Centaurus Metals Resource update to extend Jambreiro mine life

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THE DRILL SERGEANT: Centaurus Metals (ASX: CTM) is confident of extending the mine life of its Jambreiro iron ore project in south-east Brazil after reporting an updated JORC Mineral Resource featuring an increase in the Measured and Indicated Friable Itabirite Resource component.

The overall JORC Mineral Resource for Jambreiro (combined Measured, Indicated and Inferred) has increased to 128 million tonnes at 27.2 per cent iron.

 

Jambreiro iron ore project – July 2013 JORC Resource Estimate, by mineralisation type. Source: Company announcement

 

Centaurus indicated the important change to the Resources was a six per cent increase in the Measured and Indicated Friable Itabirite component to 56.9 million tonnes at 28.7 per cent iron.
 
The company explained the Friable Itabirite resource underpins the project’s current Proven and Probable Ore Reserve of 48.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 28.1 per cent iron it announced in October 2012 with the completion of the Jambreiro Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS).

“We are pleased to have tightened up the Jambreiro resource base with enhanced data ahead of the finalisation of a revised mine plan and new Ore Reserve estimate,” Centaurus Metals managing director Darren Gordon said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We have been successfully implementing a number of important enhancements to the Jambreiro project while we complete negotiations for long-term product off-take, and this new Mineral Resource will provide the basis for a new mining sequence to tie in with other mine optimisation work.

“We expect to achieve a high conversion of the Measured and Indicated Friable Itabirite resource to Ore Reserves once this work is completed in October 2013, as was demonstrated at the time of the BFS late last year.”

Centaurus said the increase in the Measured and Indicated Friable Mineral Resource provided it with confidence in the robustness and quality of the Jambreiro project.

This confidence was heightened by taking into consideration the recently announced Mineral Resource at the Canavial project, which the company believes highlights the strong potential to extend the mine life at Jambreiro.

“This upgrade to our Mineral Resource inventory is therefore of strategic importance to the project, and should lay the foundations for an extended mine life along with the other improvements and enhancements that we are currently making,” Gordon said.