Grizzly Discoveries explores near Roosville, B.C.

The Robocop Project could emerge as a viable mine site

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(L to R) Brian Testo and Michael Dufresne of Grizzly Discoveries explore the Robocop project near Roosville, B.C.

(L to R) Brian Testo and Michael Dufresne of Grizzly Discoveries explore the Robocop project near Roosville, B.C. — Photo courtesy Brian Testo

Robocop is back. No, not another reboot of the iconic 1987 half-human, half-cyborg character. The Robocop Project mine site near Roosville, B.C., is moving closer to becoming a viable option for a new mine.

The Robocop property got its memorable name from Robert Klewchuk, the original property vendor, because of his love of the Robocop movies. The property has since been acquired by Grizzly Discoveries.

The Robocop Project site is located near Roosville, B.C.

The Robocop Project site is located near Roosville, B.C. — Photo courtesy Brian Testo

Grizzly is an exploration company that is looking to find and outline an economic base or precious metal deposit that a larger mining company could venture into and mine economically, thus providing growth in an area like Roosville. The organization has intersected potentially economic grades of cobalt, copper and silver if they can find enough tonnage and continuity of the deposits.

“The area has received little exploration,” said Brian Testo, CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, “although the geology is very similar to that of eCobalt's Idaho Cobalt Project, which is currently in feasibility and construction in order to produce cobalt for the battery industry. The project has already identified significant grades of cobalt and is in urgent need of exploration to put a deposit together.”

The Griz behind the Grizzly

Testo, a.k.a. Griz, spends a lot of time on the phone and on the road raising money for Grizzly Discoveries. One of his greatest challenges is raising money in a down market. He draws his inspiration from finding a discovery and adding shareholder value to the company. With his motto of, “Go big or go home,” it’s clear that Testo has his sights set on a lucrative mine site. He believes his greatest career moment is coming soon. Will that be Robocop? Time—and test results—will yield an answer soon.

There are a variety of minerals that Grizzly Discoveries is expecting to extract for the Robocop project. They include copper, cobalt and silver in the form of chalcopyrite, cobaltite and pyrite with minor to trace quantities of linnaeite, safflorite, enargite and arsenopyrite.

What comes next

Grizzly Discoveries is at the exploration stage and moving towards additional drilling. The company’s next step is to perform additional surface exploration leading to drilling. This includes airborne geophysical surveys, ground geophysical surveys and soil and rock sampling, to be followed up by eventual drilling. Drilling could be completed as early as this fall or next spring/summer. Once resources are identified, it can take two to five years to move to bulk sampling and small-scale mining activities. Such an event would be a boon to the tiny community.

“Right now, the Roosville area has little economic activity other than tourism, ranching and a bit of logging,” said Testo. “Even a small mine could have a positive economic impact for locals and First Nations in the area. There is nothing like mining to stimulate local rural economies.”

Kyle Born

Kyle Born is a writer for Kootenay Business and his initials match that of the magazine—it must be fate that brought them together. View all of Kyle Born’s articles

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