Herberton tin project

Monto Minerals is an Australian Security Exchange (ASX) listed minerals exploration company that is currently focusing much of its corporate attention on the feasibility of re-commencing tin mining at the abandoned Herberton Tin Mine in far north Queensland.

Herberton tin Project Close to all Required Infrastructure
The Herberton tin project covers an area of 554 square kilometres, 70
kilometres south west of the regional centre of Cairns, in the Atherton Tablelands Region of Queensland. It includes the towns of Watsonville, Irvinebank and Herberton and is fortunate to have sealed road access to Townsville and Cairns, an available electric power supply, local workforce and suppliers in reasonably close proximity.

Herberton tin Project Orebodies Mainly Occur as Casiterite
The Herberton tin project consists of five mineral exploration permits that have been granted to Monto Minerals as well as 11 mining leases and a further 10 mining lease applications. The area surrounding the Herberton tin project is highly mineralised with many tin bearing orebodies. These orebodies mainly occur as cassiterite with economic tin grades associated with pipe like structures,veins and lodes. Oxidation and weathering is rather shallow in the Herberton tin project area, usually averaging from 10 to 30 metres, especially where base metal sulphides and cassiterite occur.

Monto Minerals are focusing their attention on reasonably high grade tin oxide cassiterite orebodies that have been historically easy to process as far as a metallurgical perspective is concerned. The Herberton tin project ore does not contain inherent complexities that is often associated with skarn hosted tin mineralisation.

Herberton tin Project Area has Been Mined Since 1880
The Herberton area has been associated with the mining of silver, copper and tin since 1880. Since that time over 150,000 tonnes of mineral concentrate has left the field that includes around 109,000 tonnes of tin concentrate that produced around 70 percent tin which equates to 76,300 tonnes of tin metal.

The mining exploration permits held by Monto Minerals host more than 2,000 past mining operations. Some small alluvial workings and others reasonably large open pits, including underground mines such as the Vulcan tin mine that was mined to a depth of 425 metres. The ore mined at the Vulcan mine graded at six percent and produced 14,000 tonnes of tin concentrate.

An advantage Monto Minerals have by obtaining the Herberton consolidated mining licences is that historically the area had been mined by local prospectors who had pegged out very small plots. This led to a patchwork of licences with no major central focus, These small plots were not put together as a larger tenement area until 2006 when North Queensland Metals acquired them.

Until this licence consolidation was achieved no coordinated approach could be made as to their development in any large manner. This also meant no modern exploration methods had been used and they were left basically unexplored until now.

Monto Minerals have had the benefit of using the very latest in exploration methods to assess data concerning the Herberton tin project orebodies. These areas have been identified and targeted for further exploration that will assist in the design of its ongoing drilling program.
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