THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Rico Resources has had three Mining Lease Applications granted by the Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP).

The granting of the leases follows the signing of a Native Title Mining Agreement by the company and the lodgement of the executed State Deed with the DMP.

Rico already has a total Indicated plus Inferred Resource of 84.3 million tonnes of iron mineralisation grading 56.5 per cent iron at its Wonmunna project, which is situated in the southeast Pilbara region of WA.

Wonmunna project location. Source: Company announcement

The company said the granting of the mining leases enhances the development of the Wonmunna project, where it is methodically executing a development timetable.

“The Mining Proposal is the next step in the development timetable,” Rico Resources said in its ASX announcement.

“Work is well advanced on the preparation of the Mining Proposal, which is required for approval to begin mining.

“This Mining Proposal work continues to run in parallel with environmental studies and plans that are now close to completion.”

Rico also pointed out that its Wonmunna resources are located in close proximity to other operating mines in the region.

These include the West Angelas mine of Rio Tinto, Mining Area C of BHP Billiton, the Hope Downs Joint Venture between Rio and Hancock Prospecting, and the Mt Whaleback mine, also operated by BHP.

“Rico is well funded to undertake further exploration designed to increase its resource base in 2012/13,” the company said.

“Rico is working to develop its Wonmunna project and make further strategic acquisitions.”

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: White Cliff Minerals has identified a number of new Maggie Hays style nickel sulphide targets at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Lake Johnston project in Western Australia.

The targets were identified by a geophysical survey White Cliff recently conducted at the Mount Gordon prospect, located 20 kilometres south of Norilsk’s operating nickel mines Maggie Hays and Emily Anne.

Regional geology map showing tenement holdings, mine locations and
the location of the company’s Mt Gordon and Lake Percy prospects.
Source: Company announcement

“The additional nickel sulphide targets generated by the recent survey are outstanding exploration targets,” White Cliff Minerals managing director Todd Hibberd said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The local geology for the Maggie Hays nickel sulphide style targets at Mt Gordon and Lake Percy is strikingly similar to the volcanic sequence that hosts the Maggie Hays and Emily Anne Nickel deposits.

“The Lake Johnston lease package contains extensive mafic to felsic volcanic sequences and ultramafic units that have the potential to host a major new nickel sulphide discovery.”

The company said the newly-identified nickel sulphide targets occur within ultramafic sequences on or near the basal (lower) contacts with sedimentary units at depths between 80 and 350 metres.

The basal contact is the most common position for nickel sulphides to accumulate.

None of the nickel targets have undergone any previous drill testing.
 
White Cliff said the new nickel targets are additional to other targets it recently announced that were identified at the Lake Percy prospect north of the Maggie Hays nickel mine.
 
The company now has ten drill ready nickel sulphide targets scheduled for testing in a major diamond drilling program commencing in June 2012.

It has also flagged further geophysical surveys and soil geochemistry will be carried out on the rest of the project to identify additional targets.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Tasman Resources has executed a formal Farm-in / Joint Venture Agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration that will result in Rio making a non-refundable execution payment of $1million to Tasman.

The new agreement replaces the conditional Farm-In/JVA Letter Agreement reached between the two parties in October 2011 over Tasman’s wholly owned Exploration Licence EL 4322 that hosts the Vulcan iron oxide/copper/gold/uranium (IOCGU) prospect, situated immediately north of Olympic Dam in South Australia.

Under the terms of the new Farm-In/JVA, Rio and Tasman have retained the original commercial terms governing the Initial Exploration Program and Rio’s farm-in obligations and rights.

In addition to the original commercial terms, Tasman and RIO have agreed to extend the current period for satisfaction of the remaining condition precedent by six months from the date of execution of the Farm-In/JVA.

The condition precedent that remains unsatisfied at the date of the Farm-In/JVA is:

–    Tasman securing reasonable access for the purposes of conducting the Initial Exploration Program over a specific area of the Tenement over which Tasman has previously not secured Aboriginal Heritage access.

Tasman has also agreed to grant RIO two options to extend, if required, the time period to satisfy the remaining condition precedent and, if exercised by RIO, to make further payments to Tasman to fund approved exploration on portions of the Vulcan prospect that have gained heritage clearance.

