Copper Fox updates investors on Schaft Creek progress

Copper Fox Metals (CVE:CUU) updated investors Monday on the activities at its Schaft Creek copper-gold-molybdenum-silver project in northwest British Columbia.
The company is now preparing an updated resource estimate for the Paramount and Liard zones at the project, which will include all assay results from the 2011 diamond drill holes completed in these areas.
These results are expected to positively impact the average grade for both the Liard and the Paramount zones, Copper Fox said.
Copper Fox has also asked Tetra Tech Wardrop, the company conducting the resource estimate, to review the data related to the silver content of the mineralization, for possible inclusion in the report.
With regards to the feasibility study for Schaft Creek, however, Copper Fox said it has been advised by Tetra Tech that due to manpower shortages and scheduling difficulties of staff, the March 31 target for completion of the study will not be achieved.
The main difficulty lies with the completion of the mine plan, the most critical component in the study, which now appears to be six to eight weeks behind schedule, the mineral explorer said.
Because many other components of the feasibility study cannot be done until the mine plan is finished, it is now expected that the study will be delayed until mid-late summer this year.
"The delay is disappointing as it will add further delay in completion of the Feasibility Study on our Schaft Creek project," said president and CEO, Elmer Stewart.
"We are confident that the combined efforts will get this project back on track. Fortunately the other components of the feasibility study outside the Mine Plan are well advanced.
"This unexpected delay may be an opportunity to allow inclusion of the updated 2011 drilling results from the Paramount and Liard zones into the mine plan and an opportunity to re-visit the possibility of incorporating the silver into the updated resource estimate."
Copper Fox said its management has had a series of meetings with senior representatives of Tetra Tech to review, in detail, all aspects of the feasibility study, with particular emphasis on completion of the mine plan.
The company has also retained Jim Gray of Moose Mountain Technical Services as its representative to work in-house with Tetra Tech's mining team.
Gray has experience in the planning and optimizing of large open pit projects over the past 30 years, including a number of projects in northwestern BC. The detailed mine plan for the Schaft Creek preliminary feasibility study completed in September 2008 was performed by his group.
The Schaft Creek mineral deposit is one of the largest undeveloped copper, gold, molybdenum and silver deposits in North America. The feasibility study on a minimum 120,000 tonne per day open pit mine is expected to be completed by mid-summer of 2012.
Copper Fox holds title and a 100 percent working interest in a contiguous 21,024.96 hectare property which includes the Schaft Creek deposit, subject to a 3.5 percent net profits interest held by Royal Gold, a 30 percent carried net proceed Interest held by Liard, and an earn back option held by Teck Resources.
Copper Fox is currently earning a 78 percent interest in Liard from Teck. Teck's earn back option to acquire up to 75 percent of the Copper Fox interest in the Schaft Creek project is triggered upon completion of a positive feasibility study.