Poland

Kupfershiffer

While Poland has a long and proud history of mining dating back hundreds of years, it was the discovery of copper in the 1950s which placed Poland on the map of global mining powerhouses. The copper-silver deposits in the Kupfershiffer Basin (Lubin district) are examples of peneconcordant, red-bed associated deposits. They are located about 75km north-west of Wroclaw in southwest Poland, on the northwest-dipping limb of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline. The deposit currently being mined extends over nearly 500km2, varies in thickness from .4 to 26m, and contains on average 2% Cu, 40ppm Ag, 0.2% Pb, 0.1% Zn, as well as anomalous concentrations of As, Ni, Co, Au and platinum-group metals. The deposit limits are undefined down dip to the northeast and the mine workings will eventually reach a maximum economic mining depth. It has been estimated that the entire mining district contains about 68mt Cu, 170,000t Ag, 5.2mt Pb, and similar amounts of Zn. The noble metal reserves are currently estimated at the level of 156t Au, 20t Pt, and 10t Pd. Therefore, the Lubin copper deposits of the district rank as one of the largest in the world. A detailed inventory of the amount of Cu present within the ore series estimates that the Zechstein basin in Poland may contain about 350Mt of copper metal.

Even after some 40 years of exploitation, today’s unexploited resources are estimated at 1.5 billion tons at 2% Cu and 56g/t Ag. As a result of the size of the documented copper ore resources in the region, Poland holds 8th place globally in terms of copper resources, and 1st place in terms of silver (based on the U.S. Geological Survey-2007).

Despite hosting one of the largest agglomerations of metals in the world, the Kupfershieffer Basin remains largely unexplored. With the currently defined deposits expected to have a mine life in excess of 30 years from today, the state influenced owners of the Lubin deposits, KGHM, did not aggressively pursue further exploration activities within the Kupfershiffer Basin. Long mine life of existing deposits, no competition from other mining companies (particularly under Communism), and with resources focused on developing and exploiting existing deposits, the Kupfershiffer Basin is believed to be highly prospective for new discoveries.

In particular, Block A and Block B as shown below are believed to be areas of interest. Strzelecki Metals has applied for copper exploration licenses within these blocks, as shown in blue, and are awaiting the outcome of these applications.