Black Fire’s Pilot Mountain project exceeds expectations
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Black Fire Minerals has announced an encouraging maiden JORC resource estimate for the Desert Scheelite Deposit at the Pilot Mountain tungsten – copper project in Nevada.
The results include 6.79 million tonnes at 0.31 per cent tungsten trioxide (WO3), 22.8 grams per tonne silver and 0.17 per cent copper reported at a 0.2 per cent WO3 cut- off with 90per cent of this resource in the Indicated category.
This 0.2 per cent WO3 cut-off resource has exceeded the original quoted exploration target for Desert Scheelite of 4 – 5 million tonnes at 0.30 – 0.33 percent WO3 by some 36 per cent.
The Desert Scheelite deposit remains open in all directions with the most easterly drill hole (DSDD-15) of the recent diamond drilling program returning an exceptional intersection of 13.9 metres 0.89 per cent WO3, 1.75 percent copper and 31g/t silver.
The above resource falls within a larger Indicated and Inferred resource of 12.99 million tonnes 0.23 per cent WO3, 17.2g/t silver and 0.12 per cent copper (0.1 per cent WO3 cut-off) representing a potentially significant bulk tonnage target with 84 per cent of the resource in the Indicated category.
While tungsten is the primary commodity focus for the project, significant copper & silver mineralisation and lesser zinc and lead mineralisation has also been identified by drilling.
Updated Project Global Exploration Target
Based on the highly successful resource definition program at Desert Scheelite, the Company has updated the “Global” resource potential for the Project.
The new combined exploration target across the three primary prospects, including the Desert Scheelite 0.2 per cent WO3 JORC resource, is 10.8 – 12.5 million tonnes at 0.32 – 0.35 per cent WO3.
In addition to this exploration target, a total of 11 other prospects within the project area are yet to be assessed.
JORC resource and exploration target summary. Source; Company Announcement
“The Company will now push forward with the next steps in advancing
the project including metallurgical test work and scoping studies and
looks forward to reporting results to shareholders in the fourth quarter
2012,” stated Black Fire’s chairman, Anthony Baillieu, in the company’s
announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Project Background Information
The Pilot Mountain project is located on the eastern flank of Pilot Mountain, 250 kilometres southeast of the city of Reno and 20 km east of the town of Mina, in Nevada USA.
The Desert Scheelite Deposit is one of three advanced prospects at the Pilot Mountain Project which were historically extensively drilled and subjected to mining Feasibility Studies by Union Carbide Corporation during the early 1980’s.
Union Carbide “mothballed” the project in the mid-1980’s in response to a significant fall in tungsten prices at that time.
There has been no significant exploration undertaken since then.