Zonia Property: Overview

• Zonia NI43-101 compliant report – click here to view
• The Zonia copper deposit is hosted by Precambrian schists and by quartz monzonite intrusive rocks
• The Zonia mine has produced 33 million pounds of cement copper
• The Zonia mine is located in west central Arizona near Prescott
• Scott Wilson RPA has estimated that Zonia contains 460 million pounds of copper
• Ascendant is planning to make a production decision within 12 months

Site of the former McAlester Fuels Zonia cement copper pad and power source. View looking southeasterly.

Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (Scott Wilson RPA) was retained by Ste. Genevieve Resources Ltd. (SGV) to prepare an independent Technical Report on the Zonia Copper Project, a former copper producer, located near Prescott, in central western Arizona. The purpose of the report was to provide an independent estimate of the Mineral Resources of the Zonia Project and, if warranted, to recommend further work on the property. The Technical Report is compliant with NT 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Zonia Mine was operated by the McAlester Fuel Co. from 1966 to 1975 and produced 33 million pounds of cement copper by heap leaching material mined from the Zonia deposit and by in situ leaching part of the Zonia deposit.
In July 2004, SGV purchased, for US$350,000, the Zonia property from the United States Banlauptcy Court for the District of Arizona because the previous owner, Arimetco, Inc., was in liquidation proceedings. ACX is currently conducting work to assess the economics of putting the Zonia Project back into production.

CONCLUSIONS

Close-up of leached capping and abundant iron oxides in Yavapai Schist, west wall, Zonia Main open pit. Late Tertiary age gravels and basalt flows cover the premineral units in the upper left of the photo. Looking northerly.

• The Zonia copper deposit is hosted by Precambrian schists and by quartz monzonite intrusive rocks.
• Scott Wilson RPA has estimated mineral resources of the Zonia deposit as 63 millions tons averaging 0.37% TCu (total copper) at a cut-off grade of 0.25% TCu, containing an estimated 460 million pounds of copper. Scott Wilson RPA has classified all of the Zonia mineral resource as inferred since only a limited amount of verification has been carried out on the drill hole database. The Scott Wilson RPA resource estimate and classification is in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards incorporated in NI 43-101.
• The Zonia drill hole database contains 447 holes representing 113,297 ft. of previous rotary and reverse circulation drill holes but the data base cannot be completely validated because of missing original information. More drilling is required, and Scott Wilson RPA recommends about 10,000 ft., to provide additional confirmation of the earlier drilling results in order to classify mineral resources as indicated and potentially measured.
• The mining history and the testwork indicate that copper can be recovered by leaching of the Zonia copper mineralization. In Scott Wilson RPA's view, however, more metallurgical testwork is needed to determine the optimal process and the amount of copper that can be recovered by leaching. Additional drilling may be needed to obtain sufficient material for metallurgical testwork. This work should be done prior to carrying out a preliminary assessment (scoping study) on the Zonia property. Scott Wilson RPA recommends 1,000 ft. of drilling for metallurgical test samples.
• A program is warranted to test the three existing heaps for remaining copper content and for copper recoverability by renewed leaching. The heaps can be tested for grade by drilling and metallurgical testwork can be carried out on the drill hole samples or on material obtained from trenching of the heaps. This work should be done prior to carrying out a preliminary assessment (scoping study) on the Zonia property. Scott Wilson RPA recommends 5,000 ft. of drilling for testing of the grade of the existing heaps.
• The Zonia deposit is open to the northeast and the southwest and more drilling is needed to test for extensions to the mineral resources. Scott Wilson RPA recommends 10,000 ft. of exploration drilling.
• SGV reports that additional studies are required on the project to support an application to develop a new mining and processing operation. These include environmental impact, and hydrology and geotechnical studies.
• In Scott Wilson RPA's opinion, more work is justified on the Zonia property to advance it to the preliminary assessment stage and, if warranted, the prefeasibility stage.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Zonia Main (north) open pit, looking to the south. The north end of the south open pit is visible in the right center of the photo.

Scott Wilson RPA makes the following recommendations for the Zonia property. The recommendations are in two phases, with the second phase contingent on results of the first phase.
Phase 1

• Detailed geological mapping and geochemical surveys.
• Carry out drilling to obtain material for metallurgical testwork on the Zonia copper mineralization.
• Drilling to confirm previous drill holes and validate the database
• Carry out metallurgical studies on Zonia mineralization and on material in
  the existing heaps to determine the optimal process and copper recovery.
• Review environmental and permitting aspects of the project.
• Carry out a preliminary assessment (scoping study) on the Zonia project.

Phase 2

• Exploration drilling to test for extensions to the mineral resources
• Carry out a drilling program to assess the grade of the existing heaps.
• Carry out a prefeasibility study

TABLE 1-1 RECOMMENDED WORK AND BUDGET  Zonia Project, Arizona