Arunta completes maiden tungsten Resource at Hatches Creek

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Arunta Resources (ASX: AJR) has completed a maiden high-grade JORC compliant resource at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Hatches Creek tungsten project in the Northern Territory.

The Inferred Resource, of 225,066 tonnes grading 0.58 per cent tungsten for 1,311 tonnes of contained tungsten, encompasses surface stockpiles of material accumulated during a 42 year mining history at Hatches Creek between 1915 and 1957.

“For comparison purposes, the resource grade is some 70 per cent higher than the average grade of the eight major global tungsten deposits currently being explored or developed by ASX-listed companies,” Arunta Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“In light of this and the favourable outlook for the tungsten market – which is being driven by growing demand for its use in cutting and drilling tools, military applications, light bulbs and high-tech applications such as super-alloys for turbine blades – the company has decided to use the maiden JORC resource as the foundation to evaluate a commercial development of the Hatches Creek project.”

 

Hatches Creek tungsten mines. Source: Company announcement

 

Arunta considers the maiden JORC resource at Hatches Creek confirms the presence of sufficient tonnages of high-grade near-surface material to support a potential near-term development.

The company indicated it will use the maiden resource to underpin a Scoping Study, which it has targeted for completion before the end of 2014.

The study will assess the viability of bringing the project into production in 2015.

Arunta said it has already fielded expressions of interest from specialty metals traders for potential off-take of tungsten concentrate from the Hatches Creek project, adding this has provided confidence in the commercial imperatives to fast-track development of the project.

Email: info@aruntaresources.com.au

Website: www.aruntaresources.com.au