It’s fair to say Tintina Resources (TAU-V) and its Black Butte copper project in Montana makes the grade.

The Johnny Lee deposit at Black Butte hosts 11.6 million tonnes at 3.6% copper, including a lower zone above 6% copper.

“These are amazingly high grades, it’s very rare to see these in mineable quantities in nature,” said Jerry Zieg, Tintina’s VP Exploration and a Montana resident.

“It allows us to not only keep the project all underground and have a very small footprint, but it also allows us to do all the extra steps necessary to ensure we’re doing a good job of protecting water quality and taking care of the landscape in Montana.”

The latter detail is a crucial one for Tintina, whose project faces some opposition from environmental groups concerned a mine would harm the Smith River. Nevertheless, local support is strong in an area of high unemployment.

“We’ve got great local support and growing regional support,” Zieg said.

While the copper market is currently weak, Zieg is bullish on the “civilization metal” for many reasons including its use in green energy, such as wind turbines and hybrid vehicles.

“I don’t see the demand for copper slacking off at all over time.”

Tintina has applied for a mine operating permit and anticipates full production in about five years -- hopefully, from the company's vantage point, when the price of copper has picked up.

Tintina Resources is a CEO.CA client. This is not investment advice; do your own due diligence.