If both options are exercised by RIO, the period for the satisfaction of the condition precedent will be extended by a total of four years from the date of execution of the Farm-In/JVA.

Any payments made by RIO in respect of the aforementioned options to Tasman (including the $1million paid upon execution of the Farm-In/JVA) will be deducted from the initial $10million payable by RIO to Tasman and, similarly, all drilling carried out will also be credited towards the meeting the aggregate 12,000 metres of drilling (Initial Exploration Program) that Tasman is required to complete.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Doray Minerals has been granted a mining lease by the Western Australian Department of Minerals and Petroleum (DMP) over the company’s 80 per cent-owned Andy Well gold project.

The lease covers approximately 1,100 hectares and includes the high-grade Wilber Lode deposit, proposed site infrastructure and a number of highly prospective near-mine exploration targets, including the Bernie, Judy and Wendy zones.

Andy Well gold project, showing location of recently granted Mining Lease, M51/870. Source: Company announcement

Doray said the granting of the lease allow it to commence development at Andy Well and for mining to commence in the 2012-2013 financial year.

“Over the last 12 months, we have published a 90 per cent increase to the high-grade Wilber Lode resource, increased the indicated portion of the resource to 89 per cent, reached an agreement with the local native title claimants, recruited key operations staff, released the results of a positive scoping study and committed to a Bankable Feasibility Study, all in just over two years since listing on the ASX and making the initial discovery at Andy Well,” Doray Minerals managing director said without taking a breath in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The grant of the Mining Lease is another very significant milestone in the development of the Andy Well gold project and now enables us to submit all remaining permits and license applications, including the Mining Proposal and Closure Plan for consideration by the DMP.”

Pending completion of the Bankable Feasibility Study and meeting of other requirements, Doray anticipates the commencement of open pit mining at Andy Well in the second half of 2012 with first gold production scheduled for mid-2013.

The company is currently in commenced discussions with a number of banks regarding project finance for the project.

Doray also expects cashflow to repay its capital expenditure in as little as 18 months, claiming the project lends itself to a relatively simple project finance facility.

The company recently reached agreement with the Shire of Meekatharra in regards to a lease for the site of its proposed accommodation village, to be located in Meekatharra, with the Agreement ratified at the Shire’s most recent Council meeting.

Drilling continues at Andy Well, testing for extensions to the north and south of the current Wilber Lode resource, as well as across a number of other target zones.

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Ram Resources has completed the estimation of a JORC-compliant maiden Inferred Mineral Resource for the Aries prospect.

Aries is the most advanced target within the company’s Motzfeldt project, located in south Greenland.

Location map showing Ram Resources licence holdings and the main exploration targets. Source: Company announcement

“This Resource statement is a major milestone for RAM, which has proved significant mineralisation at Aries,” Ram Resources executive director James Lumley said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The Aries project has the potential to become a notable Zirconium project in the world market, with contributions from Tantalum, Niobium and Rare Earth Elements.”

The total Inferred Mineral Resource at Aries has come in at 340 million tonnes at 120 parts per million tantalum oxisde,1,850 parts per million niobium oxide, 4,600 parts per million zirconium oxide and 2,600 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO).
 
The project now has a contained metal inventory of 1.6 million tonnes zirconium oxide, 884,000 tonnes TREO, 629,000 tonnes niobium oxide, and 41,000 tonnes tantalum oxide.

Ram said potential remained to increase the Aries resource, particularly to the south.

The company said it had been encouraged by the zirconium oxide results in particular as it believes zirconium may well become the mineral that drives the project forward.

Having said that, Ram also suggested any of the other Aries mineral products could contribute to the economics of the project, and diversify the commodity risk.

The company’s current intentions for the Motzfeldt project are:
 
–    Extension of a drilling program along the strike and at depth to add to the Aries project resources;

–    Mineralogical and metallurgical studies to more clearly define process routes and net revenue potential;

–    A drilling program to better understand geometry of higher grade features to upgrade resource classification throughout; and

–    Gridded sampling over the other prospective targets in the Motzfeldt licence.

Now that Ram has succeeded in estimating an Inferred Resource of in excess of 100Mt it is obligated to issue one million shares to Quayside Services under the terms of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) for Greenland Resources.