Sheffield updates Thunderbird Resource

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Sheffield Resources (ASX: SFX) has announced an updated mineral resource for the company’s Thunderbird heavy mineral sands (HMS) project, located near Derby in northwest Western Australia.

The updated figure stands at 3.24 billion tonnes at 6.9 per cent heavy minerals (HM).

This includes a coherent high-grade zone of 1.09 billion tonnes at 11.9 per cent HM at 7.5 per cent HM cut-off (Measured, Indicated and Inferred).

The high-grade zone contains 9.9 million tonnes of zircon, 3 million tonnes of high-titanium leucoxene, 2.8 million tonnes of leucoxene and 36 million tonnes of ilmenite.

The company highlighted what it considered the most important aspect of the resource update to be an increase in the Measured category to 110 million tonnes at 14.9 per cent HM (at a 7.5% HM cut-off) with high in-situ zircon and ilmenite grades of 1.09 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

“This resource update demonstrates that the Thunderbird deposit is superior in size and grade to the vast majority of existing mineral sands operations and projects under investigation globally,” Sheffield Resources managing director Bruce McQuitty said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The updated resource will allow us to undertake detailed mine planning to schedule higher grade feed in early production years.

“The aim is to increase revenues and to shorten the payback period.

“In addition, the 2015 drill program has recently been completed, with assay results expected Q3 2015 which will be factored into an updated mineral resource targeted for Q4 2015.

“The recent drilling program was designed to further increase the amount of resource in the Measured category to cover the first eight to ten years of scheduled production from this globally significant deposit.

“The Thunderbird PFS update is also progressing well and will be completed during Q4 2015, incorporating this resource update.”

Website: www.sheffieldresources.com.au