rates, especially China and Japan, search the globe for base metals in order to satisfy their aggressive growth objectives,” Ms Bradley said.
“Shipping costs are reduced when they can find the metals they need in countries that are fairly close, like Fiji.
“Visiting geologists spent a full day on each property.
“This was our first time getting onto Wainaleka since purchasing the asset and we found that the zinc and copper can be seen right on the surface.
“This means that it can be mined cheaply as an open pit, rather than the more expensive alternative of underground mining which requires digging underground tunnels and a more complex infrastructure.
“The fact that Wainaleka would be open-pittable makes it attractive to potential investors if they can determine that the deposit is large enough to be economic.
“The day after the Wainaleka site visit, we had a kava ceremony (see photos) with the Vunimoli tribe, on whose land we hold the Wainaleka exploration licence.
“We visited for several hours, and during our discussion, I explained to the Chief that we could not find the location of the drilling sites, nor the camp from when Anglo American had completed their drilling campaign in 1978.
“The chief said that he had worked with Anglo at that time and would show us the location of the camp, drilling site, and even the core left from the drilling.
“We endeavoured to take some of the villagers to help us locate these sites but rain prevented our progress.
“We will resume our efforts again shortly, and were very happy that he was so kind to give us this information.
“The Vunimoli tribe has been very helpful, and we are excited to work with them.
“Landowner relations are of paramount importance to Thunderstruck, and we intend to work closely with all of the villages near our exploration licences.
Thunderstruck Resources geologists surveying the hilly landscape of Nakoro. Photo: Thunderstruck Resources
“The kava ceremony was also important to show the visiting geologists that landowners support our work on their land, and to ensure that we have continued mutual respect as we begin the long journey of trying to find a mine.”
Nakoro is located approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Nadi in hilly terrain.
“We landed on the top of a ridge and then walked around the ridge to locate a few of the old drill holes, then down into the valley and located the old Anglo camp,” Ms Bradley said.
“After we landed, a few villagers from Nakoro village approached by a horse on their way to plant kava and walked with us for a bit.
“I told them that I’d try and visit their village on my next visit in August, since last time I did the kava ceremony with them their Chief had died and I haven’t met the new one yet.
“They pointed the way to Anglo’s old drill pads.
“Much of the core is being stored in the Mineral Resource Library, and we spent several hours there earlier in the week to review the core through hand lens in advance of the site visit.
“Anglo had drilled approximately 20 holes each on both Nakoro and Wainaleka in 1978, and we don’t know why they stopped since they hit high-grade zinc and copper on both properties.
“Although we found some mineralized rock at the surface, much was covered by trees and dirt, making a sampling of the rock difficult.
“However, the geologists were given a close examination of the terrain and topography.
“The geology of Nakoro is more complicated than Wainaleka, and it most likely would be an underground mine as opposed to an open-pit.
“The two properties are approximately 20km apart, so ideally would be mined together sharing a mill and other costly infrastructure.
“Another key factor when considering an investment in exploration in Fiji is the safe working conditions for the geologists on the ground.
“Fiji has neither dangerous animals nor poisonous plants to worry about for when mining companies build camps in the country, which makes it a very attractive and safe environment for their workers.
“Overall, Fiji is one of the most mining-friendly countries in the world.
“It is rich in minerals, has a friendly, non-violent culture, a workforce with a long history of mining and safe working conditions.”
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