Southern Hemisphere increases Llahuin resource
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX:SUH) (TSXV:SH) has increased the resource inventory for the company’s Llahuin copper project, located north of Santiago in central Chile.
Southern Hemisphere said recent drilling undertaken at Llahuin had also outlined a high-grade core with the potential to significantly enhance project economics.
The company said the resource upgrade supports its plans to develop a copper-gold operation at Llahuin as it underpins the progress of an ongoing Scoping Study, which is targeting initial production of 45,000 to 50,000 tonnes per annum of copper metal plus gold credits.
This Scoping Study is scheduled to be delivered in the December 2012 Quarter.
The updated JORC Code and NI 43-101-compliant Mineral Resource has been achieved within a total of fifteen months since Southern Hemisphere commenced initial exploration drilling.
It comprises a Measured and Indicated Resource of 144.9 million tonnes at 0.40 per cent copper equivalent containing 435,650 tonnes of copper and 459,180 ounces of gold.
According to the company this represents a 36 per cent increase in resource tonnage, a 37 per cent increase in contained copper and a 50 per cent increase in contained gold compared to the Maiden JORC and NI 43-101 Mineral Resource estimate it had completed in April this year (106.2Mt at 0.40 per cent copper equivalent for 318,000 tonnes of copper and 307,000 ounces of gold).
Upgrade of Maiden Resource Estimate. Source: Company announcement
“Our target is a mine with an annual throughput of 12 million tonnes, which would require the identification of 180 million tonnes of mill feed,” Southern Hemisphere managing director Trevor Tennant said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“The next steps for this project will be to further expand the resource in the Cerro de Oro Zone and newly discovered Ferrocarril Zone with ongoing drilling, to test for extensions to the high-grade core at the Central Porphyry Zone and to complete the Scoping Study during the December Quarter.
“We believe we have a very significant copper-gold project on our hands at Llahuin and we are looking forward to progressing it to the next level.”
Southern Hemisphere said the drill results it received to enable it to complete the resource update also provide it with a flexible approach to production scheduling.
Recent drilling it has carried out at the Llahuin Central Porphyry Zone has delineated a high-grade core, currently showing 51 million tonnes at 0.50 per cent copper equivalent, which the company anticipates will be easily accessible as well as possessing the potential to provide higher grade feed during the early stages of production.
This, Southern Hemisphere said, would significantly enhance the financial robustness of the project as it represents an important strategic development for production scheduling and economics.
Deep drilling is currently underway targeting potential extensions to this high-grade core.
